First time in Tokyo? Or revisiting after many years? Interested in arts?
Check out our 1-day Tokyo guided sightseeing tours.
Our Tokyo tours are a great introduction to the everyday life of Tokyoites and to the history of this metropolis. We include some traditional parts of Tokyo as well as the modern parts of the city and take you up to fantastic viewpoints from where you will be able to look down and admire how enormous this city is. The tours take about 6 – 8 hours (depending on how fast we move and how crowded are the places we visit) including a break for lunch.
Tokyo’s different faces tour (June 2nd, Sunday)
This tour will guide you through modern Tokyo while visiting some traditional parts that were not destroyed during the second WW. You can get to know the office- and administration district with skyscrapers that give home to the HQs of the world`s leading companies, or the fashion and entertainment center of Tokyo while visiting Shinto shrines and Japanese gardens, too.
Meet your guide at the hotel lobby. After a short chat about the things we will do today, we’ll head for the nearest subway station. Our first stop is the busiest station in the world, Shinjuku. After strolling in Kabukicho, the entertainment district of Eastern-Shinjuku, we`ll pass through the “Golden Gai”, where you can experience the atmosphere of the post-war Tokyo. On the Western side of Shinjuku, we`ll visit the observatory of the metropolitan government building for a view of this amazing metropolis.
After lunch, we`ll leave Shinjuku and arrive at Shibuya, the fashion district of Tokyo with the busiest crossing in the world. Passing Miyashita Park, we`ll arrive to Harajuku, the funky town of modern Japan, an excellent place for people-watching.
From Harajuku we`ll hop on a train and visit Zojoji-temple and Tokyo Tower. After taking some amazing photos of the temple with Tokyo tower in the background, we`ll take a look at the tower from close (we won`t climb up the tower!), and then head back to our hotel. Planned arrival to the hotel will be around 5:30-6pm.
Cost of the tour:
140 EUR per person (5-8 person)
120 EUR per person (9-15 person)
What is included?
- English speaking guide
- Entrance fees to the sites mentioned above
- 1 day transportation pass
What is not included?
- Lunch
- Gratuity
- Taxi, if you wish to use to return to your hotel after the tour, or during the tour if you are tired.
Traditional Tokyo tour(June 3rd, Monday)
This tour will guide you through old and traditional parts of Tokyo, while passing some modern parts of the metropolis, too. You can get to know how the post-war Tokyo looked like, and will also see the skyscrapers of one of the biggest cities in the world.
Meet at the hotel lobby with your tour guide at 9am. After a short explanation of the day, our first stop will be the famous Sky Tree where you can enjoy a 360° view of this amazing metropolis from the Tembo Deck, 350m above ground. From this modern attraction we will head to Asakusa, one of the oldest parts of Tokyo, visiting the city`s oldest Buddhist temple, Sensoji and the Asakusa shrine.
Our next stop will be Ueno Park, the “Central Park of Tokyo”. After lunch in Ameyoko, the market area around Ueno, we will stroll in Tokyo`s first western-style park, which gives home to the capital`s zoo and numerous museums, including the National Museum of Western Art, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
After a short train ride, we`ll arrive to Meiji shrine, dedicated to emperor Meiji and his wife. Unlike other shrines, this one is not colorful, but pure brown and gold with imposing cedar torii (gates).
Our tour will end in the popular entertainment center of Tokyo, Shibuya. We`ll cross the busiest crossing in the world among some impressive skyscrapers, and get known the story of the most loyal dog, Hachi.
From Shibuya, we will head back to the hotel. Arrival to the hotel is planned around 5:30-6:00pm. If you wish to stay in the area, your guide will provide you information how to get back to the hotel.
Your guide will accompany you back to your hotel after the tour, or explain how to get to your next destination if you want to keep on discovering Tokyo on your own.
Cost of the tour:
140 EUR per person (5-8 person)
120 EUR per person (9-15 person)
What is included?
- English speaking guide
- Entrance fees to the sites mentioned above
- 1 day transportation pass
What is not included?
- Lunch
- Gratuity
- Taxi, if you wish to use to return to your hotel after the tour, or during the tour if you are tired.
NOTES for all tours
You’ll need to bring your camera, your ID (or a copy of it) and some cash for lunch/snacks/drinks that are not included.
We might be visiting places where we have to take off our shoes, so make sure you have socks on (or with) you. (I.e. not to enter barefoot as that is a faux-pas in Japan.)
We might take a boat during the tour: let us know if you have aversions towards boat rides. This would be a 40-person sightseeing boat, not a tiny one.
We are going up in elevators to high floors in buildings towards viewpoints: let us know if you are claustrophobic. Buses and subways/metro can also get crowded.
We are visiting viewpoints high above ground: let us know if you are afraid of heights inside buildings that have glass walls.
We are going to walk a lot, please wear comfortable shoes.
LUNCH:
We will have a lunch break when you will be able to purchase some light lunch and drinks.
Please note that although your guide will assist, it is not guaranteed you will be able to get vegan or vegetarian food. If you have any allergies, bring some food with you and let us know in advance about this.
Please bring your water – the tap water is drinkable in Japan
Payment options:
- WISE (formerly Transferwise) transfer to our WISE account
- WIRE transfer to our bank account
- Stripe payment with your credit card – add 4% extra fee – your card will be charged in EUR.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Since we will pre-purchase tickets to the tour that are non-refundable and the guides’ schedule must also be pre-arranged well in advance, due to extreme business during post-Covid influx of tourists to Japan, the participation fee is 100 % non-refundable within 30 days of the start of the tour. Until this date we accept cancellations and refund the participation fee after deducting 20USD cancellation fee and any bank fees that occur. All cancellations must be in writing to: eszter.horvath@serpentintours.com.
For reservation, further information: eszter.horvath@serpentintours.com