Tokyo Private Half-day Tour With A Local – Secrets & Highlights

We used Viator and they booked us through City Unscripted who asks the questions and pairs you with a guide. We were matched with Justine and she was amazing! There were 5 of us and we all had an amazing time! Justine was able to help show us how to use the local transit and showed us amazing places as well as recommended many others! We got to see Tokyo Tower and book tickets to come back later, the Imperial Palace, Hama-rikyu Gardens, and Zojoji Temple. We walked a lot this trip and this was our highest step day!

We had a half day tour with Katsu (Goreilo) in Tokyo. It was great - exactly what we wanted. Our main concern was getting around the subway and train system so we asked Katsu to make that education part of the tour. He took is to the Imperial palace, Meiji Shrine and Ueno Park by the local transportation. On top of that he took us to Tokyo station and explained how to get to Hiroshima on the bullet train. He was very patient and knowledgeable but most importantly he looked after us and made sure we understood what we were doing. We are not from an area with any type of public transportation so we were intimidated but after our time with Katsu we we confident enough to maneuver around the city and to different cities. I absolutely recommend using Katsu. I will guarantee our vacation would have been much more disappointing without him. This is the way to understand Tokyo. In addition we are not a young couple - we are in our early 70's but we were able to keep up but it was a great time for us.

Tomo was such a good guide. She answered all of our questions, showed us some amazing special areas in Tokyo. We loved that she helped us understand the traditions and rituals in the shrines and temples. Our favorite was her showing us how to use the subway and suica cards. We Highly recommend her.

We had an amazing two days with Amir from city unscripted. Very knowledgeable and kind, highly recommend! We would not hesitate to do another tour with this company or Amir.

Chiara was very knowledgeable and has a lovely personality. She had no problem with meeting me at my hotel and took me to the spots I was interested in seeing.

The crowds of people are hard to negotiate. You need a good tour guide like Taishiro. 100% certain. It is an expensive place, but the technology shops are just fantastic. The trains are virtually always near full regardless of the time of day and the signage is virtually 100% in Japanese characters.

Mari is a top notch guide! She was warm, friendly, knowledgeable , energetic and sensitive to the needs of the traveler.

Hiroko are tour guide was so lovely and so informative. She was in contact prior to our tour and helped organise a meeting place. We were delayed in meeting her but it was no problem and we didnt feel under pressure. 100% would book another tour if visiting again and would be asking for Hiroko to be our guide.

Use this service ! My daughter and I could not have been happier with our private tour of Tokyo with Ack!! Even before we left for our trip to Japan Ack had reached out to me and established communication about the tour via WhatsApp .Then again when we landed he sent a message saying Welcome to Japan which set the tone for our 2 week trip to Japan. Ack was very easy to talk to and his English was perfect . Ack was flexible , informative, energetic and thoughtful . Our tour was on our first full day in Japan and we became comfortable with the train system with him as well as walking all around and learning local customs . At the end of the tour Ack was kind enough to assist us in the purchase of our bullet train tickets . I HiGHLY RECOMMEND ACK for a tour of Tokyo !!

Great tour with lots of local history and interesting stories. Emir was a great guide and kept us moving and entertained. Fun for the whole family.

We had a great half day tour with our guide Kay. He showed us some beautiful parts of Tokyo. It was a wonderful way to start our trip in Japan.

Alberto took us to the best parts of Tokyo . He was friendly, interesting and gave lots of interesting information. He’s also a great photographer!

Kay was a great guide. He was very friendly and helped curate the tour to our liking. Additionally, he was flexible with the start time and made sure we got to do everything we wanted in the short time span. Would recommend !!

Noah was friendly and very helpful. We enjoyed our time with him and appreciated him showing us a great time in Tokyo.

Chista was king and insightful. Ready to help in showing us around where our interest was at. She was helpful in explaining some history of the place se we went.

I believe not all of our guides descriptions were totally accurate. This was according to a Japanese friend who lives in Tokyo.

5 stars! I had a fantastic time touring Tokyo with Maruf who was incredibly kind, thoughtful, and informative as he took me to all the must sees in Tokyo. Maruf shared with me the history of each spot we went to and took me to some of his favorite secret spots in the city. Could not recommend more, thank you Maruf!!

Great local guide. Marc was fantastic and personalised the walking tour to my interests and desire to see as much of the city as possible in 3-4 hours. He showed me some off the beaten path spots and was friendly, personable and professional at all times.

Marc is an excellent guide! He showed me all over, we covered much of the city, and he was very thoughtful and descriptive of how to get around and use the train system. In each area we did a walking loop and he described where the train station was in relation to the places to see there. I got a very good feel for how to get around. Marc also gave some great information on Japanese culture and how to be a good visitor here. Would highly recommend to anyone not familiar with Tokyo.

We went to Asakusa to take in the culture, buy souvenirs etc, then headed to Shibuya for the crossing, hedgehog cafe and shopping. My 9yo son had the best time ever! Our tour guide Mami Oki was excellent!

My group of 4 was guided by Nobu of "Tokyo Travel Tips" and we thoroughly enjoyed our tours. Native Nobu is a cetified English guide for 10 years which we shared our interests and he organized our itineraries for 2 day tours around Tokyo and Osaka. Nobu picked and drove us on our 1st tour of Yokohama, Asakusa, and we got our Costco fix! Our 2nd tour was more active with visiting the Himeji Castle, walked the Dotonbori Street and Hozenji Temple. We strolled gardens, ate, shopped, experienced a tea ceremony--all a great, fantastic time with Nobu's kind, consideration, and knowledge; nobu-tokyo.com.

Patrick was great! He took us around Tokyo to well known sites but with added experience of seeing hidden or hard-to-find-on-your-own spots - observation points for Shubaya crossing (not Starbucks!) , artistic bookstore and hidden garden at Ginza 6! Overall, awesome guide who made our trip to Tokyo very special ! Thank you, Patrick!

Excellent tour and excellent guide. She was incredibly knowledgeable and kind. It was a wonderful trip.

Mariana Kameta Tour Guide Was very friendly and informative. She was one of the best guide we have had. She

Amazing! My daughter and I had Keiji, who gave us a wonderful and knowledge-filled introduction to Tokyo and various aspects of Japanese culture. He was kind, conversational, and friendly, he made us feel welcome, and didn't hesitate to answer our questions or give us any and all information we needed to plan the rest of our stay. He went above and beyond (ex; treating us to takoyaki and giving us a personalized itinerary of local hotspots for our second day in town), and shared a very personal insight into experiences and locations that we would never have learned about or visited on our own. Our tour also had a great range of points of interest, from learning how to pray at temples to exploring the modern prefecture of Harajuku to teaching us how to navigate the train system. All in all, a wonderful experience - thank you, Keiji! - Tae and Taralynn

Our Japanese guide, Izumi, took us to all the hot spots of Tokyo in 4 hours! It was hard keeping us on track because there is so much to see. Since she is a professional photographer, she knew what to view and where to best view it. She was so pleasant and found us the most amazing shop in which to buy kimonos and hapi coats. Her photography was amazing. She also does a Toyko Photo Tour that gives you professional photos. Thanks Izumi!!!

My tourguide was Patrick. He showed me the parts of tokyo where aren‘t many (or even any) tourists. These spots were really special, the food and the atmosphere was just great. Thanks the for special evening in tokyo with endless chats and great food and drinks. Thank you Patrick :)

I had such a wonderful time with these four hour adventures that I ended up doing it twice! My first tour was a four hour food experience with Sami. Sami was a wonderful host. I got to taste a variety of delicious Japanese dishes, as well as do some site seeing in the various shrines and temples on the way to our next delicious food stop! My second tour, which was a regular four hour experience, was another fantastic adventure through Harajuku and Akihabara with Royce. Royce was a absolutely fantastic host. He was very knowledgeable about the areas we found ourselves in, and was genuinely excited to explore and try new things with me as we explored Tokyo. I would highly recommend each of these types of tours and their respective hosts!

Noriko was wonderful and very accommodating. She helped us with the transportation from the meeting point to hotel (& vise versa). It was a short trip (layover) so we only had the pleasure of being with Noriko for only 3 hours. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have experienced other areas like Shinjuku (which was a better place to visit than Shibuya if you’re a foodie).

Best expenditure we made on this trip. This was my first trip to Tokyo and all I had was a subway app to get around. Royce made it easy showing us where to find Memory Lane and Golden Gai which are tucked away behind large streets. The street signs are confusing in Tokyo so Google Maps is the only way to get around if your signal isn’t blocked by buildings. Royce made everything easy and was very pleasant to be with.

We were so lucky to have Hirotake as our guide on our first day in Tokyo. After accidentally walking to the wrong location and meeting with him a little late (sorry Hiro!), We then went down to the subway and were shown how to easily navigate our way through the city with IC cards. The transport system can be quite overwhelming at first, but after some help from Hiro we felt much more confident navigating our way through the city. We then headed to Oedo to check out some local markets and Hiro took us to a sushi restaurant for lunch. This was also super handy as it taught us how to order food and some of the different customs that go a long with eating out in Japan. After that we headed to Asakusa to tick off all the major sightseeing spots around that area and also tried some of the different foods available along the way. We finished the day off at a small, traditional-style cafe with some matcha green tea and melonpan, and Hiro wrote down a list of other top sites to see whilst we’re in Tokyo. Overall we had the best first day in Tokyo, Hiro was such a great guide and really tailored the whole day towards what we needed. Could not recommend City Unscripted and Hiro enough!

We enjoyed our half day tour with Rui. She took us to the places I had requested and navigated us through the crowds well. It was a holiday so was very busy in Asakusa that day. It was especially helpful to learn some of the tricks for navigating the train stations. I’m sure we could have managed on our own but was so much more enjoyable and efficient with her help. She is a delightful young woman and nice to spend the day with. She also offered some very helpful tips for restaurants, etc. in Shinjuku area where we were staying. All useful!

Having very little free time during a brief visit to Tokyo for a couple of business meetings, on the tail end of a holiday in Australia, we opted for this personal half day tour. It turned out to be an inspired choice as our guide Mithila was extremely helpful and informative and just customised a few elements of the Tokyo experience for us, including a couple of temples, Shibuya, a meal at Flipper to experience their amazing pancakes, a couple of metro journeys. The time flew by and my wife and I really enjoyed it. We had both been to Tokyo before, but quite a few years ago, and we are now keen to return for a proper visit.

Our guide, Kenji, met us at our hotel and showed us a great time through the nightlife of Tokyo, That was even after we asked for some last minute changes he was able to be flexible and find some great spots for us to enjoy. Kenji was knowledgable and thorough and i would highly recommend his tours

Great half day with Royce. Tour tailored to different regions of our choosing as well as his recommended sites. Best way to experience Tokyo. Get a very local perspective of Tokyo.

We had a great morning on the fish market with Sami! Sami’s pre-trip prep and communication with us created the experience we had hoped for. Great food, interactions with the merchants and enlightening discussions about Japanese culture. Sami not only speaks English, she speaks Cantonese as well. And is a sake expert!

We had a great time with our local guide, Rui. She has been so kind and useful for us, showing the best known and hidden places. It wouldn't have been possible by ourselves! Thank you!

We had Kento as a tour guide for the morning before the World Cup rugby game. He showed us around the city seamlessly. We learnt so much about the city but especially about Japanese culture and food etc. His English is perfect!

This was our first time in Tokyo and we met with our guide Mana at our hotel. She helped us navigate the subway system and took us around various neighborhoods that we had interest in. It definitely helped us navigate the city the rest of the trip. As per our request she gave us various restaurant suggestions which we liked and provided information on certain Japanese customs and traditions. We thought she was very nice and informative but almost wish she talked more and provided more cultural information. When it comes to information, we think that more is more and we would really like to hear as much as possible about the place we are visiting. Overall, it was great and we would recommend using the service to someone new to the city.

We had four hours with Noriko (the hours turned into minutes) showing us Tokyo and it was so worth it. She is very knowledgeable about the city and the history. Highly recommend the tour and Noriko!

The guides will reach out for some suggestions as to what you would like to get out of the time spent with them / see whilst exploring. We provided a high level idea and Patrick filled in our time perfectly. Have a personal guide also allowed us to ask those questions that you wouldn't ordinary ask & if Patrick didn't know he would find out for us. Our lunch place was certainly off the beaten track - thank you

Michael was an exceptional host. We go to see the totally non touristy side to Tokyo with lots of detailed cultural insights. Food, drink, nightlife, neighbourhoods. We covered it all. Can not recommend enough.

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour with our guide Mana. She met us at our hotel and was eager to introduce us to the city. She was knowledgeable, listened and gave us helpful tips about Japanese etiquette and the workings of the city. A great way to start a holiday in Tokyo.

The Tour with Chantal was a great, relaxed way of learning to navigate the city on the underground metro, and getting advice on best routes to take to reach particular destinations. Her advice on shopping near our hotel was very useful also. Chantal showed us how to get to the Samurai Museum and the nearby Shinjuku Gyoen National Gardens. Her guidance and advice made our stay in Tokyo a lot more enjoyable.

Recent visit to Tokyo. We had booked a four hour tour with Patrick . The day was wet,very wet. Patrick managed a different type of tour showing us the life of one aspect of the city while remaining dry. A great achievement also adding in local knowledge of the people while changing sites and points of interest. Very enjoyable.

Our guide Patrick was excellent. He was friendly, had a wide knowledge of Japanese culture & Tokyo as a whole. He was most helpful validating our train passes & showing us how to navigate our way around. He interpreted our brief perfectly & showed us many interesting places. I would highly recommend Patrick as your guide when you visit Tokyo.

Our guide, Anna, was the perfect host. She was knowledgeable, friendly, and considerate. She took us to places that suited our tastes and personalities and we thoroughly explored them. She was like a friend we never knew we had. I would recommend Anna to anyone looking to tour Tokyo and learn more about the area.

My partner and I were in Tokyo and wanted to get a locals view of some great places to go. Kento was an awesome guide and took us to some great spots that interested us including a delicious ramen lunch. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone who is new to Tokyo!

Our guide, Kento, from City Unscripted was sensational. The experience he planned for us around Akasuka and Shinjuku in Tokyo was balanced perfectly between visiting tourist spots, showing us traditional customs and doing fun stuff for our family of four. Thank you so much Kento, you made our night in Tokyo brilliant. Arigato! Nerida.