Full Day Tour around Lake Kagaguchi from Tokyo

“ Fantastic tour with Ken - Highly Recommend ”

It was my first trip to Japan and I was travelling with my son to go on a cruise. Since we had to arrive a few days before our cruise starts, I thought it would be ideal to have a private tour guide to get more personalized service. I did research some other websites but I wanted a customized tour that would pick us up at our hotel and that I would able to communicate directly with the guide from the start. Ken responded quickly. He was also on time picking us up at our hotel and provided us with information about the places we visited. He was enthusiastic, communicative and had a very good command of the English language. He had lived in the US before. His verbal and written skills was exceptional. Our goal was to explore, eat and experience culture in Tokyo. We met with Ken on October 22, 2023. Prior to the tour, he listened to what we wanted to visit and asked about our level of fitness. I sent him a list of places we wanted to see. He also asked what we wanted eat for lunch, what our price range was, and if we had any allergies. When we informed him that we wanted seafood and that we were foodies, he researched and found a charming traditional style sushi restaurant that was unique for its history and food. It was in the Tsukiji outer market and owned by same family for 50 years. Ken told us the place was famous for its home-made sushi rice which was mixed with a secret red vinegar receipe then fermented with sake slowly giving it a unique nutty flavour. On top of that, he also managed to secure reservations for the 3 of us which was almost impossible since the place was quite small. So, we got seated right away. The food was delicious, and service was unique. The Master sushi chef served each of us personally. We also discussed a back-up plan with a few other places to visit in case we had to change the itinerary. Besides planning the itinerary, he also tested out the route beforehand to see how the timing was (our tour was for 9 hours) We wanted to visit the Skytree so he made inquiries to find out the best way to get tickets (eg online or in person). It was cheaper to buy online. When he noticed the online tickets were almost sold out, he quickly informed me so I okayed him to go ahead and buy them online for us in advance. I would reimburse him when we met up. My son and I are very pleased to be able to visit the Skytree. He navigated us through the subway system with confidence and brought maps and diagrams to better explain each place. We also rode the bus. We love travelling that way locals do. My son eventually got a bit tired of walking. When his leg started to bother him, Ken switched to having us take the elevators in the subway stations instead of taking the stairs. I was in better shape so had no problems. We walked about 24,000 steps that day (equivalent to 11 miles) ! Towards the end of our tour, we were running a little short of time. Luckily, we had a back up plan. Based on our current location, Ken gave us a few choices. We decided to visit an upper-class heritage home built in the 1920s (Kyu Asakura house). I liked historical architecture so this was something I wanted to see instead of shopping. When we were close to our hotel (we had asked Ken to escort us back), he took us to a store so I could get some ointment for my son's leg. Ken is a true gentleman, thoughtful and considerate with a good sense of humour. He was also patient and kind. For example, while we were going down a subway station, he noticed an elderly woman struggling to carry her luggage down the subway steps, so he helped carry it for her. Bonus: He also had a Go-Pro camera and created a wonderful video (2 parts) of our tour. He did all the editing (very professional), added music, and posted it privately on Youtube. We also permitted the videos to be publicly viewable as we wanted everyone to see what fun we had and what a good job he did filming and editing it. The videos were complimentary. He sent us a link to the videos a few days later which was pretty fast. These videos will keep us smiling for years and we are very grateful to him for doing that. We will miss him. If we visit Japan again, we will have him be our guide again. If you are travelling to Japan, and want a tour guide for Tokyo, we highly recommend Ken. We are sure you will enjoy having him as your guide as much as we did. He also does tours outside of Tokyo, so please contact him. Faye L. (Vancouver, BC)