Your Best Choice of Tokyo One-day Tour

1. Tsukiji Outer Market (Admission free)

At the market, where more than 400 food shops and restaurants stand side by side, you can enjoy shopping and tasting.This market is dealing with various essential ingredients for Washoku or Japanese food, the UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. With my guidance, you can enjoy learning on a variety of fish from all across Japan as well as feeling the vibrant atmosphere made by the sellers and buyers.

2. Hamarikyu Garden (Admission fee for adult: 300 yen)

This large historic garden was once the family garden of Tokugawa shoguns who governed Japan in the Edo period from the early 17th to the late 19th century. This is a typical Daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) garden with a tidal pond and two wild-duck hunting sites. Now, the garden is surrounded by skyscrapers of Shiodome business district, so you can enjoy not only the beauty of Japanese garden but also the intriguing contrast between the old and the new.

3. Sumida River Cruising (The fare from Hamarikyu to Asakusa: 740 yen)

Sumida River flows through Tokyo just like the Hudson in New York, the Seine in Paris and the Thames in London. We can take the boat cruising on Sumida River between Hamarikyu Garden or Tsukiji and Asakusa. From the boat, you can enjoy magnificent view of the Metropolis including Tokyo Skytree, Rainbow Bridge, and cherry blossoms along the bank in the season (the end of March to the beginning of April).

4. Asakusa (Admission free)

Asakusa has been the most popular sightseeing spot for tourists in Tokyo since Edo period. It has a long history and grew up around Senso-ji Temple, retaining much of the flavor of Edo, the old name of Tokyo. The Temple is dedicated to Kannon Bodhisattva, the Goddess of Mercy. It's a fun walk from the well-known Kaminari-mon Gate with its huge red lantern, along Nakamise Avenue, which is lined with small shops, to the temple. You can feel a blend of sacred and secular air in the historical town.

5. Tokyo Skytree (Admission fee for adult: 3,000 yen for 350 m deck, 4,000 yen for 450 m deck)

Tokyo Skytree, 634 meters in height, about twice taller than the Eiffel Tower, is the tallest broadcasting tower in the world. The external appearance of Tokyo Skytree is designed to have graceful curves called sori and mukuri using in the traditional Japanese buildings so that it harmonizes with the surrounding scenery. Two observation decks located at the heights of 350 meters and 450 meters above grounds offer spectacular 360-degree views of Tokyo.

6. Imperial Palace (Admission free)

The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace used to be the main site of the honmaru (main castle keep) of Edo Castle which was the center of Edo shogunate (feudal government) from the early 17th to the late 19th century. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the former site of Edo Castle became the new Imperial Palace. Today, none of the main buildings remain, but the moats, stone walls, some turrets of Edo Castle and Japanese-style gardens still survive intact. You can stroll in the garden as if you were the Shogun.

7. Meiji Jingu Shrine (Admission free)

Meiji Jingu Shrine is a Shinto shrine enshrined the Emperor Meiji and his consort Empress Shoken. It was founded in 1920 to commemorate their virtues and venerate them forever after their death. This shrine is always the most popular shrine in Japan to pay the first shrine visit of the year during the New Year, or Hatsumonde. More than 3 million worshippers descend on the shrine for Hatsumode. There often held wedding ceremonies on auspicious days. You may luckily see a wedding couple wearing traditional Japanese Kimono.

8. Ueno Park (Admission free)

Ueno Park was established as Japan’s first Western-style park in 1873 on the former ground of Kan’eiji Temple, which was the family temple of the ruling Tokugawa clan during the Edo Period from the early 17th to the late 19th century. As time went on, a zoological garden and many kinds of museum were constructed on the grounds. Today, more than 1,000 cherry trees line its central pathway. Ueno Park is a popular tourist attraction for a large number of cherry blossoms viewing parties in spring (from the end of March to the beginning of April).