September 2009
Guide: Koji Yamada
Route: September 20th: Hamarikyu Garden- Asakusa – Ameyoko street in Ueno – Akihabara (electric town) – Yakitori in Yurakucho; September 21st: Odaiba – Tsukudajima – Nezu – Yanaka

Dear Tokyo Free Guide

We want to thank Koji Yamada for being our guide in Tokyo on September 19th and 20th 2009. He was a wonderful guide and showed us popular areas like Asakusa as well the back alleys of Nezu and Yanaka. He explained about these places in clear English and really enhanced our appreciation and understanding of Tokyo’s history and culture. He also taught us a few useful phrases in Japanese. Not only did he show us and tell us about the real Tokyo but also taught us how to use the subway so that we could explore on our own. Whoever said “You will be lost in Tokyo,” didn’t have Koji for a guide. In addition, he showed us inexpensive and authentic places that we would never have found by ourselves. We highly recommend Koji as a guide.

All the best,

Don Gabor and Eileen Cowell

May 2009
Guide: Chinami Nishizawa, Ryuichiro Hayashi
Route: Hamarikyu; Hakone – Odawara Castle; Ueno – Asakusa – Akihabara; Zojoji – Ginza – Yurakucho – Imperial Palace

Our trip to Japan was one of our best vacation experiences thanks to Ichiro and Chinami. Ichiro and Chinami are very charming professionals, speak English well, and are very knowledgeable about Japan’s history and culture. Ichiro and Chinami custom designed a tour to meet our needs. They made sure that we saw the best of Tokyo and the surrounding area without wasted time. They made all arrangements for transportation services, restaurant recommendations, as well as unique opportunities for special local experiences (night walks, shopping, handicrafts, etc.). Because of their efforts, our time in Tokyo was completely stress-free.

We were able to do and see everything on our “wish list” (and more) such as: ride the bullet train to Hakone/Mt Fuji and visit the hot spots such as: the National Museum, the Asakusa Temple, Tsukiji Fish market, Tokyo Tower, Zojyoji temple, Kabuki theater, Meiji jingu- Shrine, Imperial palace, Hamarikyu Gardens with Tea Ceremony, and Takeshita Dori street. We also “shopped till we dropped” at Omotesando, Ginza, Shibuya, Asakusa, and Akihabara.

Chinami and Ichiro arranged all of our meals and they were all fantastic! We ate at reasonably – priced , authentic restaurants such as: Ueno, Torigin restaurant, Minase Japanese restaurant, and we had the best Soba noodles at a beautiful restaurant near Mt Fuji (I can’t remember the name of the restaurant). Chinami also recommended and arranged dinner reservations at the Mango Tree restaurant in the Marunouchi building for our last evening and recommended a reflexology salon treatment (foot massage) one day when my wife reported sore feet . They even checked the weather forecasts!!

The bottom line is…… we had an exceptional and unforgettable trip!! We look forward to someday going back to Japan to visit Kyoto and of course, to hang out with Ichiro and Chinami.

Thanks for everything – Phil and D’Nyce

March, 2005
Guide: Nagisa & Yoshihiro
Route: Hamarikyu – Shiodome – Yurakucho – Ueno

Everyone that travels to Tokyo for the first time should try this wonderful guide experience. The first time for anyone in such a big city can be intimidating but Nagisa and Yoshihiro were superb hosts. They made the entire day a hassle free experience and were always looking for ways to enhance the experience. They showed us some wonderful places and also made some phone calls to help us get good directions for the rest of our stay. I am so thankful for their help and would do it again in a heartbeat. Our first full day in Tokyo and as you can see by the pics it was raining but because of time with our Tokyo Free Guides it was the best day off all.