Expert tailormade Tokyo tours & day trips that show you more!

Our custom Tokyo private tours, Tokyo tour packages and Tokyo travel services were created to take you to where the Japanese really are My tailormade Tokyo private tours, Tokyo tour packages (self-guided or guided) and Tokyo travel services let you experience the best of Tokyo. Highlight destinations in the metropolis include the timeless outer Tsukiji Fish & Wholesale Food Market (the new fish market is a factory building), the modern buzz of Harajuku, Omotesando and Aoyama, Daikanyama and the Ginza. Experience the amazing worlds old worlds of old Edo or Tokyo’s ever changing contemporary scenes or both.

You choose what you want and I create the design you need. Tokyo is an incredible city if you know what to do and what not to do. I know what you need to know to have a really great time in Tokyo from start to finish.

My most popular Tokyo guided private tours (since 1990): Old New Tokyo day tours: Tsukiji fish and wholesale market, a choice of two 17th-century Japanese garden estates, a ride up the Sumida River, the bustling spiritual tourism of Asakusa’s temple town (lunch here), followed by a stroll from Nezu Shrine to the Yanaka Ginza traditional shopping street and ending in the fashionable Harajuku Aoyama zone. Hakone Old & New tour: Hakone, the traditional hot spring resort next to Mount Fuji, and less than an hour from downtown Tokyo, is great for a day tour or for an overnight in an exclusive ryokan inn (with private in-room bathing). Itineraries include side trips to world-class contemporary museum complexes and off the beaten track locations. Kamakura Amazing Gems Tour: This relaxing day-trip to seaside Kamakura is very popular. It includes 13th-century Zen architecture and culture, an incredible cave shrine devoted to the Goddess of the Arts, a temple bamboo garden forest, Asia's second-biggest bronze Buddha (12th century) and lunch in a garden estate with views of Mount Fuji on a clear day. Tokyo Garden & Personal Shopping tours: Tokyo has an incredible range of 17th century gardens and former samurai estates. These have been selected for this tour to dovetail with high value contemporary shopping and | or edgy hipster neighborhoods. Tokyo Foodie Urban Safaris: A foodie paradise, Tokyo has bustling 1920s food markets, great street food and secret spot high-value luxury eating spots. Let me know what you are into. Izu Peninsula Coastal Wonders tour: The Izu Peninsula, a relaxing 30-min shinkansen bullet train ride from Tokyo Station, offers scenic rugged coastlines, tranquil countryside hikes, and unforgettable off the beaten track gems and locations.

Guided tour FAQs (start time and location; itinerary design; expenses; tips . . .). Self-guided tour FAQs (design; delivery; types; expenses . . .).

Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!

Expert-designed day trips and excursions departing from Tokyo

The ancient bronze Kamakura Big Buddha facing the sea. My popular flexible Tokyo day trips and excursions let you experience the best of what is near Tokyo including Mount Fuji (Lake Kawaguchi or Hakone), Kamakura, the stunning Izu Peninsula and Nikko (best if you sleep in Nikko), and also the famous snow monkeys. Experience the amazing worlds old worlds of Japan that are just next door to or a few hours from Tokyo.

You choose what you want and I create the design you need. Tokyo and its surroundings are surprisingly rich in high-value destinations if you know what to do and what not to do. I know what you need to know to have a really great time in and around Tokyo from start to finish.

My most popular Tokyo day trips, excursions and one-day tours around Tokyo: Mount Fuji Wonder Tour: This very popular tour can include a hike from Mount Fuji’s 5th Station (along with Lake Kawaguchi below) or perfect views of Fuji from the cultural wonderland of Hakone (everything from ancient shrines to world class contemporary art museums). Kamakura: Japan’s first shogun (from 1185) ruled from Kamakura and the area is also the first Zen culture capital of Japan. Kamakura is great for walking, biking and traditional setttings. Nikko & Lake Chuzenji Gem Tour: Nikko is famous for the wooden carving of the three monkeys that see, hear or speak no evil. Edo’s all-powerful first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, is buried here. The nearby forested shores of Lake Chuzenji feature ancient temples and the stunning Kegon Waterfall.Izu Peninsula Adventure Tour: The Izu Peninsula is only an hour from Tokyo by fast train. Here you will find excellent countryside hiking, coastal vistas, and rustic magnificence. The hot spring town of Shuzenji is also exceptional (good for a night or two as well!). And Izu is easy to do as a self-guided independent tour. Tokyo Spiritual Journey Tour: An hour or two from Tokyo and you can be immersed in spiritual training centers that offer both extensive, serene surroundings and meditation or purification experiences.

Please enquire for other destinations and other themes of interest (handicrafts, tea ceremony, old street markets, ceramics and affordable and not so affordable luxury settings). I love to help my clients experience the Japan they have been dreaming of . . . I offer Tokyo local private day trips & tours that begin very early in the morning (2-hour Dawn Picnics; usually self-guided; please inquire) and really creative 4-hour guided night tours that introduce tourists and visitors to the interesting (family safe) after dark worlds of Shinjuku, Roppongi and Odaiba featuring street food, lively shrines and stunning night views.

My Tokyo tour guides are knowledgeable, friendly, flexible and trained to follow the final itinerary approved by you and your family or group. Local bilingual guides add value to your trip through their personal insights and interesting cultural knowledge. They are also great introductory teachers and can teach you important logistical information (how to use the ticket machines and the almost-perfect Tokyo public transportation system) and answer any important questions you may have.

Guided tour FAQs (start time and location; itinerary design; expenses; tips . . .). Self-guided tour FAQs (design; delivery; types; expenses . . .).

Related: Kyoto | Osaka area private guided tours & day trips

Custom, expert Kyoto guided private tours: High-value, creative tour itineraries focused seeing the Ancient Capital without the crowds. Private tours & day trips departing from Kyoto: To Nara, Shigaraki | Miho Museum, Himeji Castle, Kurashiki, Hiroshima, Osaka.

Custom Osaka guided private tours: High-value, smart tour itineraries designed for the best of modern Osaka with a bit of old mixed in! Private tours & day trips departing from Osaka: To Nara, Koyasan, Himeji Castle, Kurashiki, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Shigaraki | Miho Museum.