Tokyo

Private & Custom Tokyo Kickstart Tour With A Local

Name: Private & Custom Tokyo Kickstart Tour With A Local
Brand: City Unscripted
SKU: 30791P354
Price: 120.00 USD
Rating: 4.5 (70 reviews)

Badge of ExcellenceTokyo, Japan

Tokyo Kick Start Your Trip with a Local Host

From $120.00

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

3 to 6 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Orient yourself on your first day in Tokyo, and see the city through the eyes of a local. During this customized tour with your personal host, learn how to navigate and use Tokyo’s transport system. Choose from the city’s most famous attractions, or explore up-and-coming neighborhoods. Understand cultural practices, find the best places to eat, and get advice on Tokyo’s nightlife scene.

Explore Tokyo at your own pace with a local guide
Customize your tour to your needs and interests
Get familiar with navigating the city on Tokyo’s transport system
See the most popular attractions in your chosen neighborhoods

What's Included

100% Private and personalized experience
Pick your exploration area with your host
Hotel meet-up (available on request for central location)
Walking tour

Food and drinks
Tickets to any attractions
Transportation costs
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

NewDays Harajuku
Japan, 150-0001 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Jingūmae, 1-chōme18, 原宿駅表参道口改札外
(The host will be waiting in front of the convenience store, located inside JR Harajuku Station) After booking, you can adjust the meeting point to fit your preferences with the help of our Experience Planners.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Hachikō Memorial Statue (Pass By)

Shibuya Scramble Crossing (Pass By)

Center Loop (Pass By)

Sensō-ji (Pass By)

Nakamise Street (Pass By)

Ueno Park (Pass By)

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (Pass By)

Kabukicho (Pass By)

Omoide Yokocho (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Confirmation: You will receive confirmation of your booking immediately after making the reservation.
Questionnaire: After booking, you will receive a short questionnaire to tell us more about your interests and preferences. You will be matched with a like-minded local host based on your responses.
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Most travelers can participate
Central hotel or accommodation meet-ups can be requested
This is a walking tour, so please wear comfortable shoes
Near public transportation
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate.
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

70 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 70 reviews

Tokyo

carolyn_l, Apr 2024

A wonderful afternoon with Alberto! He showed us parts of Tokyo we would have never seen on our own! Thank you for an amazing experience!

Response from Host, Apr 2024

It's fantastic that you had an amazing experience, and we're grateful for your kind words.

Excellent custom Tokyo tour

Anthony_v, Apr 2024

It was indeed a custom/personalised tour with a local who knowa a lot about Tokyo. We very much enjoyed the tour. We learned a lot, discovered Tokyo and had a great tour.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Our team are truly uplifted by your positive feedback. Thank you so much!

Disciver Tokyo, city of non-stop surprises, with a local guide.

Claudia_V, Mar 2024

Fantastic experience with our super nice guide, Shuto. We couldn't have started our Japan experience in a better way, had a great time. Highly recommended if you feel bit overwhelmed with all the choices Tokyo has to offer and want to get acquainted with one of the coolest cities in the world!

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thank you for sharing your fantastic experience with Shuto! We're delighted to hear that he provided such a memorable and enjoyable introduction to Tokyo. Your recommendation means a lot to us, thank you!

This tour was ok. It's...

Debbie_B, Feb 2024

This tour was ok. It's nice to have a guide for the amount of time you book them. Just be very specific in what you ask for and then double confirm it with your guide when you meet. Maybe ask for someone who specializes in what you are looking for as well.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Hi Debbie, Thanks for sharing your thoughts! We appreciate your insight into being specific with requests, and we'll certainly use it to enhance our services. We'll also encourage our hosts to be more proactive in this regard. Looking forward to your next tour with us, where we aim to provide you with the 5-star experience you deserve! Warm regards, Ruslan and the City Unscripted Team.

Personable, very knowledgeable and fun guide!

Aisha_M, Oct 2023

Ayaka and I had a great time exploring the area near my hotel in Minato Tokyo! We went to the fish market (too many people but interesting) and got omelettes on a stick there, then saw the kabuki theater, then found an amazing tea shop where we had very special tea and traditional sweets. We were having so much fun I extended my time and we saw the imperial palace and the gardens near it!

Did not happen

William_P, Oct 2023

Guide for our tour of Tokyo did not turn up at our hotel because of illness and we have received no refund as of yet she tried to reach us just before she was due to arrive which was to late to arrange alternative guide as we were only staying Three days in Tokyo and next two days we had tours booked.

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Hello curious traveler, I can imagine how frustrating it must have been when your Tokyo tour didn't go as planned due to the host's illness, especially since you had a tight schedule and couldn’t reschedule. Your feedback is important to us, and I want to assure you that your refund was processed and you will receive it soon. We truly hope you'll consider giving us another chance to provide you with a great tour experience. If you need any more help, don't hesitate to reach out to our friendly customer service team. Warm regards, Ruslan and the City Unscripted Team.

Don’t book this tour

Yeymi_G, Aug 2023

I booked this tour and the guide never picked up us. I talked with the organizer before the tour but the guide never tried to texted or called.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Hello Yeymi, Thank you for sharing your feedback. Due to unforeseen circumstances, our host was suddenly not available on the day. This miscommunication is not up to our standards, and we're actively enhancing our processes to prevent such occurrences. We've reached out to you directly via email, and we hope you’ll give us another opportunity so we can show you how amazing our experiences are. Best regards, Ruslan and the City Unscripted Team

my wife and i love eating...

MelchorTiama, Jul 2023

my wife and i love eating and shopping and the walking motivated us to eat some more and our local guide Apy was very patient with seniors like us who are overwhelmed by the massive subway system.

Private Tour

Joelle_B, Jun 2023

This was a great tour! Our guide Camila tailored our tour to our interests and had lots of insights on Japan culture. I would highly recommend this tour!

Fantastic Tokyo orientation tour

Andrew_C, Jun 2023

Susumu was the perfect guide for our intro to Tokyo- Thoughtful, easy going, and extremely helpful in getting me and my 13yo son to oriented the city. Communication ahead of our trip was thorough and thoughtful. Day of was a perfect combination of touristy sight seeing and the locals' experience of Tokyo. Felt more like traveling with an experienced friend than a guide. Wish we had booked him for more than one day! Thanks again, Susumu!

Fabulous half day tour

Peter_F, May 2023

Excellent and well informed friendly guide who was able to respond to all our questions and made the tour a highly enjoyable experience.

Do yourself a favor and do it

Jen_Z, May 2023

Hiroto was great! He walked ua around asakusa, answered all our questions, introduced us to a dozen new foods, and he as great with our daughter, too. This was our first private tour, but it was so much better with a toddler to do it this way. This was so good that we booked another one in Kyoto!

Fun Times in Akihabara and at a Maid Cafe

Rommel_S, Apr 2023

Antonio was an super friendly, knowledgeable guide. He is also really smart and an expert in both Japanese and English, despite that neither was his first language. He met with us (2 adults, 2 children) at our hotel and we went to Akihabara together and explored the area for a little while until we went to a maid cafe to have dinner. It was a really nice time. There were only two minor disappointments, neither of which was a very big deal: 1) The listing on Viator lists that we would be "picked up," so we were expecting a tour guide with a vehicle. Instead, we had to find our own transportation. 2) We did also want to visit a bookstore where we could check out some My Hero Academia manga, just to see what it was like, but we were busy doing other things and we all forgot to do that. Overall, it was a really fun, memorable experience.

Walking Tokyo wit Lhasa Mariana

hgsender, Apr 2023

Mariana was our guide. She was fantastic. She took us to major temples, shrines, and to the fish market. We are at a sushi restaurant at the fish market and it was delicious. I still can’t understand how Mariana navigated us across the city on the Teaneck system but she did! Great tour and exceptional guide.

Cancelling and uncancelling

Mark_H, Apr 2023

Your subcontractor, City Unscripted, first confirmed our date, April 1st, then cancelled with only three days to go, then reconfirmed after finally finding a host with only one day to go. That caused some stress and replanning. The eventual host, Jonny, was great and very flexible.

Excellent personal tour of Tokyo parks

James_D, Mar 2023

Excellent tour guide for a personal tour of Tokyo parks for cherry blossoms. Gave great suggestions and context for the parks, palaces and temples. Great rooftop park to eat bento lunches. Taught us how to use Tokyo transit system! Highly recommended. 5 star tour.

Great experience!

Azie_S, Mar 2023

Gabriel was amazing! He showed us how to use the train, took us to Senso-ji temple, helped us order food and buy some basics at Don Quijote then gave us recommendations for lunch. It was the perfect intro to Tokyo! He was understanding, patient, and friendly.

Incredibly worthwhile - we 'learned' Tokyo

Samantha_O, Mar 2023

My son and I had an excellent tour with Michael on our first morning in Tokyo. We booked it for the first day so we could essentially get an orientation to the city... In summary: - He met us on time at our hotel - He followed through on our asks to do practical things - We learned a great deal about 'how' to operate in Japan and local manners/customs. He also showed us how to get around on the subway and a bunch of other tricks to help us get the most of the city. (how to find good food) - Michael is incredibly knowledgeable about the city and Japanese culture. This tour was game changing for us and allowed us to make the most of the city. The only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is because a 'walking tour' of Tokyo feels impossible given the size and sets the wrong expectation. The tour company should consider marketing this as an orientation. I highly recommend that you start your first-time-in-Tokyo trip with this tour.

Excellent, eye opening and memorable

Matthew_S, Feb 2023

Experiencing all the cultural areas, seeing the hidden side of Tokyo and getting ideas for where to visit over the next few days

Mark is an excellent host & tour guide!!

Jamison_J, Jan 2023

Mark was an excellent host & tour guide- we had a nice walk in the brisk evening air as he shared some of the sights & his knowledge about living in Japan for twenty years as a British citizen with a Japanese wife- great perspective & insights - great way to see the area during my 12 hour layover. He was flexible as my plane landed a little late & I wasn’t sure how long customs would take. He met me at my hotel near the statue of the haichimoku the loyal dog,