This tourist center designed by Kengo Kuma, the famous Japanese architect is not not just a valuable source of sightseeing information, but one of Asakusa’s newest attractions in the area. This 8-story building, has a very striking structure with the appearance of a stack of separate wooden buildings that seem piled up on top of each other at different angles. From the Observation Deck, the open space on the 8th floor of the Center, you can literally overview the entire tour course, not just Tokyo Sky Tree and Asahi Flame that you can see on the ground, but also the very crowded Kaminarimon gate, Nakamise shopping street, Hozomon gate and Sensoji Temple from spacious and airy deck from top of the buiding.
When approaching Sensoji temple, visitors will walk through the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate), the outer gate of Sensoji Temple and the symbol of Asakusa and the entire city of Tokyo. A shopping street of over 200 meters, called Nakamise, leads from the outer gate to the temple's second gate, the Hozomon. Alongside typical Japanese souvenirs such as yukata and folding fans, various traditional local snacks from the Asakusa area are sold along the Nakamise. The shopping street has a history of several centuries, and always packed with people want to have some souvenirs back to their home.
Sensoji (浅草寺, Sensōji, also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple) is a Buddhist temple located in Asakusa. It is one of Tokyo's most colorful and popular temples. The legend says that in the year 628, two brothers fished a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, out of the Sumida River, and even though they put the statue back into the river, it always returned to them. Consequently, Sensoji was built nearby for the goddess of Kannon. The temple was completed in 645, making it Tokyo's oldest temple.
Asakusa Jinja Shrine, is a shrine of the native Japanese Shinto religion, which is located very close to the famous Buddhist temple of Sensoji. The shrine is much smaller than its grand neighbor, and compared with the bustling crowds at Sensoji, the shrine’s grounds are much more peaceful. However, because of this shrine’s long historical and local significance, it is nationally designated as an Important Cultural Property. The shrine building is said to be the oldest in Tokyo, and they are beautifully decorated.
Sumida Park is located near Asakusa station and along the Sumida River where you can enjoy amazing views of Tokyo Skytree without any obstructions while relaxing with the breeze from the river. . You can see beautiful scenery especially at the season of cherry blossoms which is usually at the end of March till the beginning of April. It has landing places for popular water buses that will tour the Sumida River and Tokyo Bay. The park is a part of Sumida River Terrace that is a promenade built along the Sumida River.
Shibuya Crossing near the Shibuya Station is crossed by as many as 500,000 people per day, and at a peak time, as many as 3,000 people cross at one green light! For Japanese who are used to seeing this view is nothing to be surprised about, but tourists seem to be marveled that everyone manages to cross without bumping into each other. There are always people going to the spot just to see this crossing. Along with New York’s Times Square, Shibuya Crossing is one of the “most famous crossings in the world.”
“Hachiko, the faithful dog,” is a bronze statue of a dog in the plaza in front of the Shibuya Crossing, and the spot surrounding the statue is a standard meeting spot for local Japanese. There are always many people there so perhaps it might be stressful to dome of you, but that must also be a part of cultural experiences in Tokyo!
Meiji Shrine (明治神宮, Meiji Jingū) is a shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. Located just beside the JR Yamanote Line's busy Harajuku Station, Meiji Shrine and the adjacent Yoyogi Park make up a large forested area within the densely built-up city. The spacious shrine grounds offer walking paths that are great for a relaxing stroll.
The 350-meter Takeshita-dori Street, starting across the road from JR Harajuku Station, is geared towards Tokyo's fashion and trend-conscious set. Lots of famous celebrities from all over the world also come here to shop —despite its reputation for being kawaii cute, there are also several boutiques that specialize in edgy grunge and goth fashion.
Our walking tour of Tokyo with Kiyo was wonderful. It was our first time in Japan and it was a fabulous way to orient ourselves to Tokyo. Kiyo speaks excellent English and was knowledgeable about the history and culture and how to navigate the metro. She also suggested restaurants and other places for us to visit during our stay. I highly recommend this tour.
Haru was a fantastic guide. Would recommend this tour.
We had an amazing day in trying circumstances (typhoon). Our guide Haru was knowledgeable, kind and funny. He took our requests to heart and was very organised. He explained all of the little things that will help the rest of the trip. Very highly recommend
From the very start at the hotel pickup we found our guide Masaharu, very knowledgeable and friendly. When we stopped at each site he explained in great detail about each site and the history of it. We used the subway system and found it a very useful way to navigate Tokyo. Masaharu is friendly, insightful and knowledgable guide. He explained the meanings and the cultural history behind each site we visited.
He was incredibly kind, knowledgeable and attentive throughout the entire tour. We really enjoyed discovering Tokyo with him and appreciated all the insights and stories he shared along the way. Thank you, Keita, for making our day in Tokyo so enjoyable and memorable!
A wonderful day exploring Tokyo with Keita! He was kind, knowledgeable and attentive throughout the entire tour. We really enjoyed discovering Tokyo with him and appreciated all the insights and stories he shared along the way. Thank you, Keita, for making our day in Tokyo so enjoyable and memorable!
Kiyo was a wonderful personal guide. Great history of all the areas we visited. Highly recommend her.
Yumi was very knowledgeable & tailored the day to what we wanted to see… She an amazing place for lunch, which if I’m honest we would have walked passed, glad we didn’t… 5*
Our Tour guide BOB gave us an amazing experience getting to know Japanese culture and traditions . A thorough professional who guided us not only for today but gave us valuable suggestions for our remaining stay in Japan fir making it memorable. Thanks Bob .You an amazing guide and we will remember you always .
We had an amazing day in Tokyo. Our guide took us on trains from place to place in the city to maximize our experience. If your time is limited or you just want to get an overall feel for the city, this is a great tour to take. Our guide met us at the hotel and we walked to the nearest station. We had a lovely lunch along the way.
Keita met us in the hotel lobby and expertly guided us to many famous places in Tokyo. He suggested a delicious place for lunch. Very nice introduction to Tokyo,
A guided tour is a must so you won’t get lost in the city’s maze plus it gives you an in-depth knowledge about the places you visit.
As a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 teenagers) we had a wonderful day with Miyuki our guide. Miyuki was able to show us Tokyo’s highlights in a day whilst still tailoring parts of the tour to what we wanted to see. She was knowledgeable, warm and kind and we couldn’t have asked for a better guide to show us beautiful Tokyo. It was a wet day but Miyuki made the sun shine! She gave us lots of tips about how to get around Tokyo (as first time travellers) and what to see to make the most of our time. Thank you Miyuki from all of us!
Haru was amazing! Very experienced and knowledgeable! Great guide and great tour!
Ken was Absolutley the Perfect Guide in Tokyo! His communication via WhatsAPP before meeting detailing the tour schedule and comforming meeting place. As its Sakura time here we saw some spectacular blooms. Ken keep our schedule flexible when we wanted extra time at locations. Plus, FYI I lost my IPhone in taxi and having the cab reciept Ken was able to communcate retriving it for me. Can't wait to return and take Ken's Night Bar tour next 👍. Book this private tour as you will not regret the decision. Ken, you made our day! Again, Thank you!
We had a Fantastic day with Miyuki. She seamlessly guided us through Subway & Train stations to see the beautiful Shibuya Sky, Shibuya Scramble, Hachi Akita Statue, Asakusa Shopping District Senjojo Temple, the Cherry blossoms & old Temple & shopping area by the Sky Tree and more. She customized our day based on our wish list and made it so easy to see many sights in one day that would have taken several frustrating getting lost a lot days on our own. She took photos of us at every special location & sent them all to us. Truly a blessed and beautiful day we will remember always.
Our guide Kaori was excellent She was knowledgeable, organized, and flexible to our needs. The tour was exactly what we wanted and we will recommend her to our friends.
Maki was an exceptional guide who tailored our tour to fit our interests. With her help, we were able to visit many of our "bucket list" sites. She was full of energy and information. She even brought us a book of pictures and stories to help us fully understand what we were seeing including cultural and significant points.
Very thorough overview of Tokyo. It’s a great way to start your trip and familiarize yourself with the city. Our guide was excellent and he was amazing to spend our first day with!
Our family just returned from a wonderful trip to Japan. It was our first time in Tokyo and our super tour guide Kiyo made it extra special and so memorable. We especially appreciated her reaching out the week before our trip to go over our itinerary, transportation, dietary restrictions etc. It felt reassuring to know that we were being treated uniquely, and not just another tour group. Kiyo was highly knowledgeable about the cultural centers around the city. We got around the city efficiently using a nice combination of the trains and taxis, which was her idea based on our personal preferences. Some places are unavoidably crowded but she did a great job of navigating around problem areas. We truly enjoyed a year-end experience in Tokyo which was all made possible by our tour guide Kiyo!
The 3 of us enjoyed our 3 day tour with Keita. He was very knowledgeable and friendly and flexible with where we wanted to go. We enjoyed eating at more 'local' establishments. The driver we had was great too and the car was comfortable. This is the best way to see more or Tokyo in a short time.
Great tour. Keita was on time and very knowledgeable . We enjoyed our trip today. He did all our train tickets for us and took us to a fried steak restaurant which as we have a picky 13 year old daughter we thought we would struggle but she thoroughly enjoyed it. The shrines were lovely although very very busy because of the time of year. Thank you for all your help The Nicholls family
We had a wonderful day with tour guide Rie! She met us as planned and offered adjustments to our tour as our desires were met. Rie gave us background on Tokyo, the people of Japan, their traditions and culture. We had a wonderful Japanese lunch and saw some amazing sights. She guided us on the intense public transportation system with ease. We would highly recommend Rie and this tour!
We had a wonderful tour with Rie! She arrived for our pickup as we arranged. She tailored our tour to our requests. And she expertly handled all our public transportation. During the day she gave us insight into the meaning and history of many Japanese traditions and culture as we explored our various locations.
Excellent one day tour of Tokyo , visiting all the sites we agreed to visit with our wonderful, friendly guide Emiko. Some walking and some on public transportation. But very enjoyable.
Full day walking and train journeys visiting all the sites we expected to see of Tokyo, with our wonderful, friendly guide, Emiko.
Resending again in case it didn’t go the first time… Kaori: you are the best travel guide and we saw so much with your expertise of Tokyo. I arrived home with no issues at the huge airport where we did lots of shopping but everything fit in my carryon. The flight was comfortable and no delays. I’m glad to be home and have some of my unpacking done and laundry caught up. I would love to come back to Japan and see the rest of your beautiful and friendly country. Be sure and let me know if you ever travel to Seattle, Washington and I will show you our beautiful state. Again, thank you for showing Mar’ Sue and me your beautiful Tokyo…Mary Anne PS - the only thing I think we missed was a grocery store, maybe next time? Be safe and thank you…
Lots of walking over 5 1/2 miles but with Kaori great expertise it was perfect; she was so knowledgeable about your beautiful city, its history and we saw so much. You are lucky to have a great employee at Viator that was so patient with 80 year old visitors . Thank you for a great tour…Mary Anne
Our guide, Masaharu Kai, was excellent. He structured a well thought out itinerary, was extremely knowledgeable about all of the places we visited and was very personable with a nice sense of humor. Masa knew the right amount of time to spend at each destination and made the day very enjoyable. We will definitely request Masa to be our guide when we return.
Our guide, Michiko, exceeded our expectations. Not only did she arrive early, but her ability to efficiently navigate a complicated Tokyo was impressive… and she’s not from Tokyo. Her comprehensive knowledge of Japan’s history and culture enabled us to learn far more than we knew before. She even emailed us an answer after the tour to a question we had posed earlier. Impressive! Michiko was easy to talk to and very personable. We genuinely enjoyed our Shabu-shabu lunch and her delightful company. Although not our first time in Tokyo, this one-day tour was the highlight of our five-day stay in the city. We highly recommend.
We can not rate Charlotte our guide highly enough! she made us feel comfortable, safe and so excited about the culture and history of this amazing city!!! she is such a credit to your company and i highly recommend her, communication was perfect and directions were spot on!! Thank you personally Charlotte we won’t forget you and wish u every luck and happiness for the future …
Our tour guide (Masaharu Kai) was awesome. Highly recommend him. Very knowledgeable with the history of all the places that we visited. In addition, very friendly and communicated well.
Brilliant experience with massive insights and saw lots. Awesome day and AK was accompanying, helpful and brilliant during the trip. Highly recommended
This was a great one day tour of Tokyo arranged and led by Eriko. She is very knowledgeable and was very knowledgeable about all the sites we visited. She was great and I recommend her highly. Besides giving a great tour, she went out of her way to make sure all of our individual goals and expectations were met.
Emiko was a fantastic and informative guide, loved how Emiko knew all about traditional ways of the Japanese. We had so many questions along the way, and she answered everyone of them. We had such a wonderful excursion with her. We saw so much and enjoyed every moment.
Eriko was our guide and customized our tour of Tokyo to suit our interests. She was professional and courteous. We learned a great deal about the sites we visited. She was incredibly organized and guided us through the city.
Thank you Kaori for being our tour guide today, would be lost with out you. I really enjoyed the explanation behind Japanese history and culture, visiting the market, then viewing the jaw dropping view from the roof top!
Loving the well curated tour and patient tour guide. Our tour guide Satsuki-san was very knowledgeable and caring. She bought water for my parents and us so that we won’t go thirsty during the tour. She knew the places very well and paced the tour for my parents
San Rie Mori, was the best guide for a day out in Tokyo. Tokyo born and raised she glided through the hustle, the bustle as well as the shrines and temple. Was a lovely day! Lots of information we would not have otherwise known. Three weddings in one day wa nice touch😅
I highly recommend this! It was an amazing experience with Kaori. She was very friendly, helpful and kind. If I will go Back to Japan I will choose you guys again. 😊❤️
Masa, our tour guide was absolutely fantastic, friendly, knowledgeable and so helpful. Highly recommend, best way to see Japan
We booked a one day highlights tour of Tokyo for our first day in Japan. We had a wonderful tour with Kumiko. We travelled around Tokyo by foot and public transportation and were able to get our bearings in the city while seeing the sites. Kumiko shared information about the sites and answered our questions about life in Japan. Because we booked last minute, Shibuya Sky was not available and we went to Tokyo Tower instead - which gave us a higher vantage point with air conditioning and a break from the hot and humid weather. We did get to visit the Shibuya Sky building to see the crossing from above. We enjoyed the tour so much, that we booked a one day highlights tour of Kyoto with the same company.
Keita was fantastic, demonstrating extensive knowledge about the city and its history. He tailored the tour to our preferences.
My tour guide is Keita san. The way he guide was filled with knowledgeable and excitement. We bring small kid with us, and Keita can manage to fill in the itinerary that fit to my little one. I highly recommend this tour!
We visited the temple , we had a really explanation on Japan Temple history, I think we got there in a pretty good timing since we avoided the crowds. We visited the Tokyo Sky Tower instead of the Shibuya Tower since we booked the tour last minute, they were out of availability… we kinds of custom made our trip since I have a teenager and we detour to visit Ikebukuro for all the animate figures, I know that people will ask why going that far when we got Akihabara closer … well that’s because my teenage son already visited Akihabara for 3 consecutive days ….. we got a great lunch , very original japanese food , we loved it , it was so delicious… we had a great time
Had an amazing experience of the history of Japan and also the cool and unique tourist spots Keita was amazing showing us the basics of using the train system which is not the easiest to navigate arrived on time and was always talkative and asked the right questions, Even went over the tour time as we took forever shopping and took into consideration our dietary needs and found an Amazing food spot and is still going above and beyond with recommendations to places to visit and eat from due to there being limited places we can try. Overall 10/10 service and will recommend to everyone travelling to Japan to use this service
The most remarkable part of our experience was our guide, Keita. As described, he spoke English well, and took us to not only the sites like Shibuya, but also eateries and the like that locals frequent. He also made sure that our 19-year old son was made to feel special (because this entire trip was to celebrate his entry in to college in a few weeks) and the two hit it off. So, we got a taste of what Japan was really like, not just the touristy side of things. If we visit Tokyo again, we will seek out Keita as our guide. It was a fabulous day.
The walking tour was a fantastic way for us as first time travellers to Japan to explore Tokyo. Haru was an excellent guide who was very knowledgeable and personable. There were many highlights on the day including Shibuya Sky Tower and the wonderful temples and shrines. I would highly recommend this tour.
The public transport and walking tour of Japan with Satsuki was nothing short of fantastic. The use of public transport to familiarise us with getting around Tokyo was incredible. We could not have done this ourselves. The walking part of the trip only added to our experience. Satsuki’s knowledge of the sites that we enjoyed was perfect. Highly recommend Satsuki and the experience we enjoyed to any visitors. Dan, Sharron, Kat and Jim
Very good guide! Very flexible and knew a lot. He knew where to go, and gave us a lot of recommendations. A lot of walking, so make sure to bring good shoes and a lot of water. Took photos of us aswell
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