Experience Tokyo
Beyond the Guidebooks

Enjoyed shopping for lunch at the food hall. Aya explained what all the food items were. We really enjoyed our picnic - all the different dishes were amazing. Aya was happy to take photos for us at all the different spots that we visited. Aya is definitely a people person and is the right person for the job.

Aya was very knowledgeable, and has the perfect personality for a tour guide. She happily took photos of us at all the stops. We absolutely loved being taken to the food hall to choose our lunch, quite an experience. Aya explained what all the dishes were and each dish was delicious when we later had our picnic. I couldn’t praise Aya and this tour any higher. The highlight of our trip. Thank you so much Aya.

We really enjoyed all the sights around Harajuku and Asakusa! It was a wonderful blend of modern and traditional. Ayaka was a great guide who supplied us with tons of information, and also offered to help us take pictures and gave great suggestions.

Great walking tour. Our guide Ayaka was so very knowledgeable, friendly, and ever so helpful in so many ways! Thank you, Aya!

We did a day trip to Hakone and Fuji with our guide Mari. What a wonderful experience! We met Mari at the Shinjuku station just west of our hotel, and hopped on the 2 hour train to Fuji. Visitors to Fuji don't always see the peak but we knew we had a good chance as it was a bright sunshine filled day. Mari seated us on the right of the train and on the ride up, Fuji burst into view in all its glory. We then transferred to a special railcar that climbs the mountain switchbacks to Hakone. We were there mid April and cherry blossoms in Tokyo were starting to fade, but at the higher altitude and cooler temps of Hakone they were in full bloom! We took a break and Mari walked us around some cherry blossom stands near the Hakone station, then next, a short ride up the steep hill on a funicular. At the top we disembark to transfer to cable car gondola for the final ascent to Fuji - Mari knew just where to stand and sit for the best views - and mid way along the Ropeway, Fuji appeared from behind a ridgeline - huge and snow covered. The ropeway ends at a large viewing station - we spent awhile walking around, admiring the unobstructed views of Fuji and taking plenty of pics. Despite the warm temps of Tokyo, and the sun, at Hakone it was cool and very windy - so if you are going be prepared and bring down jackets or raincoats against the wind. The winds built up to point that the Ropeway was shut down, resulting in a huge line for busses - but with Mari's help, we called a cab and got back home at a reasonable time. A great day with lots of memories.

Mari was an incredible guide! This was our first time in Tokyo and she did a great job showing us around many popular sites and to some fun shops! She was very friendly and informative. Thank you Mari for a great tour!

Mari was amazing! Fantastic tour.

Mari was wonderful. She escorted us from Tokyo to Hakone/ Fuji (which we would never have been able to figure out on our own ). The views were stunning. We had a bit of a glitch in that high winds caused a shutdown of the Ropeway down. Mari was able to figure out a way for us to get back without standing in the long line. After the tour she even helped us flag a taxi and directed the driver how to get to the dinner restaurant we reserved.

We really enjoyed walking around Tokyo with Apy, while getting to know more about the city and culture. She made the day really special!

Apy was super fun, easy going and very helpful. She was not hesitant to go extra mile and very calm, she is one of the best I have experienced in recent past! Keep it up

API was amazing! She created a custom shopping experience that met and exceeded my daughter’s expectations. She was engaging and helpful with store salespeople and took us to unique spots. Highly recommend.

Apy was both personable and efficient. We enjoyed her so much she joined us for lunch. She was knowledgeable and friendly.

It was Fun and Full of explanations of this particular world. highly recommend!

Nobu went out of his way to make our tour wonderful!!! I feel as though he went above & beyond and would highly recommend him!

Amazing guide (Nobu), friendly logistics, great picks for sightseeing, eating and shopping. It was a good experience and will definitely book a longer trip to Tokyo!

Anyone visiting Tokyo for the first time should definitely sign up for this tour - it is worth every yen! Our tour guide was Nobu who took the time well in advance of our trip to learn more about us and what we hoped to experience during the tour. Since we had a few other walking tours scheduled for the week, he was able to offer some other sights that filled in some of the holes in our itinerary. Since it was our first time in Tokyo/Japan, Nobu met us at our hotel, taught us some essential basics about etiquette and culture. He then showed us how to use the subway successfully (be sure to ask your guide to help you with this!). We did our tour on a rainy day, and at one point my umbrella broke and he had a spare on hand. Nobu took us to the Imperial Palace, the Fish Market, the oldest department store in Tokyo and the National Gardens to see the start of the cherry blossoms. At every step of the way, Nobu explained to us the history and culture that is important to the Japanese. Through the fish market, Nobu pointed out special delicacies to eat and helped us order the food. We tried new items that we would not have known to try. Amazing! Don't miss the fish market. In the department store, he showed us so items that would make nice special gifts for people instead of the touristy stuff. He took pictures of us along the way. Nobu also made recommendations for us to consider doing during our time in Tokyo. Consider yourself lucky if you get Nobu as your guide - he really made our first day in Tokyo so memorable!

Was a fantastic day touring the city. Saw lots and learned so much! A really enjoyable day!

Lauren provided us with detailed visits to several sites and gave us the background to understand the importance of them. She guided us and instructed us on using the train to get around Tokyo on our own. She also gave us great tips for other places that we should visit.

Lauren engaged with us within minutes of meeting just like a friend rather than a tour guide and our conversations ranged far and wide regarding the Japan of yesterday and today.

Lauren was great. She very knowledgeable about the area wew were in and had good recommendations. She was also very flexible. We had a great time.

Patrick knew his stuff and crafted an excellent day for us. He was flexible and tuned in to the sort of thing we enjoyed.

Our tour with Patrick exceeded our expectations. Rather than hit tourist traps, we wandered through neighborhoods, shrines, parks, cemeteries and even a market. It was delightful and authentic. He was extremely knowledgeable and shared pieces of history along the way. Patrick was kind and patient. He helped us understand the complicated train process and taught us basic navigation skills that assisted us throughout our trip. I highly recommend the private Tokyo tour if you want to experience things at your own pace and off the beaten path. Thanks!

This was a great way to experience Tokyo when we had limited time and wanted to ensure we hit a proper structured taste of this iconic system We were introduced to Patrick as our guide in advance of our travels and once we had exchanged numbers he was very communicative and helped us out with some more general Japan queries prior to our trip. We were only in Tokyo for a day and a half so opted to take 2 separate 3 hour tours. The first was in the early evening immediately after our arrival. We had come from Osaka so no jet leg issues and we were met at our hotel reception in Shinkuja so we could immediately commence our explore of the lively scenes in Shinjuka and Shibuya as day turned to night. We had been in dialogue beforehand and completed the questionnaire around the sorts of things we were interested in so the tour could be tailored to our particular needs which was very effective. Patrick was full of insights and took us to quirky streets off the beaten path as well as the touristy must sees. A brilliant intro to the city. We bade him farewell as the first tour concluded and we had our own time to continue to enjoy the Japanese nightlife We reconvened the following morning with simple instructions on how to travel to meet him on the other side of the city in Yanaka. Public transport was fantastic. We then commenced part 2 with really interesting insights to the history, culture, religions, architecture and food of this fascinating country as we visited shrines and temples, open spaces and some of the must see tourist spots in Asakusa Patrick was great company and I would recommend him and City Unscripted to other travellers visiting without hesitation

I would definitely recommend

We were headed to Tokyo Japan and friends recommended a TOUR GUIDE. We were lucky enough to have EMIR MEHRI as our guide. Emir was not only fluent in English, French and Japanese- he was fluent in the history of Japan. He was kind and patient- very knowledgeable and great with 2 young children. We had no idea our hotel was near both a fish market Tsukiji and Hamarikyu Gardens. The whole family enjoyed asking Emir questions about Tokyo and he blended the tour with the inclusion of photo spots and humor. When I TOKYO ask for Emir!

Emir provided us with an insightful tour experience! His breadth of knowledge was evident from the moment we met. Emir fortifies the experience with the fine details and nuances only earned through experience. Emir is amiable, knowledgeable, and thorough! We highly recommend this professional and we look forward to seeing him again! 4/19/25

We did the 3hr walking tour with Amir who was fantastic. He has so much knowledge of Japanese culture. We toured so many great areas and his knowledge made us appreciate and bring to life what we were seeing. A very easygoing kind man. Thank you for such a great experience Amir.

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.

Martina was unbelievable! We discussed a customized tour agenda prior to arrival and she absolutely hit a home run with the customized tour. We couldn't have asked for a better day, guide or tour.

Had a fantastic tour with my guide. She showed me some great neighborhoods and was the perfect way to get an overview of the city. Her knowledge of the city and culture was really informative.

We are a group of older people Marty is very thoughtful, she helps us a lot on arranging the tour we are very comfortable.

We appreciated that Kenji tailored the tour to our interests. We enjoyed hearing his insights and experiences. He had great tips for first time visitors!

Really good tour that was customised to suit everyone in our group. Kenji was very knowledgeable and even helped us negotiate our way around the train system. The tour gave us lots of ideas where we would like to explore further.

The one-day trip was awesome. We love to have Kenji as our tour guide. He is very kind and a good photographer. We'd like to have him for our future trip, next time.

Kenji is very knowledgeable. Food, sights, history and shopping

Chiara was warm, engaging, and knowledgeable. We enjoyed our time with her in Tokyo exploring the neighborhoods. The typical Tokyo sites are easy enough to visit on your own. Instead, explore neighborhoods with Chiara where she can point out unique shopping locations, great restaurants and share her cultural experiences in living in Tokyo. A half day tour would probably be enough to get a good overview of the city and then you could do more exploring on your own.

Chiara was delightful. She met us at the designated spot right on time. She went out of her way to ensure a perfect tour. We saw and learned so much about Japan. Chiara provided a balance of Japanese culture, its history, the food, and its city and gardenscapes. She went out of her way, even helped us buy our rail pass and then rode to our hotel stop, to ensure we got home safely. A wonderful day with an excellent guide. Highly recommend.

The tour was completely different than expected, but it was still fun.

Marek was our guide and he was great! Gave a very good insight into the history and culture which was at the right level for us. He was engaging and took us to places we wouldn’t have thought to go.

Marik was top shelf, I don’t feel like I hired a “guide”, but rather I made a new friend who just happens to know how to get around.

Marek got in touch with us already in good time before the trip to check our wishes and we agreed on a plan. We then slightly adjusted this during the day as some sights just took a bit more time due to moving from A to B, us lingering longer and also the crowds. He shared nice information about the temples and helped us to understand the rituals. He also shared the best guitar places, talked about Japan in general and helped us to book subway tickets and also tickets to a bunny cafe, which was a must for the kids. Our first 4 hours in Tokyo went by super quickly and it was really useful to have a guide with us! We’re really happy with Marek and could recommend him for others too without any hesitation.

The temple rituals and fortunes, the walk in the park, the lunch was very special and we wouldn’t have booked it without Marek, also thanks for helping us book the bunny cafe!

Kieran went above and beyond to show us some interesting spots in Tokyo that were a little bit off the beaten track

We really enjoyed our tour with Kieran. He was very flexible with our kids. He did a great job introducing us to some food that we hadn’t tried before, showing us around Ueno Park, and telling us about his experiences of life in Japan.

Kieran was absolutely excellent. I am very lucky to have connected with him as my tour guide in Tokyo. Traveling alone I was looking for someone to show me the sites but also how to navigate the city, the metro and give suggestions of where to go. His knowledge of the culture, history and areas was so enlightening and really enjoyed my time with him. He picked wonderful spots to see and we covered so much of the city in 4 hrs. Couldn’t have asked for a better tour. Thanks Kieran.

Had a wonderful tour with Kieran. he gave me a wonderful orientation of Tokyo, and accelerated by several days the time it would take to get my bearings of the place. Kieran was highly knowledgeable, and so pleasant it felt like I was going for a walk with an old friend. I highly recommend this experience

Steven is a fun guy. We went to a really cool same bar and learned quite a bit about this Japanese rice wine. Then Steven treated us to a fantastic dinner at a local spot. We tried many dishes and each was great. Steven is a n interesting guy who did everything possible to show us a great time.

We enjoyed Steven’s company and his wide knowledge of Japanese food and culture. The restaurants he took us to were hidden gems we never would have found on our own.

Had a great time with Steven, our guide for a late afternoon stroll, in Tokyo. I was traveling with elderly parents and it was super helpful to be shown around at an easy pace. It's unlikely we would've seen as much on our own. Cherry on top was Steven helping us navigate Shinjuku station to get our train tickets for the following day and then calling up an izakaya we were visiting later to explain a few dietary restrictions!

From the beginning, we had great communication with Steven our guide. He was very personable and we chatted like old friends over a meal. the food was great & Steven took the time to explain the foods & what region they were from and Japanese customs . Highly recommended

Alberto was an amazing guide. He knows so much about the city, was willing to cater the tour that our jet lagged bodies. Best you ever!!!

Alberto was exceptional! He took us to great places, told us about the history and culture of Tokyo and Japan, found exceptional photo spots and lunch/dinner places. One of our best days in a fantastic South Korea and Japan trip!

Alberto was very kind and considerate of our party that included 4 adults and 1 child age 11. He was sensitive to our groups interests and tried to engage with our shy son. Very interesting man with interesting perspective as a long-time resident of Tokyo, but with non-Japanese heritage.

Alberto was a terrific guide, with many insights into the Shibuya area. His choices of places to see added so much texture to the experience. Highly recommend him.

We really enjoyed our walking tour with Momoko, her English is excellent and the itinerary was perfect for us. It was a nice mix of nature, history and culture and we really appreciated her preparation especially the historical photos of places we visited. Momoko was very friendly and we enjoyed chatting with her as we walked and took the subway between sites.

It was great to have a local guide to show us the way using local transport and helped us understand the history and culture of the sites visited.

Momoko was absolutely amazing. She made the tour exactly what I wanted it to be. She communicated very effectively in English and helped with my Japanese when I asked she had planned the trip to be a very efficient use of our time and to take me to off the beaten path places which were beautiful photo opportunities. I can’t say enough good things about this entire experience. It was wonderful

Momoko completely designed a tour for exactly what I asked for I could not have had a more personally designed experience. It was absolutely wonderful.