Tokyo · IMPERIAL PALACE & SHOGUN TOURS
Good imperial palace & shogun tours sell out in cherry season and Decembers alike. The 13 best sit below, priced and timed, with a line on who each suits.
★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · from $32Our pick
Explore Tokyo’s Imperial Palace gardens, Edo Castle ruins, samurai history, royal koi, and Japanese culture with an engaging English-speaking guide.
“Mika was a wonderful guide and did an excellent job of explaining the history of the castle and of Japan. We would highly recommend this tour!”
★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 2 hours · from $16Best value
Walk Edo Castle’s East Gardens, see koi ponds and stone walls, and learn how shoguns shaped Tokyo on this affordable two-hour tour.
“Great value for money. Tony was really knowledgeable and lovely conversations. Even gave recommendation's in other activities to complete outside of Tokyo. Think without the guide we would have missed so much interesting facts and knowledge of the the palace. Wouldn't recommend doing it without a guide.”
★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · from $25Top rated
Walk Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens and Edo Castle ruins with an English-speaking guide on a small-group tour priced at $25.
“Walking tour some hills but no stairs. The guide Kei was very informative. Very enjoyable tour. Recommend”
★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 2h 30m · from $19
Explore Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens, Edo Castle ruins, Ninomaru Garden, and seasonal beauty with an English-speaking guide.
“The tour was very interesting. We learnt about Shoguns and the emperors of Japan, Edo Castle and had a nice tour of the gardens. Mei was an excellent guide. Recommended”
★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 4 hours · from $40
See Tokyo’s Imperial Palace exterior, Sensō-ji Temple, and Tokyo Tower in four hours with an English-speaking guide and hybrid bus.
“We went to all the places I was interested in seeing. The Senso-ji temple is amazing and I’m so glad to I got to see it. Our guide was excellent with great knowledge of the places we visited. Highly recommend this tour.”
★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · from $31
Explore Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens, Edo Castle ruins, samurai history, and Ninomaru Garden with a small-group guide.
“Lakki was a great guide with incredible knowledge of history and the palace. Great experience and we learned and saw a lot!”
★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 2 hours · from $42
Walk Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens on a two-hour English tour through Edo Castle ruins, shogun history, gardens, and famous koi.
“The tour was amazing!! Our guide was very knowledgeable not only in terms of the history to the Imperial Palace but also gave us a great introduction to Japanese culture as a whole. This is definitely the type of experience you should do as a tour if you want to get the most out of it.”
★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · from $65
Explore Edo Castle ruins, Ninomaru Garden, and Imperial Palace East Gardens with a private guide who brings Tokyo’s past to life.
“We had a fantastic time with Mikio on our tour of the Imperial Palace East Gardens. He’s a kind and knowledgeable gentleman who brought the history of Tokyo to life with engaging stories and insights. His warm personality made the tour one of the highlights of our trip. Highly recommended!”
★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · from $40
Explore Edo Castle ruins, Japanese gardens, special Koi, and palace history with a guide near Tokyo Station for $40.
“Amazing tour with our Franco-Japanese guide Nicolas. He shared all the park's little secrets and answered lots of questions about Japanese mythology, Japan in general, the language, and more. We were able to share with him on many topics. We were a small group of 5 people, which made it easy to talk and made the experience really friendly. We even got to hang out and eat together after the visit, it went so well The history of the place and the imperial family was explained to us really well and was super interesting! I highly recommend this experience and would definitely take a tour with Sunrise Adventure on a…”
★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 2 hours · from $63
Tour Edo Castle ruins and Imperial Palace East Gardens with a private English-speaking guide, seasonal flowers, history, and useful Tokyo tips.
“Yoshi-san was lovely. Her english was strong. She shared very interesting facts about the palace buildings and garden. We would not have enjoyed the garden nearly as much on our own. The flowers and cherry blossoms were not really out yet, which was disappointing. Thank you Yoshi-san.”
★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · from $101
Review of Tokyo’s Imperial Palace and Nihonbashi tour, with East Gardens, historic shops, dashi, sake, washi, walking demands, and value advice.
“Our guide Yoshi was the best - we appreciated his tour combining the palac and around Nihonbashi, and greatly enjoyed his company.”
★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · from $90
Explore Tokyo’s Imperial Palace, gardens, modern art, and Chidorigafuchi on a flexible private walking tour with a local guide.
“This tour was fantastic! Our guide did an excellent job of providing context and history for the various gardens we visited. She was very knowledgeable and joyful, and really made the tour a lot of fun. I would definitely recommend it!”
★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · from $107
See Tokyo’s major sights in seven hours, from Meiji Shrine and Senso-ji to Hamarikyu Gardens and Tokyo Skytree, with bilingual guides.
“Erik ha sido un MAGNIFICO guía. El tour ha estado genial, así como sus explicaciones e historias y ha resuelto todas nuestras inquietudes. Totalmente recomendable!!!!! 10 de 10”
Insider guides, cultural deep-dives and current-affairs reporting on Tokyo and Japan, written by people who live here and go to the places they write about.