There are many Japanese Gardens in Tokyo, many of which used to be a part of Samurai mansions. This tour is for those who want to visit Japanese gardens.You can choose three gardens from the list of gardens shown in the itinerary.
At your hotel
I will propose an itinerary considering the location of your hotel.
This garden used to be the garden of Mitsubishi Zaibatsu, famous for its collection of Japanese stones with lots of birds. (Admission: 300 JPY)
You can see Bonsai and varicolored carps in this garden, nice place for lunch, too.
This garden used to be the mansion of Mito Tokugawa, wonderful atmosphere in the middle of Tokyo. (Admission: 300 JPY)
This is a typical strolling type Japanese garden in Edo period made by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu who loved Japanese old poems. (Admission: 300 JPY)
This garden used to be the duck hunting field of the Tokugawa shoguns with salt water ponds and a 300 year old pine tree. (Admission: 300 JPY)
This garden used to be the inner garden of Edo castle, which is renovated based on a picture in early Edo period. This is a typical strolling type Japanese garden and its original was made by Ensu Kobori who was a high ranking samurai. He was a master of the tea ceremony and made many other Japanese gardens, too. (Admission free, closed on Mondays and Fridays)
Wonderful garden with a marvelous waterfall. (Admission free)
A quiet garden with a teahouse and pond. There is a ground water well made by Kiyomasa during the early Edo period, which is a famous spiritual power spot. Recommended to visit in late June for iris flowers and the autumn leaves in November. (Admission: 500 JPY)
At your hotel
This is the list of gardens you can choose with their entrance fee, in the order of my recommendation.
1. Kiyosumi Garden (300 JPY)
2. Happo-En's Japanese Garden
3. Koishikawa Korakuen Garden (300 JPY)
4. Rikugien Garden (300 JPY)
5. Hamarikyu Garden (300 JPY)
6. Ninomaru Garden in the imperial palace (free)
7. Hotel New Otani's Japanese garden (free)
8. Inner Garden of Meiji Shrine (500 JPY)
Guide fee,
Hotel pick up
Transportation cost of the guide within Tokyo
Transportation cost of you (about 1,000 JPY per person within Tokyo)
Transportation cost of the guide outside of Tokyo (If you stay outside of Tokyo such as Disneyland.)
Lunch cost of you and the guide, entrance fee (described in each place in highlights, free for the guide)
There is little restriction due to COVID 19 in 2023. I was vaccinated six times with the Pfizer one.
Not available on Mondays.
We will walk a lot as these are strolling type gardens; about 20,000 steps a day.
- The tour guide is not available on Monday.
- Please, send a direct message to the tour guide for confirming the availability before booking
It depends on the places but about 1000 JPY per person. I will rend you an IC card for public transportation.
Yuki met us at our hotel in Tokyo promptly after confirming the meeting time by text, very reassuring. We were taken by train to an interesting shrine that offered good views of Mt. Fuji, another short hop on the train and bus to the lake where we had a nice trip on a pleasure craft that gave us different views. Yuki took us to a nice restaurant for lunch. Altogether a very nice day, Yuki is an interesting gentleman who proved to be a very good guide.
Dear Trevor Thank you for taking time to review my tour. I was very happy when Mt. Fuji appeared as the weather was not so stable there. Best regards Yuki
I can’t say enough about Yuki! He was so organized from the beginning conversation to the end of the tour. He was knowledgeable and kept us on schedule. He showed us his Miyabi Tour of Kyoto that we chose. His I knowledge on the history, customs and Japanese culture was outstanding. You cant make a better decision than to hire Yuki for your tour. We loved Yuki and we are so happy we met him and were able to spend the day with him.
Dear Kimberly Thank you for writing the review of my tour. We visited Fushimi Shrine, Sanjusangen-do Temple, Kiyomizu Temple and Gion area. It was the day before the main festival of Gion and we enjoyed to see Yasaka Shrine and Yomahoko float for the main festival. Thank you for taking my tour. Yuki
If you're interesting in visiting historical sites and learning about Japanese culture, Yuki is the guide for you! While it rained must of our day in Tokyo, it did not make it any less exciting, fun, and interesting. Yuki added color to every place that we went to. He taught us how to use the subway, how to read our fortunes, and how to properly enter and exit shrines. This you cannot learn just by reading signs. This is what I believe is important in respecting and appreciating the Japanese culture. He has an iPad with information on each location which provided an additional knowledge and fun facts. He is very kind, friendly, and welcoming. He only provides tours around 3 times a week, so do not wait to book him! We cannot recommend him enough. Thank you Yuki for sharing your day with us. We are so grateful and can only hope our paths cross again. - Alisa
Dear Alisa Thank you for your review. It was a rainy day but we took the advantage by visiting less crowded quiet gardens. There are lotus and Iris flowers blooming even better under the rainy weather. Thank you for taking my Tokyo tour. Yuki
We had such a great trip today with Yuki. He was knowledgeable and so helpful getting us around. He was patient with our two kids (ages 9 and 12) and set up a perfect day. He was on time and the day was perfectly planned. Thank you!!
Dear Meghan Thank you very much for wring the review of my Hakone tour on the same day. It was cloudy but Mt. Fuji appeared at the last minutes. It was unfortunate that the Shinkansen had a big trouble on our return trip to Tokyo so that we changed our plan to take a local train instead. Thank you again for taking my tour. Yuki