Tokyo is a modern city with a long history. By this 1-day tour, you can enjoy both its old and modern aspects in addition to good food at reasonable prices. Please specify 3-4 itinerary items (from the list or anywhere you like), and I will arrange an itinerary including lunch place candidates for you.
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
At your hotel in Tokyo
The itinerary will be carefully prepared to best fit to your preference. In a moderately-paced 1-day tour, 3-4 items would be good. Typical itinerary items are following:
Imperial Palace and its East Garden - formerly served as Edo Castle and now the residence of the Imperial family (closed on Monday and Friday).
Akasaka Imperial Guest House - Western-style former palace, currently used as the national guest house (admission 1,000 yen; closed on some days)
Hamarikyu Garden - a Japanese-style stroll garden (admission 300 yen), matcha green tea and a Japanese sweet in a tea house (740 yen)
Shinjuku Gyoen Garden - a complex of British, French and Japanese gardens with a long history and full of flowers (admission 200 yen)
Ueno Park - Japan's first public park with a lot of historical buildings and museums (Tokyo National Museum, National Museum of Western art, etc)
Tsukiji Fish Market - the world's largest fish market with a lively atmosphere, where you can enjoy fresh sushi and other foods (closed on most Wednesdays; tuna auction is not included)
Asakusa - Sensoji Temple with a big red lantern, Nakamise shopping street
Meiji Jingu Shrine - a big shinto shrine with a forest, where you can immerse yourself in the sacred atmosphere and learn about shinto and how to pray to the deities (admission free)
Ginza strolling - upmarket area with luxury brand shops and restaurants
Omotesando/Harajuku strolling - good for fashion lovers; lots of upmarket boutiques, 'kawaii' shops, futuristic buildings and cafes
Kagurazaka strolling - recommended for those who love non-touristic places; small neighborhood in the city center with slopes and small sideways with nice restaurants and shops.
Tokyo Tower - 333m, the former broadcasting tower with an observatory (admission 900 yen; the highest observation deck under repair)
Tokyo Skytree - 634m, the world's tallest broadcasting tower with two observatories, shops and restaurants (admission 2,060 yen for the lower deck)
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office - twin tower with 2 observatories (admission free)
Edo Tokyo Museum - you can learn both old and modern sides of Tokyo (admission 600 yen; temporarily closed from Oct 2017 to March 2018)
Ota Memorial Museum of Art - specialized in Ukiyo-e woodblock printing works (admission 700 yen)
Hokusai Museum - specialized in Hokusai’s Ukiyo-e woodblock printing works (admission 400 yen)
Samurai Museum - you can wear samurai armors and enjoy regular sword battle performance (admission 1,800 yen)
Kabukiza Gallery - you can experience what Kabuki is all about by touching some tools used (admission 600 yen)
[Limited time event] Yokohama Triennale - once-a-3-year art event held in Yokohama (Aug 4 to Nov 5, 2017; closed on Aug 10 & 24, Sep 14 & 28, Oct 12 & 26) (this can be a full-day excursion)
Museums of my recommendation - for art lovers, I pick up temporary/permanent exhibitions that match your preference
Architecture spotting - for architecture lovers, I pick up great architectural works in Tokyo; can be a full-day tour if we visit several
National Diet of Japan - 1-hour guided tour (free of charge)
Tea ceremony - Happoen Garden (2,160 yen), Imperial Hotel Toko-An (2,000 yen), or some other hotels near your place
Practical neighborhood walk - in the neighborhood of your hotel/apartment, I will introduce you to nearby local groceries and other convenient facilities; good for long-time stayers
Ending Point
At your hotel in Tokyo
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
Guiding fee,
Hotel pick-up and drop-off at a hotel in Tokyo city center,
Wi-fi connection to the guide's mobile router (in case you request).
Transportation (you and guide; typically 1,000-1,500 JPY or 10-15 USD /day /person),
Lunch (you and guide; average lunch price is around 1,000 JPY or 10 USD),
Admission fee (you and guide),
Drink and your personal expenses.
* I will try to use public transportation whenever available/reasonable. Please come wearing comfortable shoes.
* If you choose 4 items, the tour could be busy depending on the items you choose. However, if you would like to get more from this 1-day tour, choosing 4 items might be an option. If you are wondering how busy it would be or whether it would be possible, just ask me.
* Upon your request, I will bring a 4G mobile router, which enables you to connect to the Internet while walking (no extra cost). Devices connected are maximum 5.
I was born and brought up in Izumo, Shimane. If you pay for the transportation from Tokyo, I can guide you there (Izumo, Matsue and neighboring cities). No need for my accommodation, because I can stay at my parents' home.
Hello, I am Chiaki. I have been living in the central Tokyo area for more than 30 years with my family. I love history, art, architecture and dining, and I am pleased to share my expertise and knowledge as a local and professional. While I was in the UK, I started to look at Japan as an outsider. I found how interesting and attractive Japanese culture is, including its history, art, cuisine, etc, which has made me a guide-interpreter.
Tokyo is one of the world's biggest cities with an interesting mix of tradition and innovation, skyscrapers and gardens, artworks and technology, and so on. It is also a paradise for foodies. Tokyo has all of such things in a very efficient and compact manner with a friendly entrance and a lot of complexity behind. You can enjoy Tokyo for only half a day, but years might not be enough at the same time.
I was born and brought up in Izumo, a historic countryside in the west of Japan, and I lived in the UK as well, but I spent more than half of my life here in Tokyo. It means I know Tokyo very much, but I can look at it from various perspectives. I am pleased to share my understanding based on professional expertise, not only on Tokyo but also Japan, with my new friends from all over the world! I’m always here to support you enjoy Tokyo and Japan!
Paddy C.
“Excellent host and wonderful hospitality”
I got in touch with Chiaki about 3 months prior to visit. She was extremely responsive, patient and very clear in her articulation. She helped me plan the visit including advice on which area in Tokyo to stay, JR Pass v/s daily tickets, suggestions on places to visit specific to my area of interest, veg food options, wifi routers for rentals and so many other topics, wifi router for rentals. In fact her initial help on these areas even gave me the confidence to travel to Japan- Much as I wanted to visit Japan, I was confounded initially and the prospect of travelling to Japan solo seemed daunting but gradually it seemed more and more manageable thanks to Chiaki. I must mention that Chiaki's approach was not commercially oriented and I believe she spent a lot of time doing research on several subjects such as those described above. I deeply appreciate her efforts especially given that these were above and beyond what the engagement strictly required. From the time we met, she came prepared with a list of things to do, do's and dont's based on my needs or preferences, important info about cherry blossom dates and the status of blooms in the various gardens (cherry blossoms was my main area of interest), and recommended gardens where cherry blossoms were still in full blooms stage such that we avoided or spent less time where the petals had begun to fall. Her suggestions were excellent and I got to see cherry blossoms in Tokyo where the blooms were at their best at that time. I spent just about two days with her, and in this short time she helped me get acquainted with everything essential for me to travel independently rest of the days in Japan- about navigating the public transport system, helping me get and later charge further the suica (prepaid) card, coin lockers, wifi router etc. Chiaki is extremely professional, punctual, kind, patient, cheerful, trustworthy and and her English language communication skills are excellent with little to no trace of accent. She is very easy to talk to, accessible throughout and in fact offered advice and help even after I left Tokyo and while I was in Kyoto and in planning my train trip from Tokyo to Kyoto and back. I consider myself fortunate to have met Chiaki through Triple Lights- I carry back very pleasant memories of my time in beautiful Japan and much credit for this goes to Chiaki.
Chiaki K.
Thank you very much for joining my tour and I am really happy to know that you enjoyed the time with me! I also really enjoyed being with you. Actually, thanks to you, I had a great opportunity to see so many beautiful cherry blossom and have lunch under the full-bloom cherry trees, which I believe is far more than average Tokyo residents could do this year. Thank you very much for taking your time in this warm message! Whenever you come to Tokyo, please feel free to contact me.
Yick wei N.
“Local food & shopping at Nakano Sun Mall”
We booked a 3-hour short tour with Chiaki as we wanted to try out some local "street food" after our visit to Ghibli museum. At first we suggested Shimbashi based on some online reviews, but Chiaki took the initiative to visit the site and gave us a couple of alternative suggestions, since Shimbashi is more for the working class and less suitable for family with kids. Eventually we decided on Nakano Sun Mall - turned out that my daughter was keen to check out the gigantic soft serve at Daily Chiko, which was located near Nakano Broadway. We had a good time shopping for snacks in the area! Chiaki was friendly and gave us some really helpful insights!
Chiaki K.
Hello. I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the time with me. Though it was a short tour, I also enjoyed escorting a knowledgeable nice couple with lovely girls in addition to location hunting for the tour! Please contact me whenever you come to Tokyo. I will introduce some more tasty foodie places for you! Thank you!
$250/ per group