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. Not affiliated with the Japan Guide Association.
Tour Itinerary
- 9:00 Meeting place: Mimaru Suites Tokyo Asakusa
- 9:10 Departure: Asakusa Station
- (Tokyo Skytree Line)
- 9:30 Tokyo Skytree Station
- Tokyo Skytree Tokyo Skytree
- 10:30 Tokyo Skytree Station
- (Tokyo Skytree Line)
- Arrive Asakusa Station
- Depart Asakusa Station
- (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line)
- 11:20 Arrive Shibuya Station
- Shibuya Scramble Crossing
- Hachiko Statue
- Pokemon Center
- Nintendo Store
- Lunch: Tsukiji Sushisei Shibuya branch
- 13:00 Depart Shibuya Station
- (JR Yamanote Line)
- 13:10 Arrive Harajuku Station
- Harajuku Takeshita Street
- Mi Pig Cafe
- 14:00 Meiji-jingumae Station
- (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line)
- Omotesando Station
- (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line)
- 14:50 Arrive Tawaramachi Station
- Tawaramachi Tokyo Samurai & Ninja Museum
- 15:30 Dismissal: Tawaramachi Station
Title: What Can You See on a Private Family Day Tour of Tokyo? A Licensed Guide's Report on Skytree, Shibuya, Harajuku, and Asakusa
Body:
The guests were a group visiting Japan from Asia, though their nationality was European, as they had been living in Asia for many years. Some of the guests had visited Japan several times before, while the others were visiting for the first time.
They had arrived at Narita Airport the previous night and traveled by train to their hotel. They were staying in Japan for a short period, spending time in Tokyo before continuing to Kyoto, with plans to return home from Kansai Airport.
The guests requested a tour focused on the interests of the younger members of the group. The tour took place under cloudy skies.
We first visited Tokyo Skytree. Although the view was not clear that day, the guests remarked, "We can really understand now how wide and large a city Tokyo is."
From there, we moved to Shibuya. The guests experienced the Scramble Crossing and took commemorative photos in front of the Hachiko statue. They were impressed by the 3D screen imagery and asked, "Why are there so many people here? Are they mostly Japanese, or mostly travelers?"
They bought a large number of plush toys at the Pokemon Center and the Nintendo store.
Since the guests wanted to have sushi for lunch, we went to a sushi restaurant in Shibuya, where some of the guests ordered a large amount of cucumber rolls.
From there, we moved to Harajuku. After strolling along Takeshita Street, we visited a café I had reserved in advance, which the guests said they greatly enjoyed. One of them commented, "Why are there so many animal cafés in Japan?"
After this, we returned to Asakusa and visited a samurai and ninja museum I had reserved in advance. Afterward, the guests commented that the younger members of the group had greatly enjoyed it.
We parted ways at Tawaramachi Station. The guests also shared several impressions: "The Japanese people are all so polite," "The streets are clean, with no litter anywhere," "There are no trash cans on the streets," "We don't see any homeless people," and "The public toilets are clean and pleasant to use."
Click here for more details: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Transportation cost per person
| No. | Transportation | Route | Fare |
| Section 1 | Train | Asakusa Station～Tokyo Skytree Station | 157JPY |
| Section 2 | Train | Tokyo Skytree Station～Asakusa Station | 157JPY |
| Section 3 | Subway | Asakusa Station～Shibuya Station | 252JPY |
| Section 4 | Subway | Shibuya Station～Harajuku Station | 146JPY |
| Section 5 | Subway | Meiji-jingumae Station～Tawaramachi Station | 252JPY |
| Total | 964JPY | ||
Guiding career:
Guide work started in July 2022. A guide focused on FIT compliance.
FY2022 results: 17 cases, FY2023 results: 97
Destinations: Various places in Tokyo, Hakone, Kamakura and Nikko
As a recent group travel record, in October 2023, we have a track record of guiding a group of 33 people from Singapore to Narita Airport transfer plus sightseeing in Tokyo.
Self-introduction:
In the past, I was stationed in Canada, the United States, and Mexico as an expatriate of a Japanese bank for over 11 years.
Since I have been mainly involved in the financing business in the United States for a long time, I think I am able to provide interpretation and translation services related to business and finance.
I am a certified CPA in the United States.
In addition, for three years from April 2016, I will be engaged in Japanese-English translation work (part-time), and I can also handle translation work.
Although I don’t have a qualification in Spanish, but I think I can handle day to day conversation in Spanish without any problems.
My hobby is trekking and from time to time, take a walk around mountains near Tokyo like Mt. Takao, Tanzawa, etc. I think it is possible to provide tourist information here as well.
Since April 2015, I have been working as a Tokyo Metropolitan Tourism Volunteer and Tokyo Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Volunteer.
One more, I have a separate house near Asuka Village, Nara prefecture, and I stay there for a total of about 30 days every year and have been enjoying sightseeing personally in the vicinity. Therefore, I think in the Kansai region, especially in Nara, Asuka, Yoshino, Koyasan, Kumano Kodo, etc., where I think I will be able to tour guide with confidence.
Jul 21, 2026
Christelle_G
Viator review: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Excellent tour guide
Masa san is extremely knowledgeable and…
Jul 21, 2026
Christelle_G
Viator review: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Excellent tour guide
Masa san is extremely knowledgeable and lovely company. My 13-yr-old daughter and I had a great day walking around the sites we had picked with him. He tooks his time to explain all the history and then kindly walked us to the spot of our next booking as it was quite confusing. I would very highly recommend him. Of all the tours we did in Tokyo Masa Sam was my favourite tour guide.
Jul 1, 2026
97TexAg
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 8hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Amazing day in Tokyo
Masa was our tour guide. Masa was an…
Jul 1, 2026
97TexAg
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 8hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Amazing day in Tokyo
Masa was our tour guide. Masa was an amazing tour guide that communicated extremely well ahead of time about the sites we would like to see in Tokyo, picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel, was very friendly and well prepared and finally but most importantly made our day in Tokyo very memorable.
We went to the Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Meiji Shinto Temple, imperial Palace, Shinjuku Gyoen National Gatden, and Shibuya Crossing. All were great and amazing suggestions by Masa.
Would highly recommend this tour as it was a private tour guide for a full day and provided discretion on which 5-6 sites you want to see. Also highly recommend our tour guide Masa who was a wealth of knowledge and very friendly and charming.
15/10 would do again.
Jun 2, 2026
Tagare S
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Great tour and guide!
This is a great tour, and our…
Jun 2, 2026
Tagare S
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Great tour and guide!
This is a great tour, and our guide, Masa was really great. Although it was raining, he had no
hesitations in completing his tour and showing us great places around Tokyo. If you are still
on the fence about this, please don’t, you won’t regret it. Thank you, Masa!
Jun 1, 2026
Lisa_A
Viator review: Private Tokyo Tour with Licensed Guide & Vehicle (Max 15 persons)
Adler Family Tour
Our tour with Masa was…
Jun 1, 2026
Lisa_A
Viator review: Private Tokyo Tour with Licensed Guide & Vehicle (Max 15 persons)
Adler Family Tour
Our tour with Masa was incredible and filled with interesting facts and history, he gave us incredible insight on each location. We loved that we were able to choose 3-4 sites from a large selection and really spend enough time at each spot. Masa was kind and knowledgable and even helped us with a restaurant reservation for later in the evening when were unable to find one.