Customized Private Tours of Japan

My husband and I traveled to Japan with our son and daughter-in-law, guided by Takuya, and it was truly a trip of a lifetime. Without question, the best decision we made was hiring Takuya as our private guide for ten days. Takuya’s language skills, sense of humor, and deep cultural knowledge made the experience both educational and genuinely immersive, all in a completely stress-free environment. We are already planning our next trip to Japan and cannot wait to travel with Takuya again. You will not regret hiring him—we cannot recommend a guide more highly. Thank you, Takuya!

We had the privilege of hiring Takuya as our private guide in Japan, and he made our holiday unforgettable. Right from the start, he took care of us like a family member—making sure we were comfortable, well looked after, and able to enjoy every moment without stress. What makes Takuya outstanding is his deep knowledge and perfect planning.

Above all, his enthusiasm and storytelling brought every place alive. Whether it was history, culture, or nature, he shared it with passion and warmth. For travelers from India (and anywhere else) looking for a high-end, exclusive experience, I cannot recommend Takuya enough. He made our Japan trip richer, smoother, and far more memorable than we ever imagined.

Just returned from my adventure in Japan which included four spectacular 7-hour days with my private tour guide Takuya-san. Thanks to my foresight in throwing ‘caution to the wind’ and just trusting a ton of positive Tripadvisor reviews, I had an extraordinary experience and a lot of fun one-on-one with Takuya. His extensive knowledge, patience, flexibility and sense-of-humor combined with a mastery of the English language made this trip all that I’d hoped it could be.

Takuya was wonderful. We had a group of 6 with several senior citizens and one in a wheelchair. Definitely not the easiest to maneuver through the busy city of Nara and Kyoto. His knowledge and experience of Japan was evident in developing our itinerary to best suit our needs. He went out of his way to make us feel comfortable. We had a traditional Japanese tea ceremony on our final day in Nara. He also went out of his way to show us the best eating spots near our hotel in Osaka. I would highly recommend him. We will definitely use him when we return to Japan.

Thanks to Takuya our trip to Kyoto was the highlight of our trip to Japan, nothing was too much trouble and questions and answers flowed freely. Takuya provided advice beforehand on what was achievable in a day based on what we wanted to see, Takuya helped to navigate the trains to Kyoto, provided cometary on the sights, took photos, answered any questions, (not always related to what we were looking at), and joined us for a beer and bbq before we re-joined our boat. Takuya’s energy and enthusiasm was maintained throughout what was a very pleasant day.

Great way to see as much as possible in a short time we had only 8 hours in port yet with Takuya as our guide we were able to see several of the major iconic sites in Kyoto.

Excellent customer service. Very flexible but with great suggestions on what to do and see. Knowledge of the the area is beyond expectation. Loved it.

We arranged a private tour with Takuya for Osaka and Kyoto. He picked us up and took us on an excellent tour. He arranged just the right amount of tourism but not too much. His knowledge of the city, its sights and its sounds, is off the charts. We enjoyed it so much and found such value that we commissioned him for another day to see Haneda Castle and Kobe. In Kobe he took us to get Kobe beef then we did a Cocktail and Whiskey tour. Thank goodness we made the last train back to Osaka with a huge smile on our faces.

Takuya was an excellent tour guide! He was recommended by our aunt and did not disappoint. We had a tour of Kyoto, he took us off the beaten path ( hardly any tourists!) and we had a history lesson that was informative and so interesting. Being a 4th generation Japanese American it was truly appreciated. If we do go back to Japan we would definitely hire Takuya again!!

If you want a tour guide who will provide a catered, thoughtful, intentional, experience then I recommend Takuya. He is fluent in English, but what is most special is his open mindedness and intelligence. He is comfortable discussing complex issues of culture and history and receives questions with grace. He has a good sense of what locations, including (and especially!) if they are off “the beaten path”.

Takuya Yanagisawa was a great tour guide – I have been to the old fishmarket prior to it getting moved to the new location. My advice to you is skip the new fishmarket observation decks. Go to Osaka fish market for a better experience. Takuya Yanagisawa knows the area well and just tell him what you want. He gets 5 stars.

If you want a tour guide who will provide a catered, thoughtful, intentional, experience then I recommend Takuya. He is fluent in English, but what is most special is his open mindedness and intelligence. He is comfortable discussing complex issues of culture and history and receives questions with grace. He has a good sense of what locations, including (and especially!) if they are off “the beaten path”.

Takuya was an excellent tour guide! He was recommended by our aunt and did not disappoint. We had a tour of Kyoto, he took us off the beaten path ( hardly any tourists!) and we had a history lesson that was informative and so interesting. Being a 4th generation Japanese American it was truly appreciated. If we do go back to Japan we would definitely hire Takuya again!!

Do yourself a favor when visiting Japan and hire Takuya as a personal guide. We visited Japan on three occasions and every time we hired Takuya and had a wonderful time. We visited beautilful places off the beaten path, away from the very touristic areas. He really takes into account your personal interests when organising a trip and comes up with great ideas himself at the same time. Do not hesitate to hire him, you will not regret it!

Having Takuya recommended to us by Osaka locals was a highlight of our trip. Professional, knowledgeable of both historical fact and current affairs , combined with his ability to fine tune his tours to our special interests maximized our time in both Osaka and Kyoto.

Our trip was supposed to end with Takuya dropping us off at our restaurant, but we invited him to join us and he graciously did. Having him there made a great deal of difference as he order off of the Japanese menu and not the “Tourist English” menu.

My parents and I were so incredibly fortunate to discover Takuya-san here on TripAdvisor. We spent four wonderful days with him in Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka last year where he served as our guide, companion, and — unexpectedly — photographer!

If you are traveling to Japan and are looking for a local that is fluent in English and that will be able to give you an inside look to amazing food, culture, history plus anything else you may want to know about the country, look no further. Takuya is the one for you.

We had a wonderful day visiting Shoguns palace, blossom covered canal area, shrines,temple, authentic lunch, Japanese tea garden and Geisha area. Takuya gave us an insight into real Japan. It was the highlight of our 18 days in Japan.