Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day — Guide Minoruasai
December, 2024
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
- 09:30 We were scheduled to meet at the Hotel, but around 9:15, SM sent an email saying, "There is a problem with the passport and I have to go to the U.S. Embassy. Therefore, I would like to meet you at the U.S. Embassy." So I hurriedly headed to Shinjuku Station on the Marunouchi Line, took the subway to Toranomon Gateway Station, and went in front of the U.S. Embassy's visa and passport application window.
- 10:15-11:10 I waited in front of the U.S. Embassy and met them at 11:10 when they came out of the embassy. The guide route for the day had already been discussed in advance, and the plan was Sensoji Temple ⇒ Tsukiji Outer Market ⇒ Akihabara ⇒ Shinjuku Golden Gai, so we started moving in order to follow that sequence. However, since they had to pick up the corrected passport again at the U.S. Embassy window at 2:00 PM, there was a request to return to the U.S. Embassy at 2:00 PM. So, since there was time to at least visit Sensoji Temple, we headed there.
- 12:00-13:10 I guided them around Sensoji Temple, and they satisfied their hunger by eating tempura sold at the window of the tempura shop "Sansada" near Kaminarimon as a snack.
- During this time, a phone call came in to the customer from the Japan Immigration Office at Narita Airport, saying, "Please bring a document stating that the passport issue has been resolved to the Immigration Office at Narita Airport." So, we headed to the U.S. Embassy to pick up the document at 2:00 PM, and there the customer (Tara Keller) decided that she would go to Narita immediately after receiving the corrected documents related to her passport.
- 13:45 Arrived at the U.S. Embassy. Here, Tara decided, "Please take my son and escort him back to the hotel. I will now head to the Japan Immigration Office at Narita Airport Terminal 2 with the corrected passport I received at the embassy." So we departed to take her son Theo (16 years old) to the hotel.
- 14:30 Arrived at the Hotel. I sent a WhatsApp message to Tara informing her that I had safely brought Theo to the hotel, and finished my work.
Title: Emergency-Changed Private Tokyo Tour Near Asakusa and Akihabara: A Licensed Guide's Report
The guest came out of an embassy after completing some procedures at 11:10, so I thought we could still visit Senso-ji Temple and Akihabara and headed to Senso-ji. However, while we were there, a call came in from a Japanese immigration office saying, "Once the procedures at the embassy are complete, please bring your passport to the immigration office at Narita Airport as soon as possible." Based on this, the guest decided to return to the embassy at 2:00 p.m., when the corrected passport could be picked up, and then head straight to Narita from there. Since the guest had departed without any issue and entered Japan at Narita without any issue, I asked, if it was not too much trouble, why the embassy and the Narita immigration office had contacted them afterward saying there was a problem. I learned that the guest holds two passports, and that this time they should have brought the other passport instead. In any case, this was an issue that arose on the guest's own side and not something caused by us, and the guest was very apologetic. At Senso-ji, we had only about an hour of brief sightseeing, but the guest was satisfied, buying two kanzashi hair ornaments they liked at a shop selling kanzashi next to Nakamise Street. When we parted at the embassy, I offered, "If you like, I could wait with the group in front of the embassy and guide you to the Skyliner platform at Nippori," but the guest decided, "If you could take the rest of the group to the hotel, I can figure out the way to the airport myself, so I'll be fine," which led to the movements shown in the tour route for the day. That concludes my report. An acquaintance of mine has lived overseas for more than 30 years and holds two passports, and through this case I learned that having two passports can, depending on the situation, involve a fair amount of extra effort.
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 | Subway | Shinjuku～Toranomon Gateway | 600JPY |
| Section 2 | Subway | Toranomon Gateway～Asakusa | 0JPY |
| Section 3 | Subway | Toranomon Gateway～Shinjuku | 0JPY |
| Total | 600JPY | ||
I acquired national guide license in 2014, and I have been doing guide work full fledged since 2016. In my career before starting guide work, I was a business man and made more than 1,000 business trips both abroad and in Japan, and that experience is my foundation as a guide because I came to know so many places both abroad and in Japan. I have been taking care of both group and individual tourists, and the number of foreign guests I have taken care is close to 2,500 so far. I am based in Tokyo, but I can cover guide work in many prefectures throughout Japan. When I take care of foreign guests, my major concern is to listen attentively to them, find out what they want to know and do in Japan, and give them appropriate guiding in accordance with what I heard from my guests. I would like to provide tailor made tour as much as possible for every precious guest who kindly chose Japan as the tour destination.
Aug 1, 2025
8
898kendrap
Great first day in Tokyo!
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Asai, our tour guide, made our…
Aug 1, 2025
8
898kendrap
Great first day in Tokyo!
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Asai, our tour guide, made our first day in Tokyo so memorable and enjoyable! He shared his knowledge and love for the city as he showed us around. We now understand how to navigate the train system, and he even left us a list of how to explore other areas of the city by train. Our tour was a fun way to get acquainted with this amazing city!
Jul 14, 2025
Anette_V
Perfect
Viator review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Our guide Minoru Asai was very friendly and knowledgeable about culture,…
Jul 14, 2025
Anette_V
Perfect
Viator review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Our guide Minoru Asai was very friendly and knowledgeable about culture, history and
society. He picked and showed us more than We expected. Also he was good Company for
both me, my husbond and our son aged 22.
Jun 30, 2025
liammL2246HL
Amazing experience
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
We had an amazing private tour with Minoru Asai! We…
Jun 30, 2025
liammL2246HL
Amazing experience
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
We had an amazing private tour with Minoru Asai! We loved seeing all of the sights on the tour and Minoru was extremely knowledge about all things in Tokyo and else-wear in Japan. We were able to adjust the stops due to the heat (it was up to 35C!) and Minoru had great suggestions for things to check out. Highly recommend!
Jun 26, 2025
394milesd
Excellent guide making an excellent day in Tokyo
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
A perfect day, tailored…
Jun 26, 2025
394milesd
Excellent guide making an excellent day in Tokyo
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
A perfect day, tailored to our needs (and the weather) and delivered so attentively by our guide Minoru Asai. He was in contact in advance of the day to understand our interests, and advised us on practicalities and remained flexible throughout the day as required. His knowledge, and passion, for the history of Tokyo made the day! Could not have asked for more.