Tokyo Off the Beaten Path 6hr Private Tour with Licensed Guide
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Tokyo, Japan
- 6 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
If you want to get off the beaten path and explore the non-touristy parts of Tokyo, this is the tour for you. Your licensed guide will take you through some local neighborhoods and down different streets giving you a taste of local life. You can also choose from a list of sites and customize your trip if you like.
- Travel by taxi or public transport, organized by your guide (extra expense)
- Customize your itinerary and choose three or four sites
- Your guide will meet you at your hotel for ease
- Spend the day exploring non-touristy sites of Tokyo
What's Included
- Licensed Local English Speaking Guide
- Customizable Tour of your choice of 3-4 sites from 'What to expect' list
- Meet up with guide on foot within designated area of Tokyo
- Transportation fees, Entrance fees, Lunch, and Other personal expenses
- Private Vehicle
- You cannot combine multiple tour groups.
- Guide Entry fees are only covered for sights listed under What to Expect.
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
This private tour is a walking day tour. A private vehicle is not included. Public transportation or local taxis maybe used to transfer between sites. Exact transportation costs can be discussed with the guide after a reservation is finalized. Please have Japanese Yen on hand for your transportation costs. If you wish to arrange for a private vehicle, please contact us directly. All Private vehicles must be booked 5 days in advance. Maximum number of passengers: 7.
Itinerary
1
Nezu
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Nezu Shrine
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Yanaka Ginza Shopping Street
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
SCAI The Bathhouse
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
5
Yanaka Cemetery
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6
Sendagi
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
7
Shibamata
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
8
Taishakuten-Sando
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
9
Shibamata Taishakuten (Taishakuten Daikyoji Temple)
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
10
Fukagawa Edo Museum
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
11
Fukagawa Fudodo
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
12
Tomioka Hachimangu
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
13
Kiyosumi Teien
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
14
Basho Memorial Museum
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
15
Asakusa
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
16
Kappabashi Street (Kappabashi Dogugai)
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
17
Asakusa Hanayashiki
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
18
Asakusa Nishisando
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
19
Tsukiji Fish Market
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
20
Gotokuji Temple
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Stroller accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This is a walking tour. Pick up is on foot.
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 76 reviews
Florence_G, Apr 2026
Wonderful experience touring Tokyo with Yoshi. Saw a ton of things and had a wonderful lunch. Yoshi spoke English well and gave us lots of local info.
Kay_S, Apr 2026
We only had 1 day in Tokyo not enough time to fulfill everything but Kenzo provided us with an itinerary which was varied and gave us a fabulous insight into this lovely city.
We visited a Shrine, a Temple, a Japanese Garden and the Shibuya crossing amongst other things. He even booked lunch for us in a small tempura cafe, which people were queuing to get into and was delicious.
Very enjoyable and great use of the subway. Highly recommended
Irina_K, Apr 2026
Our tour in Tokyo was fabulous! Our guide Sam was knowledgeable and passionate about Japan’s culture and history, friendly and very flexible. Sam organized everything and made our tour relaxing and enjoyable; he showed us not only places in itinerary but also some unique and hidden Tokyo jams and treasures. We highly recommend this tour and our guide Sam to travelers who want a unique and personalized experience of Tokyo.
Malini_S, Apr 2026
Customization based on our interest and truly away from the busy travel spots.
Our guide, Kabo, was excellent and highly knowledgeable. He was great in communication and in planning the itinerary from the time we booked till we completed the trip.
Kabo made us feel comfortable navigating multiple train lines and subways as we visited various parts of Tokyo on the first day of our trip. He was prompt, respectful and patiently and thoroughly explained the history of the places we went to - Fukagawa Edo, Nezu Shrine and the Shibamata Taishakuten.
Highly recommend!
Beverly_S, Apr 2026
Amazing walking tour. The guide customizes your tour to what you most want to do. He is organized and is very knowledgeable and friendly. He took us to restaurant where we experienced eating on the floor on mats and accommodated our son's dietary requirements. We asked to end at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Ueno Park. Wonderful day. I highly recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Your wonderful comment cheers me up. Even in the rain, I really enjoyed the long walk with your family. The coffee break in the middle of the walk was a peaceful moment for me. Next time please come back in different season, say, to enjoy autumn leaves.
- Masa
Nina_B, Mar 2026
Hyde was such a professional guide. We booked tour about 3 months before date and within a couple of days had asked our specific interests. Sent us recommendations for a 6 hour tour using subway which was great. Amended once so time allowed him to get us back to hotel instead of us struggling the subway. He suggested revision again when cherry blossom flowering was in our favour. He was fantastic. Sorted lunch on the go when he ascertained our preference for food. 10 out of 10 for information and a very full day where we did have to keep moving to fill it all in. Thank you Hyde! Totally recommend if you are new to Tokyo
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you so much for your kind review. This tour was the Off the Beaten Path one, but I recommended you go to cherry blossoms gardens, because it was in full bloom. So, I am so happy to know that you really enjoyed the cherry blossoms tour. You walked a lot around many cherry blossom gardens, including the off the beaten path. I think that it was a reward for your tough walking. It was the best time for me to enjoy walking with you. I appreciate your warm comments again.
Hyde
Susan_P, Feb 2026
Kona was so helpful and knowledgeable about the sites we went to. His English excellent and he was open and enjoyable to be with on our 6 hour tour.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thank you for your very positive review. As your requests were “hidden gems”, I picked up Shibamata, Yanaka area and Ueno Toshogu Shrine. I hope you enjoyed my tour. We talked a lot about history, religion and culture of our countries. I also enjoyed our conversation. I hope you enjoyed Hiroshima and other spots. Please come to Japan again as we have many beautiful rural areas in Japan!
Koba
Dao_R, Nov 2025
Excellent day visiting Tokyo buddist temple,Imperial palace and other place
Michio an experienced tour guide was very kind and attentive to all details to bring us visiting hidden gem of Tokyo.
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you very much for your warm review on the tour with me. I'm glad you had good and unexpected experiences in Tokyo on the day. Japan has a lot more for you to explore, so please come visit Japan again. Best Michio
Anonymous, Aug 2025
Lots of walking. Interesting areas to explore and Show was an excellent guide. Very well organized, informative and very personal. You will enjoy this tour
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you very much for your kind feedback. I also appreciate the fact that you walked around various places despite the hot weather. Although Japan is in its hot season now, each season has its own charm and offers different kinds of enjoyment. I truly hope you will visit Japan again and experience it in another season.
Show
Muhammad_J, Nov 2024
Our experience with our guide Yoshi San was great. He was very knowledgeable about the city and the attractions we visited, along with being super helpful with tips about navigating the subway system. He went above and beyond to ensure we got to experience everything we wanted to do. Was also prepared with guidebooks to provide us and subway map. Highly recommend to anyone traveling to Tokyo.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
How are you doing today ? I hope both of you are well.
How is your stay in Kyoto ?
I hope you have a chance to see impressive autumn leaves viewing in Kyoto.
Thanks for your message to Viator review. I'm very happy to hear that.
I hope you will have a lot of memories in Kyoto, Kobe, Hakone and Tokyo
and I look forward to seeing all of you again in Tokyo.
Thanks for your cooperation.
Sincerely yours,
Yoshihiro "Yoshi" Shimizu
Paula_R, Nov 2024
A great experience! Hideki Maruyama was an outstanding tour guide. Knowledgeable, interesting, and soft pleasant to be with. We learned so much and saw quaint towns. Highly recommend!
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you so much for the wonderful review. It was a great pleasure to show you the traditional side of Tokyo. I also enjoyed our conversation throughout the tour. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your stay in Japan. I look forward to seeing you on another Viator/JGA tour in the near future. Hideki
ira_s, May 2024
Our guide Yoshi was great. Very knowledgeable and personable. We enjoyed seeing sights that were not on our main tour. I highly recommend this tour.
Response from Host, May 2024
Thank you very much for your kind message. I remember we really enjoyed the tour to Fukagawa Fudoson Temple, where we encountered very unique and powerful ritual for prayer, “Goma”, and Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine and Ekoin Buddhist Temple, both closely relating to Sumo Wrestling in Japan, and Kiyosumi Garden. Fukagawa and Ryogoku areas still maintain the atmosphere of downtown. I believe this tour met your requirement for the tour. I highly appreciated your wonderful interest in Japanese historical culture! Looking forward to having next opportunity to enjoy such a unique tour with you. See you soon!
Yoshi
Christopher_D, Mar 2024
The tour started promptly on time in the lobby of our Tokyo hotel. Our guide Tatsu impressed us with perfect English (he had spent some time in New York) and good advanced logistics based on our preferences discussed earlier by e-mail. For our walking tour we chose two charming areas away from center: Shibamata and Yanaka. Both required a subway ride with several train changes, but everything went smoothly since we did not travel in rush hours. The schedule was relaxed and flexible as we made stops to sample local desserts and take photographs. In Shibamata we visited an interesting Buddhist temple, walked along the river and importantly had a wonderful lunch in one of the local restaurants on main pedestrian street. After lunch we transferred to Yanaka where we strolled leisurely through quiet winding streets, observed local life, took pictures at the very photogenic Nezu Temple and had snacks on touristy Yanaka Ginza street. Along the way Tatsu provided interesting stories, quoted historical facts and showered us with lots of humor. His good company made the day go by fast and we appreciated the fact that he didn’t mind staying with us well past the officially allotted time until we finally said goodbye at our original subway station. Overall, thanks to our guide and good, sunny weather the tour turned out to be wonderful and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Response from Host, Apr 2024
Thank you very much for your prompt and wonderful review. I also thank you for the good weather that you brought.
I think both Shibamata and Yanaka are places where you can get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy places where old Japan remains. I am glad to know that you could enjoy both places. Please enjoy the rest of your trip and I hope you will visit other Japanese cities and experience Japan even more. I pray for your safe trip. Thank you. Tatsu
Jack_G, Mar 2024
If you want to see some sights, not on your normal tour, this is the tour for you. Traveling the train system with a local guide is quite an experience.
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Thank you very much for your very valuable and favorable comments on my guiding.
It was a great honor for me to have the opportunity to guide you in Tokyo.
I myself enjoyed visiting the beautiful Kiyosumi Garden and other spots in Tokyo and having a nice lunch with you.
I wish you and your wife the very best for the future.
Best Regards
Seizo Kamiuto
Janet_O, Mar 2024
Our guide Koba wrote me before recommending we jump lunch to be able to sight see more, I said ok after 4 hours he said it was over we would held back to the hotel he said it would take 50mins to get back and he was cutting one hour earlier, it took us 35mins getting back and we were played off 1hr 25mins and we paid Viator for a 6hr tour.
Response from Host, Apr 2024
We thank you for choosing our experience and taking your time to leave us the honest feedback. We are so sorry to hear that you could not enjoy the tour with our guide. We are constantly striving to further improve our service and apologize for not being able to provide you with the experience you expected this time. Please let us know if there is anything further we can do for you. Japan Guide Agency
Homer_H, Dec 2023
Wonderful tour of Kyoto. Our guide Tohru was fantastic. Great communication to set up our meeting point, led us through Kyoto by train and bus to visit three beautiful sites. Yakasa Shrine, Kinkaku-ji Temple and Bamboo forest. Guide was knowledgeable and took beautiful photos for us to share. Thank you!!!
Jason_S, Sep 2023
Great first tour after arriving in Tokyo! Our guide Taka was knowledgeable and fun, we truly enjoyed it.
Response from Host, Sep 2023
Tanks for your great review!
Taka
Tieny_H, Aug 2023
Mr. Masa is a very responsible tour guide to led us to the places what we wanted, even some special places that we didn't expected to go but he made it.
Thank you again, we had a wonderful time in Nezu Shrine and areas.
Response from Host, Aug 2023
I had a good and relaxed time with you from Toronto Ontario, ｍｙ old nostalgic town. I am honored to hear you spent a pleasant time especially in Nezu, old down town down Tokyo.
I do hope you will come again to explore some other traditional spots in Tokyo as well in other cities and have a good time with me again. Have a safe fly back to your home.
sincerely,
Masa
MEEFUNG_A, Jul 2023
Our tour guide was super nice and knowledgeable. He met us at our hotel and tailored our interests to set the itinerary for the day. We got the cliff notes on how to take the subway and get around Tokyo which was pretty cool!! He was very patient with me and my kids.
Response from Host, Jul 2023
I myself as well had a good and relaxed time with all of you in Tokyo. I am honored to hear you spent a pleasant time.
I do hope you will come to Japan again to explore some other spots in Tokyo as well other cities in Japan. (There are a lot more interesting spots all over Japan) and have good time with me again. Have a safe fly back to your home.
sincerely,
Masa
teresamaynard99, Jul 2023
We had an enjoyable day with our tour guide Hiro wandering around Tokyo. He was keen to show us the places we wanted to see and when some of them weren't open, for various reasons, we found a Plan B. Finding the 'less beaten track' was tricky at times but we got there and had a great day out.
Response from Host, Aug 2023
Thank you for your nice review you have posted.
I hope you had experienced several aspects of Japanese history and culture.
I feel sorry that you couldn’t go to the imperial palace, but we could see the moat,
the traditional double-arched bridge and many pine trees around the imperial palace, that’s a relief, I think.
On the way to Meiji Jingu shrine, we could visit Meiji Jingu Inner Garden,
where we could stroll around a wonderful pond and watching the water lily.
That’s an another aspect of Japanese history and culture, I think.
If you have a chance to visit Japan again,
you should go to Kamakura, where you may find wonderful things of old temples
and shrines and the sea.
I wish two of you have a wonderful future.
2023, Jul 30
Sincerely yours,
Hiromasa Nishiyama
A tour guide
lydhanus, May 2023
Way too fast paced. Guide took us to the spots we wanted to see. Not too much information shared about the locations, just the basics. Which we could have read in the tour overview. Could have visited these places our our at a more relaxed and appreciative pace.
Response from Host, May 2023
Thank you very much for leaving a review of your guide and tour. We would like to apologize that this tour was not up to the standards that we set and are speaking with your guide to help to improve future experiences for others. Your valuable feedback helps us to continue to provide a high level of quality. We hope that you were able to enjoy the rest of your time in Japan and that you have safe travels. JGA Customer Support
gary_p, Apr 2023
Guide Kei met us at Asakusa then trained into Tokyo. It was raining which made things difficult
VisitedUeno Lake chasing Cherry blossom. A day or so early but a beautiful area. Visited a number of local cemetery sites where where there were lovely blooms. Including a visit to the old fish markets which was very interesting. Took in lunch along with warm Sake which was also an experience. We did find kei to be a bit lacking in detail and also tended to walk ahead which was off-putting. I have had better guides whilst in japan.
maysmenagerie, Mar 2023
We had a wonderful day with Kris. He shared many stories about his life and his family and was fun to be around. Kris sent us a long list of potential activities and based on our particular interests, planned all of the transportation in advance so that we were able to see as much as possible. He helped us learn the subway system and pointed out cultural norms that were very important to know. We made a last minute change to where we wanted to wrap up our tour and Kris accompanied us to the new destination. We had a lovely sushi lunch and made a stop at a little pub where Kris was a regular. I highly recommend booking a tour with Kris!
Response from Host, Apr 2023
Thank you very much for your heart warmer review.
I am sure you enjoyed Team Lab Pranet and the baseball game at Tokyo Dome.
I hope your will visit Japan near future. If we have an opportunity, I would like to watch a baseball at Koshien Stadium with you.
Abhijit_D, Nov 2022
Amazing day trip which started with the beautiful autumn trees at Gingko Avenue , went on to the Tsukiji fish market (including great lunch - fresh sea food) plus other great spots and ended with the magnificent sensoji temple.
All this was possible and made enjoyable because of our very friendly and helpful guide Taka san who took us thru the Tokyo subways - (lots of walking !!).
Highly recommended if you have just a few hours to coverTokyo !
Response from Host, Jan 2023
It was a wonderful day - Abhijit. I understand your wife as we as you are quite fish lovers. Next time, I will accompany you to eel / conger restaurant which is No.1 in Toyosu.
See you next time,
Taka
Kenneth_L, Nov 2022
The guide was very knowledgeable, courteous, patient, thoughtful, I was very uncomfortable having to travel so far not knowing where I was going but the guide made my trip a memorable one, he was superb
Response from Host, Jan 2023
Hi, Thanks for joining my tour.
That was a tough quest for the first timer to meet up at the huge labyrinth, Tokyo station haha!
I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed the trip and hope to see you next time.
Yuichi
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