Tokyo tours and excursions

Tokyo tours

Walking tours

The Tokyo Tourist Information Centres in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office Building and Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal have a selection of guided walking tours conducted by volunteers. Check out the website for more information: https://www.gotokyo.org/en/guide-services/index.html.

Bus tours

To check off all the sites without having to think too hard, consider a bus tour of Tokyo. There's plenty to choose from: half-day, full-day and evening tours, with many even offering free hotel pick-up. Good companies include Hato Bus (https://www.hatobus.com) and Japan Gray Line (http://www.jgl.co.jp/inbound/index.htm). Sightseeing, shopping, snapping – done.

Tokyo excursions

Kamakura

A small coastal town surrounded by wooded hills, Kamakura was the seat of Japan's first military government, the Kamakura Shogunate of 1192-1333. Most famous for the imposing 12m-high (39ft) Great Buddha, you'll also find Zen temples, the impressive Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu shrine and the nearby National Treasure Hall. Visitors can hike through the hills or sunbathe and windsurf by the beach in summer. Trains run every 10-15 minutes to Kamakura from Tokyo Station, Shinbashi Station and Shinagawa Station, on the Yokosuka line (1 hour).

Website: https://www.city.kamakura.kanagawa.jp/visitkamakura/en/index.html

Nikko

The wow factor at Nikko is the dazzlingly ornate mausoleum of the first shōgun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the model for the fictional warlord of James Clavell's novel Shōgun. This UNESCO site sits in an ancient cedar forest, along with the Rinnoji Temple, Futarasan Shrine and the smaller mausoleum of the third shōgun, Tokugawa Iemitsu. Nearby lie Lake Chuzenji and the spectacular Kegon Waterfall, a great place for boating, swimming and fishing. If you're feeling more energetic, climb the 2,486m-high (8,156ft) Mt Nantai. It takes two hours to reach Nikko from Tokyo's Asakusa and Shinjuku stations.

Website: http://www.city.nikko.lg.jp

A digital image at https://illuminoto.com

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Featured Hotels

Hotel Gracery Shinjuku

Set only a few minutes' walk from Shinjuku train station and in easy walking distance of a dizzying array of shops and restaurants, Gracery Shinjuku is something of a landmark - it's set in a modern high rise building that's 30 stories high, and there's a giant replica godzilla head peering out the side. If you're willing to pay extra, you can stay in a godzilla-themed room too. Though the rooms are compact, the bathrooms are larger than the norm and the higher rooms have scenic city views; there's also a convenient Italian restaurant on-site and a cinema on the ground floor.

Park Hyatt Tokyo

The Park Hyatt Tokyo's role as muse and backdrop to Coppola's Lost in Translation pushed it onto the world stage in 2003. Towering over fashionable Shinjuku, guests enter on the 41st floor and gaze across the neon-lit Tokyo sky. Art blends with sleek architecture and spacious rooms, and even the spa combines tradition and modernisation with impressive success. Plus, there's something to be said for working out in the gym that tormented Bill Murray.

Hotel Asia Center of Japan

Quite possibly offering the cheapest double rooms in central Tokyo, this hotel is ideal as as a central base for a short visit. Within walking distance of the ex-pat haven of Roppongi, and the restaurants and bars of Aoyama Itchome, guests are well placed for sightseeing.

Imperial Hotel

This 5-star luxury hotel in Vilnius and is set in a historic 16th-century building. Its great Old Town location, super helpful staff and 55 spotless rooms combine to make this a deservedly popular choice with business and leisure travellers alike.

Claska Hotel

Modern minimalist design and classic Japanese aesthetics brush shoulders in this hip hotel, just outside of the city centre. There’s the chance to choose between a western–style room or traditional tatami space. Each option comes with plenty of home comforts, including beautiful toiletries and access to a huge CD and DVD collection. There’s even an in–house gallery, plus a French/Japanese fusion restaurant.

Hoshinoya Tokyo

Opened in the summer of 2016, Hoshinoya is a unique urban offering for Tokyo, a hotel with a contemporary take on Japan’s legendary omotenashi hospitality, set right at the heart of the city's Otemachi district. Leave your shoes at the door and unwind into spacious quarters, designed with a tasteful nod to the traditional Japenese aesthetic. The 19-floor hotel with stylish lattice exterior forms a bijou enclave in this bustling business district, just a 10 minute walk from Tokyo Station. You won't want to leave your ochanoma lounge area, allocated exclusively to guests staying on each floor and decked in traditional tatami mats, it has a library, sofas and kitchen space. But if you do the rooftop onsen spa is a truly unique Tokyo experience. The hot spring waters are the perfect cure for urban fatigue and will help you revitalise your body and mind, all the while staring up at the open Tokyo skies above.

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