Yanaka Historical Walking Tour In Tokyo's Old Town

Tossy was so fabulous. She went above and beyond. Book this trip, it’ll be the highlight of your trip to Tokyo.

I had an amazing time visiting this part of Tokyo I would have never thought of wandering in Yanaka on my own. Thanks to Magical Trip, I discovered a historical neighbourhood. Masazumi is a very knowladgeable, patient and lovely guide and I spent a delightful afternoon in his company. I warmly recommend this tour.

Very friendly and knowledgeable. We stopped at great places. Great tour through the neighborhood. The ice cream was delightful

Excellent activity which displayed a good cross-section of Japanese community. Painting your cat was a good respite from the extensive walking program.

Even though it was raining, we had the best time on the Yanaka Historic Walking Tour with our Japanese guide Tossy. From visiting a beautiful Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple complete with 10 m high golden goddess, all set in beautiful gardens; exploring the winding Snake Road and its charming homes; meeting some talented young local artists. Paper makers, potters and crafters creating handmade objects. We loved it all, especially tiny galleries housed within traditional buildings, complete with tatami matting and rice screens. With Tossys guidance we also sampled tasty street food and drinks,such as plum wine and sweet sake. We even handpainted pur own ceramic waving cat in a craft cafe whilst enjoying coffee and cake. Along the way Tossy shared her knowledge of the history and customs in this area. Thank you Tossy for helping us make the most of our short time in Tokyo. We learned so much and saw so many interesting places. Highly recommended if youre looking to see a different, quieter side of this busy vibrant city.

Our guide was knowledgeable, kind and flexible. It was very hot and humid, and I am recover from knee surgery, so we took it slow.

We took part in a special sightseeing tour, which we really enjoyed. Mark, our local tour guide, knew every detail of this part of the city inside out, and told us a lot about the traditions and historical sites. In the sweltering heat, it was a really nice activity to paint our own lucky cats in the café. Afterwards, we set off with renewed energy to the shopping street and the other sights. The tour was brilliant; we’d recommend it to everyone, and be sure to look out for Mark, who is a really friendly, attentive and polite tour guide. On the sightseeing tour that set off at half past one, there weren’t too many people in the town, it wasn’t crowded, and the length of the tour was just right for us.

Mark was a great tour guide. He was knowledgeable, kind and easy to talk to. We enjoyed our tour immensely. It was easy to meet him and the meeting location was very convenient.

Great experience! Tour guide was amazing, very knowledgeable about the area and willing to answer questions. The locations were beautiful and it was cool to learn more about Yanaka. I went in July so it was very hot, but we stopped occasionally to rest or entered shops and cafes through the tour that helped escape the heat.

I enjoyed Mark as a tour guide. He was very helpful and knowledgeable. I would highly recommend him as a tour guide.

Tadashi was an exceptional tour guide who clearly loves what he does. His enthusiasm, knowledge, and dedication made the entire experience unforgettable. He took the time to answer every question thoughtfully and always seemed to have an answer, no matter the topic. What stood out most was his ability to show us places we would never have discovered on our own. Thanks to his local knowledge, we experienced parts of the destination that felt authentic and unique. He was also incredibly flexible and attentive to the group's interests, happily adapting the tour whenever we wanted to explore something different or spend more time at a particular location. This was truly a one-of-a-kind experience, and a big part of that was Tadashi's passion and professionalism. I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a memorable and personalized tour. Thank you, Tadashi, for a marvelous experience!

The tour was okay, compared to other ones we took in Kyoto and Osaka. The tour guide was very friendly and he gave us a good overview of Japanese culture, customs and society in general. Unfortunately we had a problem with communication as his English was not very good. But overall it was okay.

This is a special and unusual tour because you get to explore a historic part of Edo (old Tokyo). You get to see how people live outside the neon world of the Ginza and Shinjuku. Mark is a gracious and knowledgeable guide. We got to visit the Azalea Festival and the Nezu Temple shrine, which were wonderful. We also got to snack on local treats, Takoyaki and grilled mochi balls, which we thoroughly enjoyed as adventurous eaters. Neither were new for us. We also went to a cafe where we got to paint our own personal "Lucky Cats". So much fun. We also explored interesting local shops and engaged in "retail therapy". We opted to make this a private tour and have Mark meet us at our hotel and then we took a taxi to Yanaka and then a taxi back.

Molly was amazing! Very personable and knowledgeable. Nezu Shrine was a highlight! Highly recommend.

Guide very interestinh, knowledgeable and helpful. A wonderful experience.

Good experience with plenty of stops to savor the flavors and sights in yanaka

It was an excelent guided tour to the old part of Tokyo

Mark was a friendly knowledgeable guide. The snake road, shrine visit and painting the cat were all highly enjoyable.

Hadashi was a wonderful tour guide that shared fascinating facts and allowed us to experience an amazing day! We explored many interesting places such as temples and community shops. We had a great time trying a new dish and painting lucky cats. Overall we all had a splendid day with our excellent tour guide Hadashi!!

It was amazing! Realy great experience!

Nori was a great guide! Extremely knowledgeable and patient with all my questions. He has wealth of knowledge and experience to share. The snacks along the way were delicious! Nice break to decorate our cats too!

Mark was a great guide taking us through Yanaka and showing us all the sites and history. Would recommend to take this tour when you visit Japan

Nori was a friendly and very knowledgeable guide who shared many interesting insights into the local culture, history and way of life. We had a great tour!

Tossy was the sweetest! This tour ended up being just me and her which I found pretty funny at first. She‘s friendly and funny, lots of cultural insights provided, and she took pictures for me everywhere all day. Her English is fantastic and she is very knowledgeable and great company! The walking tour is a bit lengthy, and I do think it is slightly overpriced compared to other tours and value, but I still had a great time.

The tour took me through the not so busy parts of Tokyo. I was able to see regular life led by people of tokyo across many residential neighbourhoods. My guide Ramesh was knowledgeable and very polite. Would recommend this trip to anyone who wishes to see the not so touristy side of tokyo

We took a private tour with Nori and 3 of us. He was very knowledgable and asked us at the beginning of our tour what we were hoping to hear about or experience while on the tour with him. We were open to everything and anything he wanted to show us as it was our first day in Japan. Nori made it a wonderful experience with his friendliness, calming demeanor, and wandering nature. He taught us about proper etiquette at shrines, older building architecture, family dynamics, and overall history of the area. It was so much fun and I couldn't recommend Nori or this tour more!

Mark provided an excellent walking tour. He was very knowledgeable about the area and friendly. We learned a lot and were able to experience a quieter neighborhood which we enjoyed. We highly recommend this tour!

Absolutely loved the tour. Mark was awesome to work with, very knowledgeable and was patient. We traveled with our 8 month old and he was accommodating and respectful with our needs. So much fun and saw places we wouldn’t have otherwise seen and experienced.

Nao kindly showed me around Yanaka with insights around each turn. I enjoyed my afternoon and learned so much. Thank you.

Mark was a wonderful tour guide! Enjoyed the entire experience and all the information we learned about this part of Tokyo! My in-laws enjoyed this tour as well, and we all thought that painting our own lucky cats was fun. Small group tour so it felt personal.

Great walking tour experience with mark. Very easy to communicate and explained sites and associated significance well.

Great afternoon seeing and learning about many interesting things...and also a fun break decorating a little ceramic cat souvenir

Nao is a wonderful tour guide. He has a wealth of knowledge and also stunning family history related to WWll.

Chika was kind, insightful, and a great tour guide. It was relaxing and included some yummy snacks. Our half day experience around Yanaka was brilliant.

Annual festival was being held at the local shrine, so got to enjoy a variety of Japanese culture and cuisine. The guide, Aoi, was very personable and being a local had a different perspective of the area. Quieter than other parts of Tokyo, which was a welcomed escape for weary travelers.

we really enjoyed the tour, as it is outside the normal tourist areas, our guide was very informative about the area and local history and cultures. highly recommend it

Had a fantastic day with Mark He was full of information about the loczl area, was very engaging and a general all round nice guy.

What a great tour! Walking around this area was an insight into a side of Tokyo not so many tourists see. Mark, my guide, was knowledgeable and fun to be with. Such an interesting area.

Yesterday, my 13-year-old son and I had a wonderful walking tour of Yanaka with the best guide I've ever had—Ayaka! She was incredibly kind, funny, and knowledgeable, and chatting with her felt effortless. We shared many laughs and learned so much, especially at Nezu Shrine, where she gently guided us on respectful customs and practices. Despite the intense summer heat and humidity (tip: bring water and a handheld fan!), we loved exploring the peaceful, winding lanes of Yanaka. Ayaka took us to a charming stationery store with unique, handmade Japanese gifts, plus two must-visit shops on Yanaka Ginza Shopping Street: one with beautiful bamboo products and another with stunning handcrafted homewares. A highlight was relaxing at Cafe Neko-e-mon with iced drinks and sweets while painting our own lucky cat figurines to take home. If you're looking for a quieter, less touristy side of Tokyo, book this tour—and ask for Ayaka. You won’t regret it!

Aoi was lovely. She went above and beyond to make sure we had a good experience - even took us to a cat cafe in Lou of a cafe for pastries (where we wouldn’t have been able to eat because of gluten issues). It was good to get information about student life in Japan as well as learn about Old Town.

Sir mark was our tourguide for the day. He was very informative as we explore nezu shrine and yanaka street. We even painted our very own neko with a free drink and snack. Thank you for this wonderful experience.

Had a wonderful time on the tour, and my guide Mark san was very nice, polite and informative all throughout, answering all the questions that I had. Really enjoyed the maneki neko painting cafe experience, and the whole tour was very peaceful and a different and welcome change of pace compared to the rest of my trip. At the end of the tour, Mark san was very helpful in walking me into the train station and guiding me on which train to catch to get back to the hotel I was staying at. Thank you!

We had a wonderful experience with our tour guide Hana who was knowledgeable, personable and also excited to share her experiences of the area. The pacing was good and the cat cafe experience our family really enjoyed as well. We would strongly reccommend and it’s worth it to have a guide to find the hidden gems and add meaning to them. A half day in the Yanaka area is worth it.

Excellent tour. Hina our guide was lovely. We saw many places and shops we would have missed out on if not for this tour. Would recommend.

Even though it was heavily raining, we had the most wonderful walk through the old town of Tokyo with our lovely guide Masae. She showed us spots we would never have found by ourselves and gave us so much interesting information about Tokyo and japanese culture in general. She also tool us to unique stores and had us try local culinary specialties - we loved them. We highly recommend this tour, it gives you a completely different vision of Tokyo that is really worth getting to know. Thank you Masae !

This was a great tour with a bit of information about Shintoism and a visit to a shrine, as well 20th century Japan with a trip down a fun shopping street. Painting the maneki-neko Lucky Cat was a lot of fun! Hina was an informative guide with lots of patience while we looked in the kitty stores.

This was a nice, relaxing walk off the beaten path and away from the multitudes. The experence was made all the more positive by the tour guide Mai, who with her tremendous knowledge of the history and the culture of the place, her friendly demeanor and her ability to adjust to the needs and interests of the adults and the children.

Lovely walking tour, which covered Nezu Shrine, and the relaxing old town of Yanaka Ginza. Chihero shared information about the town and took us through many back streets to check out traditional houses and small shops that we definitely would not have found on our own!

Hina was an incredible tour guide. We were in Japan for 2 weeks and this was one of our favorite tours. Hina was really knowledgeable, kind and moved at our pace. Every location she took us to she allowed us to spend the time we wanted there. She didn't rush us at all. She also took us through the local neighborhoods and told us all about the shops, hotels and restaurants. We highly recommend this tour as well as staying in the area. Thank you so much Hina!!