Essential Free Tour Tokyo

Every year, millions of people visit the busy city of Tokyo to see all the wonderful things the Japanese capital has to offer. From centuries-old temples and palaces, to bustling technological commercial areas, there is much to explore here. First timers in this Asian wonderland are welcome to join the Essential Free Tour in Tokyo to beat the cultural shock with an easy introduction to the best monuments of the imperial area. Meet a bilingual local guide for a walk around the most beautiful area in the city—the stunningly beautiful gardens around the Imperial Palace. This will be the perfect place to learn about the reasons why Japanese culture is so distinctive, and hear about the “sakoku”: the isolationist foreign policy that kept the country away from world exchanges for more than two centuries.

Your Essential Free Tour of Tokyo will focus on the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, a well-trodden route and one of the most popular areas that locals love visiting on weekends. Strolling the world-famous gardens around the Imperial Palace, your guide will tell you much about the history of Japan and Tokyo, all the way back to the Shogun era. This enormous palace dominating the Chiyoda district is the official residence of the Japanese imperial family, the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world and subject to a strict etiquette and complicated ceremonials. Guests on the tour will enjoy amazing views of moats, walls, entrance gates, guardhouses, teahouses, ponds with red and golden carps, lanes with cherry trees and many more wonders!

Apart from visiting the East Gardens, your tour will take you more around the downtown area to see traditional houses, iconic buildings, temples and shrines. You will get to know more about the uniqueness of the local lifestyle. And hear stories behind not only the temples and shrines in Tokyo but also the unique traditional Japanese belief in Shinto. The controversial Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial site for millions of people that died in conflicts, will be the perfect spot to learn more about the complex modern history of Japan and the role Tokyo played in World War II. Of course, all travelers will finish the tour with great group photos, a deeper understanding of Japan's past and present, as well as a good understanding of how to visit temples respectfully, following local etiquette.