This is another 1-day, company sponsored bus tour, so there are no transportation details in this post. Like other bus tours that I have joined, everything has been prearranged. Here's the itinerary for this one:
Time: 9:00-17:00
- Tokyo Tower (東京タワー)
- Happo-en (八芳園), for Japanese tea ceremony
- Chinzan-so (ホテル椿山荘), for Teppanyaki (鉄板焼き) lunch
- Imperial Palace Nijubashi Bridge (二重橋)
- Sumida River (隅田川) Sightseeing Tour
- Senso-ji Temple (浅草寺) and Nakamise Street (仲見世通り)
This whole day tour costs 12,000円 for adults and 8,000円 for children, and it can be booked via Hato Bus Tour's website (link at the bottom of this post). This is arguably the best English-guided tour around Tokyo, so expect to be around people of various nationalities - as we were when we had this tour.
It was a rainy Sunday, so the circumstances were not perfect, but we still tried to make the most of the tour. First stop: Tokyo Tower. After the bus parked right beside the huge, orange Tokyo landmark, we were directed to the entrance where the tour guide gave our tickets. We were given around 40 minutes to enjoy the view from the observatory.
From Tokyo Tower, the bus ride to the next stop, Happo-en, took just around 10 minutes. We were divided into 2 groups since the place for the tea ceremony was quite small. While one group was having their tea, the other group was allowed to stroll around the garden that has some of the oldest bonsai trees. If I remember correctly, one was even 523 years old.
After the tea ceremony was the Teppanyaki lunch at Hotel Chinzan-so. It was around 25 minutes from Happo-en. The lunch felt special because the staff assisted us in every way they can, and I think the food also tasted good, but the only downside was that it's a set course. The drinks were also not included, so if you wanted one, you had to pay separately.
After lunch, we went to the Imperial Palace, but not exactly inside the palace. The guide said that ordinary people can go in only twice a year, so people who join the tours have to settle with the view of the Nijubashi Bridge. This was also probably the quickest stop in the tour.
From the Imperial Palace, we were brought next to Sumida river for a river cruise towards the Asakusa (浅草) area, the last stop of the tour. After our drop-off from the river cruise, we were just given instructions to be at the bus behind the temple at a certain time, so we were free to walk around the Asakusa area and check out the stores at Nakamise street. At the end of that street is the Sensoji temple, one of the most popular temples in Tokyo.
From Asakusa, we were asked if we wanted to get off at Ginza area or at Tokyo station to end the tour. Since we were also going to Roppongi, we chose Ginza so that we'd only have to take the Hibiya line. Although the tour was on the pricey side, I think it was all worth it. Besides, we got it for free, so no complains here.
Hato Bus Tour official website
