The 7 Castle Tours in Tokyo We Would Book Again

1.Tokyo Castle & Imperial PalaceーShogun Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 1,068 reviews · 2 hours · from $23Our pick

A 2-hour English small-group walk through Edo Castle traces and the Imperial Palace grounds, with samurai stories, gardens, and koi ponds.

“K or Kosei is a fantastic, passionate guide, a very good speaker. It was incredibly interesting to listen to him all the way. We spent about two hours together, and he went over his allotted time just by passion I believe. He's extremely generous. Everything he said was interesting, both historically and culturally. It was also great to have a Japanese guide who had lived abroad, allowing him to compare Japanese and international culture, a really great perspective to help us ground the Japanese ancient culture to the modern one. Thank you Kosei!”

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2.Tokyo Castle & Imperial PalaceーShogun Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 724 reviews · from $23Top rated

Small-group English walk around Tokyo’s Imperial Palace, tracing Edo Castle defenses, samurai roles, and serene gardens, all for about 2 hours.

“We enjoyed this walking tour of the Imperial Palace and Gardens. Yuuki was an excellent guide and helped to solidify our understanding of the Shogun era in Japan’s history.”

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3.Imperial Palace East Garden and Edo Castle Walking Tour in Tokyo

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 510 reviews · from $25

Small-group walk around Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens and Edo Castle ruins, plus Wadakura Fountain Park, led in English.

“Sato was great! Very knowledgable about the area and historical facts. So glad we walked around the land with a guide to point out which buildings were what and backstory to them. Made experiencing everything that much more enjoyable.”

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4.Tokyo Castle, Imperial Palace, Shogun & Garden Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 211 reviews · from $31

Small-group Imperial Palace East Gardens walk with a guide, Ōtemon Gate and Ninomaru Garden stops, Edo-era stories, and photo tips.

“Mika, our guide was very friendly, personable and knowledgeable. The palace grounds themselves were nice but unfortunately the emperor’s palace had burned down in the 1600s all that’s left is the base.”

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5.Edo Castle & East Garden of the Imperial Palace Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 112 reviews · 2 hours · from $42

2-hour English guided walk through Tokyo Imperial Palace East Gardens, Edo Castle grounds, koi fish, and shogun-era stories. $42.

“We really enjoyed our tour despite the fact that it was a rainy day! Hitoshi is very friendly and knowledgeable (and he speaks English really well, which obviously helps). We highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in visiting the Imperial Palace Gardens and learning a bit about its history along the way!”

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6.Tokyo Private Tour! Edo Castle & Imperial Palace East Gardens

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 105 reviews · from $65

A 2-hour private guided walk through Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens, including Edo Castle ruins and Ote-mon Gate, with easy navigation.

“This was the ideal way to see the Imperial Palace East Gardens and site. We learned way more on this tour than we ever would have by ourselves. Yoshiko, our guide, made the experience really enjoyable despite the heat and sun. She was fuRead more”

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7.Nijo Castle World Heritage Guided Tour with Admission

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 37 reviews · 1h 30m · from $40

Small-group Kyoto Nijo Castle tour with admission included. Hear about Shogun vs Emperor, nightingale floors, and koi moats.

“We had a tour with Naoya, who not only provided a solid historical and cultural background about the castle, but also answered all of our questions. Also special thanks for showing the hidden gems of the castle!”

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