Tokyo is an absolute thrill for cosmopolitan travelers. With its skyscrapers piercing the sky like bamboo shoots, and neon-lit streets enticing you to shop and dine until the early hours – it’s a city that never fails to amaze. One of the most famous landmarks in the Japanese capital is the Tokyo Tower. Standing at 333 meters in height, this orange and white structure resembles the Eiffel Tower – offering views just as good as the Parisian icon.
Another must-visit is the legendary Shibuya Crossing. As many as 3,000 people walk across this bustling intersection at the same time, making it the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing. Here you will get introduced to Tokyo’s fast-paced energy, and witness locals and tourists alike darting in all directions. Visitors to Tokyo should come to Shibuya on their first day to ‘hit the ground running’ and take classic photos of the city that never sleeps.
But it’s not just the metropolitan’s modern features that make it so unique. Tokyo also boasts a rich cultural heritage (dating back 400 years) that mixes beautifully with its technological glitz and glamor. From visiting majestic temples like Meiji Shrine, to experiencing a traditional tea ceremony with Kimono dress, to partaking in the annual cherry blossom festival – you will have one foot in the future and one firmly in the past on your trip to Tokyo.
The food is something not to miss as well. Japanese cuisine is renowned for its dishes like sushi, tempura and ramen – yet these staples only scratch the surface. Tokyo is nothing short of a gastronomic wonderland where all sorts of goodies can be tried on the streets and in the restaurants such as okonomiyaki savory pancakes, grilled octopus and sticky mochi. And if you want to splash out on a luxurious Michelin-star experience, you can.
All in all, Tokyo is a place that is impossible to describe in words. You simply have to see it for yourself. While there are endless ways you could plan a getaway here, we recommend getting in touch with a fantastic local company called Hello! Tokyo Tours and booking a couple of their culturally immersive experiences. They offer the best small group and private tours of Tokyo, due to their knowledge of the city’s back streets and hidden gems.
With Hello! Tokyo, you will set off on walks to explore spots you never knew existed. By using public transport, like the locals do, you will be able to cover a lot of distance and get a broad sample of the culture. For those who prefer the comfort of an air-conditioned vehicle, these tours can also be arranged with private cars. Whether you’re a foodie in search of new flavors or a history-buff intrigued by Japan’s heritage – Hello! Tokyo can help.
Best Small Group and Private Tours of Tokyo
1. Private Customized Tokyo Walking Tour
This walking tour lasts anywhere from 4 to 8 hours – depending on the places and experiences that interest you, and the pace you would like to go at. The team at Hello! Tokyo will put together a fun-filled itinerary that everyone in your group will enjoy. The tours can also start any time between 8am and 7:30pm – so there are options for early risers as well as night owls. Better yet, hotel pickup and dropoff is included in the price.
First-time visitors will probably be keen on ticking popular spots off their list such as the Sensoji Temple and Tsukiji Fish Market, while frequent visitors may wish to do a tour that takes them to secret spots. Since the tours are half or full day excursions, it goes without saying that food needs to play a role. Hello! Tokyo can combine foodie elements (without turning it into a full on gastro tour) that ensure your taste buds are satisfied.
2. Small Group Tokyo Food Tour
Running on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays – with a max of 8 guests – this small group tour is a journey through time which sees travelers visit three districts of Tokyo. The tour’s theme is centered around three different periods of Japanese history and how food played a part during each. The first is the Edo period from 1603 to 1867, the second is the current-day and the third is the future – showcasing creative versions of traditional flavors.
There are 14 food tastings to try, so come hungry. To kick things off, guests get acquainted with the recipes that characterized the Edo period. This is done in the Nihonbashi quarter. The tour continues to Ginza where stories are told about Japan’s industrialization post-WWII. After the war, salarymen came into existence and with that came the gado-shita (small restaurants and bars built under train tracks to serve workers on their commute home).
You will get the chance to dine like a salaryman and eat dishes such as grilled meat on skewers, curry udon and tempura soba. From here, you take a stroll to Tokyo Station and eat more commuter favorites: a tamagoyaki omelet and fruit sandwich. The final portion of the tour is set in Akihabara with its electronic shops, maid cafes and Anime. *Note: there is a private version of the exact same tour that can be booked with Hello! Tokyo.
3. Small Group Tokyo Sake Class & Tasting
Sake is a traditional Japanese drink made from fermented rice with an alcohol percentage of 14 to 16%. Trying a shot or two on your Tokyo visit is a must. The history of sake stretches back two thousand years and with this heritage comes many different types – from standards to crafts. On this sake experience with Hello! Tokyo, guests get to sip on 6 varieties of the popular beverage while discovering which food pairings work best.
The small group version of this tour (between 2 to 8 people) is a great way to meet other travelers over a sociable activity: drinking. Other sake tours are also available for those who don’t want to join the small group one, including: a private sake tasting class, an extra add-on to your walking tour or a large group sake class for groups of 8 to 20 people. The large group tours are suitable for corporate team building events and study trips.
4. Private Yokohama Tour
Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan and home to an enchanting bay front that gives it an entirely different feel to Tokyo, despite it being a 30 minute drive away. The streets are less crowded than Tokyo but aren’t short of amazing things to do. On this tour, guests immerse themselves in the culture of the city through the eyes of immigrants who arrived in the 1800s. Highlights include a boat ride, CupNoodles Museum and lunch.
The boat ride takes places on the Yokohama Sea Bass and offers panoramic views. Your first port of call is Yamashita Park, a place where immigrants landed many years ago. Afterwards, you walk up Yamate Hill to learn about its residential history. Of note are the Spanish villas and Victorian houses that the early Western settlers lived in. Next on the tour is Chinatown – the largest of its kind in all of Japan – to visit temples and eat dumplings.
The second half of the experience is spent in Minato Mirai, where you can marvel at the most futuristic waterfront you have ever seen and partake in retail therapy at the Red Brick Warehouse boutique shopping outlet, and then CupsNoodle Museum to see how instant noodles were invented. Touring the museum is more fun than it sounds due to the fact that the founder of Cup Noodles – Momofuku Ando – lived such an intriguing life.
5. Private Hakone Tour
Hakone offers the breathtaking mountain landscapes of Mt Fuji, the blissful waters of Lake Ashinoko, fantastic onsen hot springs, world-class museums and charming inns – all of which creates a tourism hotspot. It can get quite crowded in Hakone, especially on the weekends and public holidays, but no trip to Japan is complete without visiting the town for at least a day. And there is no better way to do so than with Hello! Tokyo on their private tour.
It begins by taking a bullet train from Tokyo, a must-do in itself. Once in Hakone you head to Lake Ashinoko for a cruise where you can capture photos of Mt Fuji. From there is a gondola ride up to Owakudani to see sulfur vents and try ‘black eggs’. After that smelly yet cool visit, you head to the Open-Air Museum to admire sculptures and then travel by cable car to Hakone Yumoto – a town that will be etched into your memory forever.
