Asakusa: 3.5-hour Big-picture History Walk
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Tokyo, Japan
- 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Discover a historic township in the heart of Tokyo with this half-day walking tour of Asakusa. Join a local guide to see popular landmarks including the 1,400-year-old Sensoji Temple, where you learn how it was founded by two fisherman brothers and its impact on Japan's future modernization. You also wander the market street of Nakamise-dori, where you taste traditional snacks such as Japanese sweets, and the Rokku district.
- See a historic district in Tokyo with a small-group tour
- Explore the Sensoji Temple and a bustling market street
- Sample Japanese sweets and street snacks
- Get advice for where to eat, drink, and shop in Rokku
What's Included
- English-speaking guide
- Selection of Japanese sweet snacks (e.g. melon pan, rice dumpling, rice cracker, sweet puffed rice).
- Earphone Guide System to deliver the guide’s voice securely to each participant from distance.
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Food and drinks, except those specified
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Burger King Asakusa AzumabashiJapan, 111-0034 Tokyo, Taito City, Kaminarimon, 2-chōme−20−６ クロスビルロイヤルパレス
The meeting place is in front of a Burger King restaurant right next to Exit 4 of Asakusa subway station (G19) on the Ginza line. Please step outside when you reach Exit 4. See below for details. https://bit.ly/3KBlIr5
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.1:30 pm
Itinerary
1
Sumida River
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Asakusa Kaminarimon Gate
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Nakamise Shopping Street (Kaminarimon)
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Hozomon
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6
Senso-ji Temple
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
7
Asakusa Shrine
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
8
Senso-ji Temple Yogodo
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
9
Asakusa Nishisando
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
10
Japanese theater Tokyo Asakusa Mokubakan
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
11
Hoppy Street
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
12
Toyokan
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
13
Denboin Street
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- We accept last-minute bookings until two hours prior to the tour start time.
- The maximum group size is 8 people, to ensure proper hospitality
- A moderate amount of walking is involved; please choose appropriate footwear
- Operates in all weather conditions; please dress appropriately
- Bottled water is recommended but vending machines are available
- If you have special dietary or accessibility requirements, please contact us and we will do our very best to accommodate you
- Children younger than 6 may join the tour without charge but will not be entitled to inclusions
- Due to the historical focus of the tour, it is recommended for adults, but families are welcome
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 159 reviews
Jeffrey_G, Jul 2025
The Asakusa: 1400-year history exploration tour was fantastic! Our guide, Amy, was wonderful. This three (3) hour tour blended history, current customs, and the experience of the Senso-ji Temple well. Amy was part of our family by the tour’s end. Highly recommend.
Danny_K, Apr 2025
Fabulously instructive tour of past Japan.
Visited temples and unusual locations we would never have found on our own
Michelle_H, Jan 2025
This was a fabulous tour, we learned so much. We are traveling with 3 teenagers and they loved it too. Later one said “there is so much history, I want to learn more”.
CarlyKatzeff, Dec 2024
Emiko was our tour guide and she was wonderful. She was very friendly, engaging, and knowledgeable. She felt more like a friend you're visiting giving a you tour than a tour guide. She truly made the experience great.
Royce_S, Dec 2024
The tour was amazing cultural event. The small group allowed multiple questions t o be asked and answered
Sharon_C, Dec 2024
Sachi was punctual friendly patient and knowledgeable. Made the tour enjoyable. Answer our questions and explained in details. Would recommend this tour and the tour guide. Thanks Sachi
Cheryl_Q, Nov 2024
Our guide was excellent she was very knowledgeable. We learnt so much about the history of the area, thoroughly enjoyed the tour.
Yerline_H, Jun 2024
Our guide Sachi san is very knowledgeable and profesional. She explain detailly the history of Asakusa. Thank you Sachi san
Marie_Q, Jun 2024
Asakusa private guided tour with Sachi was an excellent way to explore this culturally rich area of Tokyo. Sachi was a knowledgeable guide that brought the areas history and culture to life, making the experience both educational and enjoyable for teenagers and adults alike. Sachi weaved legends associated with Asakusa, such as the story of the Senso-ji temple’s founding and mythical figures. This Storytelling approach keep our teenagers engaged and makes history more memorable.
Aaron_B, Jun 2024
Absolutely loved this tour of the temples and shrines of Asakusa, and our guide was an absolutely lovely lady who happily answered our endless questions and narrated our tour in her own inimitable, effervescent style! Highly recommend this as a way to see the area and learn the history of not just the area but Buddhism and Shintoism as well
Corinne_S, Apr 2024
We were very disappointed in this tour unfortunately. The guide could hardly speak English and gave us very little historical and cultural background on the items we saw. He is simply not ready to be a tour guide. We have taken tours around the world and this one was the worst one ever, I’m sorry to say.
Response from Host, Aug 2024
We have been investigating this issue since you left this review in April.
First, we interviewed the guide who we thought was involved. We also sent you emails with your family photo with your guide on the day for you to remember this tour, but we did not receive a reply.
So we decided to publish the results of our investigation here.
Your review does not specify the name of the tour, the name of the guide, or the tour date, and the only clue is "Corinne_S, Apr 2024", so it took us a while to investigate.
This review has simply and unilaterally lowered our company's reputation and overall rating, and we are now suffering the consequences of this sudden drop in our overall rating. Moreover, the guide in charge of you has been shocked and hurt greatly by this review.
If what you've said here is true, of course we take it seriously, apologize, and make every effort to improve.
If not, please ask Viator to remove this bad review and rating from the tripadvisor review site.
**********************************************
Background of the incidentAccording to our booking and tour record;Corinne Seton booked our tour on Wed, December 27 2023. We sent a “Thank you mail” to Corinne on December 27th. We received the following kind reply from Corinne on December 28th.“We are a family (mother, father, son).from the United States. We do not need any special attention and we are on a family vacation. I hope this is helpful and we very much look forward to your tour! Sincerely, Corinne Seton”
Then, we received a notice of an additional participant C. Seton on February 19th 2024 through Viator.
--- Supplier note: — Traveller Charlotte Seton has been added to this booking.
***************************************************
If it is indeed you who wrote this review, could you please tell us more specifically about the situation at the time?
1) Was the guide a male or a female?
2) How old does the guide look?
3) What was the guide's name or nickname?
4) Please tell us any other physical characteristics of the guide.
5) What time did the tour start and end?
I'm sorry to bother you, but could you please ask your family members who went on the tour with you to answer the above questions if you don’t remember well?
*********************************************
The following information is our record of the tour provided on April 7th 2024 for you to recall.
On April 7th 2024, the tour was provided by our experienced English speaking guide Taka who is a national government licensed guide and has a lot of five star reviews. Right after we received your bad review we interviewed Taka about the tour on the day. Taka reported the tour as follows; The cherry blossoms were in full bloom so we also took a stroll around Sumida Park. They were a very friendly family and we had lively conversations. They were very interested in the Japanese language, culture and food.
Taka took a lot of photos for them. Taka treated them to traditional Japanese sweets called Ningyo-yaki and Yuzu drinks. Questions from the guests; Many topics are covered, such as why Japan has such high security even though so many foreigners come to Japan, how they dispose of garbage in Japan, the difference between Buddhism and Shinto, Japanese people's views on religion, recommended restaurants in Ginza, the food served at izakayas, why Edo Kiriko is not exported more even though it is comparable to Venetian glass, and so on.
***************************************
Again, did you write the following comment about our veteran guide Taka?
“The guide could hardly speak English and gave us very little historical and cultural background on the items we saw. He is simply not ready to be a tour guide.”
If his English is really as you say, could you please specify which parts were bad and how?
All our guides are certified English speaking guides who passed the exams of history, geography, culture, safety and in their specialty. There should not be inexperienced or amateur student guides in our company Arumachi.
We hope that the review you made on the TripAdvisor review site is a mistake and is not for our tour or our guide. Would you please recall the tour and reply to us ASAP?
We would deeply appreciate your sincere consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
Brenda_C, Mar 2024
I felt this tour was a little too long for what was shown. I think 2-2 1/2 hours would have been enough time. Also, the area was so crowded and loud which made it very hard to hear what the guide was saying.
Evelyn_P, Feb 2024
Our local tour guide was excellent and very thorough!!! Took us to all historical places. The Japanese delicacies were so good.
PAULA_D, Jan 2024
If you want to really experience this area and learn the significance of what's in front of you, you must take this guided tour. Yasu was fantastic. Just do it.
Figen_Y, Nov 2023
What an amazing afternoon walking tour!! Highly recommend!!!! Such a great way to learn the history and see the beauty of Asakusa... our tour guide Aki was so knowledgeable, informative, patient and friendly. There were only 2 in the tour so it felt like it was a private tour!!!.. we walked the streets and learnt so much and had a few treats along the way. Saw a wedding ceremony which was a highlight and meandered through the old town and discovered many restaurants and old buildings along the way. Thanks so much Aki... I had a lovely time and am so glad I joined your tour
Cynthonyc, Nov 2023
Aki was wonderful! She was knowledgeable and flexible. She guided us through Japanese culture, we ate some traditional Japanese sweets, and she helped us take some great photos!
kate_G, Oct 2023
Taka was a wonderful host. We had such a great day and learnt a lot about the area.
I would absolutely recommend this tour.
Linda, Oct 2023
Our leader Sachi was very thorough in explaining the sites. Her knowledge and enthusiasm were catching!
My local friend suggested I see Asakusa, and this tour was perfect!
Daria_W, Sep 2023
It was interesting tour. We enjoyed it.
Guide tour was knowledgeable about area.
We will recommend this tour to our friends.
Emily_H, Aug 2023
Our guide Aki was wonderful. She taught us so much interesting info and took great care of us. We went to the temple, a shrine and shopping and got delicious snacks.
Gerard_L, Aug 2023
The tour was great, very knowledgeable guide. Bring water if in summer, and comfortable shoes. Enjoy!
Chris_H, May 2023
The Asakusa half day tour was amazing. Our tour guide ensured a great blend of history, sightseeing, shopping and local fare. Would highly recommend this tour to anyway visiting Japan.
James_G, May 2023
She talked too fast and too softly. She was so caught uo in details that only a specialist in Japanese history could follow her.
She was a very nice person who tried to engage us.
Response from Host, May 2023
Thank you very much for your candid feedback. The participants in this tour are interested in history and culture at least to some extent. Our guide might have been so zealous to respond to those expectations that she ended up elaborating on too many details. Based on your feedback, we will strive to adapt our explanations to actual expectations of the guests we are actually addressing.
Sara_M, Apr 2023
I’ve been on about a dozen Viators and I’ve always had a good experience before this.
Skip this tour if you can. The tour guide spent most of his time pointing out what one can see with their naked eye. While he did share a few interesting facts, he took over 2.5 hours just to get us to the gate of Sensoji temple. I could have done the entire experience in 30 minutes. I was so bored I left the tour an hour early.
Response from Host, Apr 2023
We feel sorry that you were not able to enjoy our tour although the guide took utmost care so that you can sit down to take a rest as much as possible. We also feel sorry that the guide had to take the other participants a bit away from you to make sure to explain at a good vantage point at times you were resting on a chair; the headset we used might have been poorly audible to you whenever you were taking a rest away from the group.
However, please understand that we did our very best to give you the best experience under the given circumstances.
If you joined our tour expecting something expediently done in 30 minutes, we are afraid you may have chosen a wrong tour. Our tour is a 3.5-hour in-depth history tour about Asakusa as clearly mentioned in our listing.
We have heard from you before the tour that you have to be somewhere at 5PM when the tour finishes. Therefore, the guide has attentively asked you from time to time during the tour whether you can make it to your next engagement. Since you left earlier in that context, nothing seemed awkward back then. Honestly, we are shocked at your statement that you left earlier because you got bored.
Darrell_W, Apr 2023
We thoroughly enjoyed learning about the history of this important part of Japan’s history. Our guide brought it to life and we very friendly and caring
Bob_M, Apr 2023
Very knowledgeable and attentive guide. Gave us a thorough overview of Asakusa as well as surrounding area. Highly recommended.
Christopher_F, Mar 2023
We had so much fun! Yasu was very great and really informative about the area. She took the time to answer any questions we had. She personally also helped us out in finiding some lockers for luggage so we didn't have to haul it around.
I would definitely recommend anyone to book this tour to learn about the area and its beautiful history.
The snacks we found were also very delicious 😋
David_N, Mar 2023
Visit to shrine and temple during very busy day at temple. Throngs of people.
Guide staid and monotone. Didn’t not engage our small group (4 people) which I’d have thought would be easy. Too much time spent on talking about area shopping which was not of interest. We broke away from tour early.
Response from Host, Mar 2023
We are very sorry that we ruined your precious time despite the fact that you had been so much looking forward to the tour. The kind of service you experienced with our guide falls far short of our standards.
We are sure it was a busy day, but guides must know how to guide guests safely and happily under any circumstances. We have removed the guide in charge of you from our assignment list; the individual will be retrained, and will not be given a new guiding assignment until we are convinced that he can provide guiding satisfactory to our guests.
By the way, Asakusa is a very popular tourist destination and is always crowded with many tourists. Why? Senso-ji Temple, located in the center of Asakusa, is the oldest temple in Tokyo with a history of 1400 years. But the building looks new. In fact, Senso-ji has been repeatedly destroyed and burned down by earthquakes, wars, air raids, etc., but has been rebuilt with donations from common people. As the cornerstone of Asakusa, which has created a unique culture that incorporates the trends of the times into old traditions and disseminates it to the world, Senso-ji has always remained a central presence in Asakusa each time it has been rebuilt.
We sincerely hope that you will revisit the old and new energetic Asakusa area, which is loved by so many young people and foreign nationals.
Heather_K, Mar 2023
What a cool part of Japan! The Sensoji Temple was amazing to see in person! There is also a strip a so many shops in front of the temple with really items that make for great presents and mementos from Japan. There are also many street vendors with really interesting foods. My wife and I went back to Asakusa many times for the food and shopping!
Nikki_D, Feb 2023
Yoko was fantastic! Incredibly informative and I saw way more than I expected - really great way to spend an afternoon!
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