Tokyo Private Tours

“A wonderful day with local gems”

We enjoyed our day trip to Kawagoe with Yuki K. He efficiently led us through the maze of metro and train stations to reach the correct train to Kawagoe. Once there, we enjoyed our visits to the Nakain Temple and the Kitain Temple, and along with the locals, admired the emerging cherry blossoms. Lunch at the soba restaurant was excellent, and wandering through the shopping streets located in the historic warehouse district was pleasant. Our visit to the festival museum was a highlight, since we arrived in time to enjoy a Hayashi performance. Yuki escorted us all the way back to our hotel, too, which we appreciated. He also shared some informative slides he’d prepared on the history of the development of Buddhism through the centuries. Thank you, Yuki! In reviewing the description of this tour from the GoWithGuide website, there were activities listed that were not included in the tour, and judging by our experience, we would not have had time to do anyway. Those included visiting the Kawagoe Castle and garden, and the Hikawa Shrine. These were also not included in the detailed itinerary of the day’s plan, so should be removed from the description.

Yuki K.

(415 reviews)

Dear Nancy, Thank you for your review. The tour page may be getting outdated now. I will update it. Thank you for taking my tour!

“A fun experience off the beaten path”

This tour was perfect for us. We have visited Japan before and we enjoy exploring local Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines tucked away in quieter residential neighborhoods, and that’s exactly what this tour delivered. Itsumi provided simple directions to reach the meeting point from our hotel using the Tokyo metro system. Itsumi was very friendly and did not try to overwhelm us with a lot of Japanese history unrelated to what we were seeing. This tour is not designed for first time visitors to Japan. First, you need to be able to navigate the Tokyo metro system to the meeting point. Second, you will not learn about Japan’s cultural or religious history; that is not the intent of the tour. There is also a lot of walking on this tour, which was not a problem for us but might be for others. Our only suggestion for improvement would be for Itsumi to research instructions for the return trip to visitors’ hotels from the end point of the tour. We were able to find our way back using Google Maps, but that could be something to provide ahead of time. Bottom line, we enjoyed our afternoon with Itsumi and would recommend this tour to those who, like us, are interested in smaller, quieter neighborhood temples.

Itsumi S.

(11 reviews)

Dear Nancy, I'm so glad you enjoyed this tour. It was a lovely afternoon visiting the temples beloved by the locals with you both. I apologize for the inadequate guidance on the way back to the hotel. I only considered using the bus, and I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I hope this tour will be a wonderful memory for both of you. It was a very wonderful memory for me as well. Thank you very much. Itsumi

“Great walk in lesser-known neighborhoods”

At the peak of Sakura season, Akira found less-traveled places that were beautiful and interesting. The leisurely walk along the river and the tucked-away garden were highlights for us, as was a diner-style lunch that we all enjoyed and after-lunch Japanese sweets that were unfamiliar to us and very delicious. Akira is a fascinating man who made everyone feel at home. Would happily book again.