Expert guided Japan private tours & day trips with licensed tour guides
My 100% tailor-made Japan private guided tours--city tours, day trips & other tours from major cities--are the "first class" way to experience the best of Japan with a local licensed guide. I provide guides that speak English, Spanish and Chinese (as well as other major languages: please inquire).
Every tour design reflects the specific needs and preferences of each and every client. Ian Martin Ropke (founder and owner of Your Japan Private Tours) designs all the itineraries, the client approves (final OKs) each day or night plan, and then the guide follows the final version. My expert fully customized guided city tours & day trips can be purchased day by day or can be part of a longer private tour package.
I provide guided tours designed for the elderly, families with children, BLeisure travelers, small groups and luxury travelers. The choices are all yours!
Testimonials from past guided tour clients.
If guided tours are too expensive for your group, spend 66% less on my Japan self-guided tours & travel services.
To begin with, the more I know about you, the easier it is to design day by day and night by night travel programming for you. In the end, when you, the client, are happy with the tour plan itinerary outline (morning, day, or night), your local licensed Japanese tour guide follows the “final OK” itinerary approved by you, the client. My vetted, trained licensed local tour guides are knowledgeable, friendly, flexible and bilingual (English, Spanish, Chinese; for other languages please inquire).
To choose the best Japan guided private tour design for your interests--in & around Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka—follow the links below. Each link has a detailed overview of my most popular tours & day trips in each city area or zone. If the guided private tours listed here do not cover what you are interested in, please request a specialized | personalized private guided tour itinerary (at no extra charge!).
Tokyo private tours: The best of old & new Tokyo (old traditional districts, youth culture, contemporary culture, and excellent craft and Japan product shopping) and fascinating night tours of Shinjuku, Roppongi and secret spots. Popular day tours & day trips from Tokyo: Custom day tours and day trips to Mount Fuji | Lake Kawaguchi | Hakone, Kamakura, Nikko and other special places.
Kyoto private guided tours: My guided Kyoto private tours can be walking tours, handicraft tours, garden tours or specifically focused on what you want to see and do. Popular guided day trips & tours from Kyoto: Custom day trips and tours from Kyoto include Nara, Shigaraki | Miho Museum, Himeji | Kurashiki, the Tango Peninsula, and Hiroshima.
Osaka private guided tours: Osaka is famous for its fresh fish & food markets, modern shopping, ceramics, incredible food options and an amazing night life menu. Popular guided day trips & local tours from Osaka: There are many amazing places an hour from Osaka including Nara, Kyoto, Kobe, Himeji | Kurashiki, and Koyasan.
Learn more! Or email me today at yourjapanprivatetours AT gmail DOT com. Or text me on Whatsapp @ +1-415-230-0579.
- Fun night tours & early morning picnic tours anywhere!
- Japan's 5 incredible islands and guided tour options
- About my team of local licensed Japan tour guides
- FAQs about my guided Japan private tours from A to Z
I also provide night tours & early morning picnic tours!
My Japan private guided tours also include guided night tours and adventures (18:00-22:00) and serene early morning private tours (6:00-9:00).
In my guided private city night tours I focus on shrines, superstition, people watching, street food, and stunning night scenes. Popular private guided night tours include Tokyo (Roppongi | Shinjuku back lanes), Kyoto (Gion & Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine) and Osaka (Bladerunner Dotonbori).
My early morning private tours (6:00-9:00) are perfect for spiritual travelers (sun rise meditations), nature lovers and photographers. During super peak season in Kyoto (April, November), early morning tours are especially good value.
I also provide early morning "picnic" tours that combine interesting food shopping the night before and then the next morning, a picnic in the serene surroundings of an entire temple or shrine complex or in an ancient village or historical district on the edge of town.
My YouTube channel's growing video playlist, created from my huge Japanese photo collection, is also a way to plan for your trip in a mental and emotional way, sort of. Presently, there are 3 videos that showcase: 1. Portraits of Japanese people in daily life (5 min.). 2. The Japanese Shinto religion: images, scenes and symbols (2.66 min.). 3. Japanese Buddhism in daily life: images, scenes and symbols (5 min.). Go to my YouTube channel.
Most clients prefer early morning tours as a self-guided tour option, but some prefer to be with a guide all the time. I also have great local guides that I work with regularly in Takayama, Hiroshima, Sapporo and Fukuoka. For all other areas of Japan, and that means anywhere in Japan, I can arrange for guides with advance notice in most major languages. The choices are all yours! Learn more!
When tour guides are not available for whatever reason, even in Tokyo or Kyoto, you can confidently rely on my "equivalent" Japan self-guided tours. All my Japan private tours, no matter where you go, are customized to your specific interests & designed for good time flow, flexibility, and ease of travel. My Japan guided private tours are designed to save you time, every time, and improve the quality of your travel time.
Learn more! Or email me today at yourjapanprivatetours AT gmail DOT com. Or text me on Whatsapp @ +1-415-230-0579.
To learn more about Japan's incredible islands, explore the following pages
- Honshu Island: the Golden Route: from Tokyo to Kyoto & Osaka and the amazing attractions of places like Takayama, Kanazawa, Nagano and Naoshima and Kurashiki (to list a few).
- Kyushu Island: is a world of hot springs, mountain villages, ceramics of kinds, bamboo baskets, and coastal wonders.
- Hokkaido Island: is Japan's version of Canada's wild natural expanses that also includes hot springs, incredible flower parks, great skiing and the best seafood in Japan!
- Shikoku Island: Nestled just off the coast of Western Honshu, Shikoku is known for spiritual journeys, pristine nature, amazing seaside rice terraces, and empty, endless coastlines facing across the Pacific with nothing in between all the way to the coast of southern California!
- The Islands of Okinawa: Are well known for their great beaches, scuba diving and snorkeling, exotic food, and another culture, actually.
- Fun night tours & early morning picnic tours anywhere!
- Japan's 5 incredible islands and guided tour options
- About my team of local licensed Japan tour guides
- FAQs about my guided Japan private tours from A to Z
Learn more! Email me today at yourjapanprivatetours AT gmail DOT com. Or text me on Whatsapp @ +1-415-230-0579.
About my local tour guides for guided private tours all over Japan
Our local tour guides are all professional licensed guides and they have all been handpicked by the founder of Your Japan Private Tours, Ian Martin Ropke. I choose my regular guide team members carefully and look for friendly hearts, flexible minds, and a passionate interest in Japanese culture & nature. I have a great team of local guides in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Takayama, Hiroshima, Sapporo and Nagasaki.
It is important to note that my local guides do not design the day-by-day or night-by-night itineraries: I do! All itinerary designs are created for you, the client, by me and approved in advance by you. Then the local guide on my team carries out those designs step by step. Some VIP clients go off script from time to time. My local guides are trained to be flexible and solve problems that might occur in real time. I design everything according to the client's needs, and the guides also work to please the client. That's just good service.
FAQs about my guided Japan private tours from A to Z
What time does a private guided tour start and where do we meet the guide?
Answer: The client decides when they want to begin. Generally, for a full day or morning tour the start time is between 9:00 and 10:00 (earlier if you are going to morning fish or food markets). In the end, the client decides the start time based on their travel style. The guide always picks the client up at their hotel or ryokan at the appointed time. If you and your family or small group are taking a day trip to Kyoto from Tokyo, then the guide meets you on the bullet train platform as you step off the shinkansen. Other meeting points can also be designated if the tour starts in the afternoon or in the evening for a guided night tour. In the end, the meet place and time can be selected by the client, but usually it's in the hotel in lobby reception area at the time chosen by you.
What "basic expenses" can I expect during a guided private tour?
Answer: Private travel generally means that all expenses (public transportation, lunch, temple entry; see per day cost details below) during the tour are paid out of pocket as called for (the guide is trained to make payment easy and fast during the entire tour). This also includes paying for the guides expenses during the tour. Some clients prefer to pay for expenses in advance and this can easily be calculated day by day according to the client's preferences (especially for large groups and travel agent bookings for their local clients).
How much is lunch, public transportation, temple entry?
Basic expenses for your family or small group generally always include train, subway tickets; lunch; temple entry (shrines are free!). Some clients request a private car (or van or bus) and driver in addition to the services of a licensed Japan local tour guide. The basic cost is the same anywhere in Japan: Yen 9,000/hour for a sedan or a 6-9 seat van. Luxury vehicles are also widely available and also more expensive. For city tours, if you like to stroll a bit, then you can expect to spend about this much in a full day guided tour: 1. Yen 1,500/person for transportation costs (also for the guide). 2. Lunch Yen 1,000-1,500 (usually, also for the guide, but not always). 3. Entry to temples and museums (also for the guide) ranging from Yen 300-600/location per person (but this can vary for some temples and some museums). Entry to Shinto shrines is always free of charge!
Tips & tipping in Japan: Are we expected to tip the guide?
Answer: No, tipping is very uncommon in Japan. If you really had a special time with your guide and I mean really special then a tip of Yen 3,000 is a nice way of showing appreciation. If you can, put the money in a blank white envelope or wrap it in a piece of copy paper.
Can local tour guides drive and guide?
Answer: No, a Japanese licensed tour guide is not permitted to guide and drive. So, on guided tours, if you want a private van or car to travel around in, you will have to hire the driver as well. Generally, each hour of private transport (van or sedan) is priced around Yen 9,000/hour + parking + toll road fees (where relevant).
How much advance notice do you need to organize a tour or day tour?
Answer: For guided tours in off season a week is usually sufficient. For self-guided tours allow for at least 48 hours advance notice. In peak season (April and November) in Kyoto, booking a guide can be really difficult and sometimes all I can offer is self-guided tours. Hotel reservations in Kyoto in April, early May, late October and November, are almost impossible if you don't book a few months in advance. Sometimes it is necessary to stay in Osaka, Kobe or Otsu. Please inquire and I will do the best I can, but the more time I have the better!
Planning international trips is a time-intensive process and getting it right depends, in the end, on what you know and who you know. Your Japan Private Tours (YJPT) founder and owner, Ian Ropke, has been providing high-level Japan travel consulting services to individuals, families, groups and companies since 1990. Everyone is special at YJPT and I look forward to advising and helping you plan a great itinerary for your trip and connecting you with friendly reliable English speaking guides anywhere in Japan. I work with English as a second language speakers from anywhere in the world.
If you don’t want to be with a local tour guide every day or just want to save money but still be in control don’t forget my very popular self-guided tours. My Japan self-guided tours, ideal for FIT independent travelers of any kind, are all customized to your individual or group needs and designed for good time flow, flexibility, and ease of travel. Self-guided tours are a great way to see and experience Tokyo or Mount Fuji or Kamakura on your own. They are also great for traveling to remote areas of Japan. With these smart, compact PDFs (downloaded to your smartphone), complete with maps, historical and cultural summaries, you can see and do a lot on a flexible tour schedule, and save between 66% compared with my private guided day and city tour rates.
Thank you for taking the time to read this little overview. When you are ready let me know how I can make your trip to Japan interesting, fun and relaxing from start to finish. The more you tell me about your preferences and interests the better the design. Best, Ian
Learn more! Email me today at yourjapanprivatetours AT gmail DOT com. Or text me on Whatsapp @ +1-415-230-0579.