Tokyo in One Day: Guide Sensoji Temple and Nakamise — Guide Nobby

September, 2026

This is a private guided tour report by Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.), a network of 1,000+ government-licensed, English-speaking local guides across all 47 prefectures of Japan.

Tour Itinerary

  • 9:30 Guide (Kogure) arrives at the hotel
  • 10:00 Meet the guests in the hotel lobby
  • 10:10 Depart from the hotel, walk to JR Shinjuku Station
  • 10:25 Arrive at JR Shinjuku Station, guests purchase Suica cards
  • 10:32 Depart from Shinjuku Station, head to Kanda Station via JR Chuo Line Rapid
  • 10:48 Depart from Kanda Station, head to Asakusa Station via Ginza Subway Line
  • 10:59 Arrive at Asakusa Station, walk to Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center
  • 11:03–11:10 Guide the observation deck on the 8th floor of Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center
  • 11:10–11:55 Guide Sensoji Temple and Nakamise Street
  • *Guide Kaminarimon Gate, Nakamise Street, Hozomon Gate, Five-Story Pagoda, Great Straw Sandals, omikuji fortunes, incense burner, purification fountain, main hall, Asakusa Shrine, etc.
  • 12:00–12:40 Lunch in Asakusa (soba)
  • 12:48 Depart from Asakusa Station, head to Kanda Station via Ginza Subway Line
  • 13:06 Depart from Kanda Station, head to Tokyo Station via JR Chuo Line Rapid
  • 13:08 Arrive at Tokyo Station
  • 13:08–13:15 Walk inside Tokyo Station and guide the Tokaido Shinkansen entrance (at guests' request)
  • 13:18 Depart from Tokyo Station, head to Harajuku Station via JR Yamanote Line
  • 13:46 Arrive at Harajuku Station, walk to Meiji Shrine
  • 13:50–14:45 Guide Meiji Shrine
  • *Guide the First Torii Gate, sake barrels, Second Torii Gate, waka poems, purification fountain, married couple trees, main hall, ema plaques, Forest Terrace, etc.
  • 14:45–15:00 Explain Omotesando and Takeshita Street from the Omotesando entrance and the Harajuku Takeshita Street entrance
  • 15:01 Depart from Harajuku Station, head to Shibuya Station via JR Yamanote Line
  • 15:05–15:35 Guide Shibuya Hachiko, the Scramble Crossing, and Miyashita Park
  • 15:39 Depart from Shibuya Station, head to Shinjuku Station via JR Yamanote Line
  • 15:46 Arrive at Shinjuku Station, walk to the Hotel Main Building
  • 16:00 Arrive at Hotel, greet the guests and end the tour

What Is a Rainy-Day Private Tour of Tokyo Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Asakusa, Meiji Shrine, and Shibuya

The person from Europe, who arrived in Japan the previous night, greatly enjoyed today's tour. It was their first time in Japan. Although it rained from the morning and we toured while holding umbrellas, they took many photos at each location and had a wonderful time. At Senso-ji Temple, they drew a "chukichi" (medium-good luck) omikuji fortune and were delighted. For lunch in Asakusa, they very much enjoyed the chilled nameko mushroom soba noodles and ate with great pleasure. Through our email exchanges beforehand, they had mentioned wanting to do a trial run of the bullet train area at Tokyo Station, as they felt anxious about navigating the route when heading to Kyoto by bullet train from the middle of this week. By including Tokyo Station in the tour, their concerns were completely resolved and they were very pleased. They especially loved the peaceful, green, and quiet environment at Meiji Shrine and took many photos there. They seemed to have fully mastered the differences between temples and shrines, the respective methods of worship, and how to pass through the torii gate. At the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, they asked me to take a photo of them in the middle of the crossing just before the light turned red, and they were delighted when I took the picture. They were a very talkative person, and we were able to have an enjoyable conversation, including some private topics, about the differences in national character between Japan and their home region, as well as the differences in cuisine and climate between the countries.

Click here for more details: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide

Transportation cost per person

No.TransportationRouteFare
Section 1TrainShinjuku～Kanda (Tokyo)210JPY
Section 2SubwayKanda (Tokyo)～Asakusa180JPY
Section 3SubwayAsakusa～Kanda (Tokyo)180JPY
Section 4TrainKanda (Tokyo)～Tokyo160JPY
Section 5TrainTokyo～Harajuku260JPY
Section 6TrainHarajuku～Shibuya160JPY
Section 7TrainShibuya～Shinjuku200JPY
Total1,350JPY

Tour Report by Nobby

Hello and how do you do?
My name is Nobuo Kokure, and please call me Nobby for short, if you want.
Let me introduce myself. I was born in Hayama, a beach resort area, Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo. And I’m now living in Saginuma, Kawasaki city.
When I was a university student, I had the opportunities of doing a home stay with a family In U.S.A., Australia, and England, as a youth exchange student.
After graduation from the university, I started working at American Life Insurance Company, Japan (Alico, Japan), which is a group member company of AIG, now MetLife Insurance Company. I could have a chance to visit the head office and the field offices of U.S.A., Wilmington in Delaware, New York, Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale in Florida, Los Angeles, while I was working for Alico, Japan (Now, MetLife Insurance company).
I had been working for MetLife Insurance Company for about 38 years, in total.
After retiring from the life insurance company, I started working as a tour guide, because I wanted to become a tour guide to introduce culture, history, and manners and customs of Japan in English. It’s so different between my previous job and the guide business, but I like guide business a lot.
I can meet so many people from all over the world and the guide business has been thriving after the pandemic.
I have implemented the tour over 240 times, introduced Japan to more than 4300 tourists from 53 countries.

Not only Tokyo, but I have experienced touring around Nikko, Kamakura, Mt. Fuji & Hakone area, Takayama, Kanazawa, Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, and Hiroshima, etc. which are all very famous as a tourist spot in Japan.
If you go on a tour in Tokyo, you must see and visit Asakusa Sensoji Temple which is the oldest Buddhist Temple in Tokyo with histories and Nakamise Shopping Street where you can buy the souvenirs and try to taste Japanese sweets, such as doll cake which is the sponge cake in various shapes filled with red bean paste and Japanese powdered tea ice cream. Another my recommendation in Tokyo to visit is Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, and Shibuya. Meiji Shrine is one of the biggest shrines in Japan with quiet and peaceful atmosphere and magnificent site.
Harajuku and Shibuya are both fun to visit for shopping and experience the Shibuya Crossing.
I usually propose my tentative itinerary and ask if my plan is all right with the customer or not. My hobby is traveling around Japan and foreign countries and going to the gym for exercise.
I would like to work as a guide as long as possible if I’m in good health and my legs are strong, because I love this job.
I put my importance on the mind of OMOTENASHI which means sincere hospitality, though safety during the tour takes precedence, number one priority, before anything else.

I’m very looking forward to seeing you and touring with you in Japan soon.
Thank you!

Best regards,

Nobuo Kokure (Nobby)

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