Tokyo Private Day Tour by Car: Explore Iconic Sights

A private tour guide Tokyo visitors can book for a full day is what turns eight scattered landmarks into one easy day. You have the same driver guide from your hotel door in the morning until the drop off in the evening, and hotel pickup is included. The price is for the vehicle, not per person, so two people and a family of four pay the same.

What you see on this Tokyo day tour

We start at Senso-ji in Asakusa, early enough that the walk through Nakamise is still comfortable, then Tokyo Skytree for the view back across the city. Lunch is in Akihabara. The afternoon moves west: the moat and the Nijubashi bridge at the Imperial Palace, then Tokyo Tower with Zojo-ji temple standing in front of it, one of the few places where old and new Tokyo sit in the same photograph. After that the forest path into Meiji Shrine, the noise of Takeshita Street in Harajuku three minutes away, and Shibuya Crossing to finish.

How the day is paced

Pickup is around 9:00 from any hotel or address inside Tokyo's 23 wards, and you are usually back by early evening. Because you move by car, the gaps between stops are fifteen to thirty minutes instead of two train changes and a walk at each end. Nothing on the list is fixed. If you would rather spend an extra hour at Senso-ji and skip Akihabara, tell your driver in the car and the day changes.

Who this tour suits

It works for a first visit to Japan, for families with young children who cannot manage long stretches on the subway, and for anyone with one free day between meetings. Older guests do well here, because the stops are spread out but the walking at each one is short and the car waits nearby. Our drivers hold a Japan Class 2 commercial passenger licence, and your English-speaking guide is the same person driving the car, at no extra charge.

Best time to visit Tokyo

Late March into April for cherry blossom and November for the ginkgo colour are the two obvious windows, and also the busiest. May and October are the easiest months to walk in. Summer afternoons are humid, which is one reason a car day beats a train day in August. Winter is cold but clear, and clear is when Mt Fuji shows from the Skytree deck.