7 guided walking tours to see the best sides of Tokyo

Tokyo Localized offers over a dozen day and night walking tours in various areas around Tokyo, many of which are completely free of charge. The company's three-hour flagship tour – simply called The Original Free Walking Tour – starts in Akihabara and makes its way through popular hotspots like Kanda Shrine, Ameyoko and the Confucian temple Yushima Seido before finishing in Ueno Park. Along the way, you'll learn essential historical facts and valuable tidbits relating to each site.

The company's tours are great for visitors, but they're just as good for Tokyo residents wanting to get a crash course in the history of the city's most well-known areas. Other free walking tours from Tokyo Localized include exploring Harajuku, Asakusa, Shibuya and more.

Since many of the tours are free, tipping your guide at the end of the tour is encouraged. If you prefer one of the paid tours instead, which cover different areas of the city than the free tours, they start from ¥3,000. All tours whether paid or free require you to book your spot, which you can do here.

The folks at Magical Trip offer an astounding number of themed tours and experiences all over Japan ranging from Zen meditation to photography, but their Tokyo Bar Hopping Night Tour in Shinjuku is one for the foodies. It's the perfect introduction to the izakaya scene for those who haven't had the experience yet or simply don't know where to start.

On this tour you'll visit three venues: an izakaya at the bustling Omoide Yokocho, a second izakaya in Kabukicho and finally a sake bar in that same area. The set menus from the first two locations feature a few izakaya classics to choose from like grilled chicken skewers, fried tofu and gyoza, among others. To drink, take your pick of sake, shochu, chu-hi (shochu highballs), plum wine or beer. (Vegetarian options and non-alcoholic beverages are also available.)

The tour takes around three and a half hours and accommodates a maximum of seven people. It costs ¥16,590, but with a personal guide, two meals, two included drinks at the first bar, all you can drink at the second and yet another drink at the final venue, the experience is worth the price. Find out more or book your spot here.

Context Travel's Tokyo National Museum Tour: A Guided Crash Course is an experience that artsy types can appreciate. Depending on the exhibits available at the time, you'll get your fill of Meiji-era paintings, ukiyo-e prints, samurai garb, kimonos, Buddhist sculptures and more, with your guide there to educate you every step of the way.

These tour guides really know their stuff – Master's degrees and PhDs abound. Each guide is a veritable expert in their field – architecture, archaeology or art history, just to name a few. They will use their wealth of knowledge to contextualise the artwork you're seeing and help you better comprehend how it relates to Japanese history as a whole. You're bound to walk away from the experience with a much deeper understanding of Japan's rich and unique culture.

The tour lasts around two hours and costs quite a pretty penny at ¥40,479 (museum entry fee of ¥1,000 not included), but if art and the humanities are your passion, you just might find value in the price tag. What's more, the museum exhibits change monthly, so you have the opportunity to have a completely new tour experience all year round. Click here for more info or to book your tour. 

History buffs, rejoice. Walk Japan's Tokyo Tour is a whopping two-day guided tour absolutely jam-packed with historical facts about the city. Both days of the tour begin at 9am and finish around 5pm. With such a long time frame, you'll have plenty to see – the tour covers a wide area, from Morishita and Iidabashi in the east and west to Nippori and Ginza in the north and south.

Walk Japan's guides are absolute treasure troves of information. The majority of what you'll learn from them is focused on the Edo period (1603–1867), though they'll sprinkle in plenty of info from other time periods as well, including all the way up to post-WWII and more contemporary history. You'll visit an astonishing number of locations within the aforementioned areas of Tokyo, from Yanaka Cemetery and the Imperial Palace to Nezu Shrine and Mitsukoshi Department Store, all while learning about the prominent historical figures and events related to each place. 

Though breaks are included and there's some use of the metro (transportation card provided), the majority of the day is spent walking, so if you have mobility issues or don't enjoy being on your feet for long periods of time, this might not be the tour for you. If you're a fan of long walks though, the ¥40,000 price tag (lunch not included) is worth every yen. To find out more about the itinerary or to book your spot, click here.

If you think this tour is only about the gaybourhood in Shinjuku Nichome, think again. While Pinpoint Traveler's LGBTQ+ Tokyo Night Tour does indeed end in what is easily the city's most well-known queer area, the adventure begins in Asakusa, which has an underground queer culture of its own. Your guide will walk you through the area while providing insightful queer-related history of the sights, after which you'll have a light dinner (includes one drink).

Following your meal, you'll hop on the metro (tickets included) and head to Shinjuku Nichome. There you'll walk around a bit more and gain some valuable historical context for how the area came to be the heart of gay Tokyo. As the tour comes to a close, you'll have one free drink at one of the many bars in the area. Feel free to stick around and peruse the scene after the tour is finished.

The whole shebang runs around three hours; you can book your spot for ¥14,388 here. The tour welcomes groups of up to eight and usually hosts a minimum of two, but if you're looking for a personal experience, a one-on-one option is also available for an additional ¥3,000.

This one's strictly for night owls and party people only. Starting from midnight and going until 5am, Rakuten Travel Experiences's Tokyo Deep Underground Nightlife Tour is much less about the history of Tokyo's nightlife scene and more about creating a customised party experience.

Prior to the tour, your guide will get in touch to ask about your nightlife interests – think bars, karaoke spots or clubs that fit your vibe – and will curate a line-up that covers the five-hour period. You'll meet in Kabukicho just before midnight, then head out on your late-night adventure.

The tour is only offered Saturday night and accommodates up to eight people. At a steep ¥18,000, the price unfortunately doesn't include drinks or entry fees for any venues you may visit. As such, it's much cheaper to bar hop on your own, but if you prefer to be led around, this may be a good option for you. Book your spot or check out more of Rakuten's themed tours here.

Last but certainly not least, Eighty Days Japan is a tour company whose strength lies in its flexibility. It offers standard one-day walking tours as well as multi-day itineraries not only in Tokyo but in several locations throughout Japan, all of which are highly customised to suit your personal interests. In fact, many of the tours listed above could theoretically be organised by Eighty Days Japan if given enough advance notice.

The company emphasises sustainability and community interaction in its tours and experiences. That can look like chatting with vendors at local markets, meeting sumo wrestlers after seeing a bout, dining with geishas, polishing woodwork alongside a woodworking master, trying your hand at playing the shamisen… the possibilities are practically endless, provided you have the budget.

Such a high level of customisability can require quite a bit of time and planning depending on what you're looking for. Setting up a consultation a few months in advance is ideal, especially if you're planning to do your tour during peak times like cherry blossom season. To see a few examples of tour packages offered or to book a chat with an agent and get a quote for your own custom tour, visit the Eighty Days Japan website here.