Tour Prep
You've booked a tour. Now you're wondering where to meet, what to do with luggage, how meals work, and when the tour actually ends. Here's how the day flows, step by step.
July 24, 2025
8 mins read
You've booked a private Tokyo tour. Now you're wondering: Where exactly do I meet the guide? What if I get lost in Shinjuku Station's 200 exits? What happens if I'm five minutes late, or need a bathroom break, or my luggage checkout time doesn't align with the tour? These aren't trivial questions — they're the reason you're here.
Booking confirmation and what it includes
When you book, you receive immediate confirmation with your tour date, duration, and basic itinerary. This isn't the final operational plan—that comes later. The confirmation locks your spot and provides payment details, but doesn't yet answer where to meet or who your guide will be.
24-48 hour pre-tour details
Between 24 and 48 hours before your tour, your coordinator will reach out via email or WhatsApp to finalize logistics. This communication includes:
Your guide's name and contact information
The exact meeting point (not "Tokyo Station" but "Marunouchi North Exit, outside ticket gates, near Oazo Building entrance")
Meeting time (guides arrive 10 minutes early)
Confirmation of any special requests you mentioned when booking
Some operators share guide profiles or photos at this stage. Knowing your guide's name and face in advance eliminates the "What kind of person will guide me?" anxiety that comes with meeting a stranger in an unfamiliar city.
What to communicate before tour day
You don't need to email your guide with your life story. Three things matter:
Dietary restrictions. If you have allergies, religious restrictions, or strong dislikes, mention them now. Guides adjust lunch recommendations based on this.
Mobility constraints. If you use a cane, have knee issues, or tire easily, tell them. Routes get adjusted — shorter walking distances, more elevator stations, built-in rest stops.
Luggage situation. If you're checking out same-day or changing hotels, mention it. Guides can suggest storage solutions or adjust start/end locations to minimize backtracking.
Everything else — interests, pace preferences, which shrines you want to see — gets discussed at the start of the tour.
Hotel pickup vs station meeting
Most first-time visitors assume station meetings are more convenient than hotel pickup. Reviews suggest the opposite. Hotel pickup eliminates navigation stress when you're jet-lagged. One traveler wrote: "So glad we began our trip with this tour! Especially meeting right at our hotel instead of trying to get somewhere in this giant city while jet lagged."
Hotel Pickup | Station Meeting |
|---|---|
Best for first day in Tokyo | Best when already familiar with subway |
Best when hotel in central wards (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Bunkyo) | Best when you want tour to end in specific neighborhood for dinner |
Eliminates pre-tour navigation stress | Best when hotel outside central Tokyo (pickup may incur fees or reduce tour time) |
The tradeoff: pre-tour navigation stress versus post-tour flexibility.
If meeting at a station: how specific meeting points work
When a guide says "meet at Tokyo Station," they always specify a sub-location. Tokyo Station has 6 main exits, multiple levels, and underground passages connecting different rail operators. "Tokyo Station" tells you nothing useful.
Common Tokyo Station meeting points:
Location | Details | Best For |
|---|---|---|
Marunouchi North Exit | Ground level, outside ticket gates. Oazo Building entrance (houses large Maruzen bookstore) | Most visible for first-time visitors |
McDonald's at Yaesu South Exit | Inside station but outside ticket gates. Only McDonald's in entire Tokyo Station complex | Impossible to confuse |
Gin-no-Suzu (Silver Bell) | B1 floor, inside JR ticket gates. Need train ticket to access | Famous with locals, confusing for first-timers |
Shinjuku Station is more complex: 200+ exits, multiple levels, connections to three different rail operators. If meeting at Shinjuku, guides specify landmarks like "Starbucks in Southern Terrace" rather than exit numbers.
The 200-exit problem and how guides solve it
Shinjuku's complexity isn't about memorizing exits — it's about multi-level transfers and operator boundaries. A guide saying "Shinjuku Station East Exit" gives you a direction, but you might emerge at street level while they're waiting underground near the subway gates.
Guides solve this by:
Choosing landmarks visible from multiple approach angles
Arriving 10 minutes early
Providing their phone number for real-time coordination if needed
Contingency protocol if you can't find each other
If you arrive and don't see your guide within 2-3 minutes, text or call them immediately. Don't wander looking for them. In a station with 3.6 million daily passengers, moving makes you harder to find.
Guides structure their meeting points around clear sightlines. If you're at the correct location, you'll see them. If you don't see them, you're probably at the wrong sub-location.
Same-day checkout and coin locker reality
If your hotel checkout is 11am and your tour starts at 9am, you have a logistics problem. Most hotels allow luggage storage after checkout, but you need to return before they close (10pm-11pm). Tour ends at 4pm with dinner plans? This works. Continuing to another neighborhood or catching a late train? Hotel storage creates backtracking.
Why "just use a coin locker" isn't reliable advice
Every Tokyo guide tells you to use coin lockers. What they don't mention: large lockers are "available in small numbers" even at major stations.
Shinjuku Station has 3,600 coin lockers total. Large sizes (enough for a standard suitcase) fill by mid-morning, especially during cherry blossom season or Golden Week. Tokyo Station has 1,500+ lockers with the same scarcity. Arrive at 10am hoping to store a large suitcase, and you'll likely find only small lockers available.
Coin locker pricing is midnight-to-midnight, not 24-hour. If you store luggage at 10am, you must retrieve it before midnight or pay additional fees. This matters if you're planning a late dinner or evening activity.
Locker Size | Price per Day | Fits |
|---|---|---|
Small | ¥300-500 | Daypack or small bag |
Large | ¥500-900 | Standard carry-on or medium suitcase |
Alternative luggage solutions
Solution | Cost | Details | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
Hotel storage after checkout | Free | Drop bags after checkout, return before 10pm | Evening plans don't conflict with return trip |
Luggage delivery (Yamato, Sagawa) | ¥1,500-2,000 per bag | Hotels arrange next-day delivery to next hotel. Hand off at front desk | Eliminating same-day storage stress entirely |
Ecbo Cloak | ¥300-600 per day | App-based storage at local shops, cafes, hotels. More locations than coin lockers | Flexible pickup locations, advance booking required |
Manned luggage counters | ¥500-700 per bag | Available at major stations, same-day pickup only | Better availability than coin lockers, limited to station retrieval |
What to bring during the tour vs what to store
Guides don't expect you to carry:
Large backpacks
Multiple shopping bags
Suitcases or rolling bags
What's fine to bring:
Small daypack
Camera
Water bottle (many guides provide water, but confirm)
Phone and battery pack
Small amount of cash (¥3,000-5,000 for personal purchases)
If you're shopping during the tour, most shops can hold purchases for end-of-day pickup, or ship directly to your hotel.
Meal timing: inside tour hours or added on top?
On full-day tours (6+ hours), meal breaks are included within tour duration. A 6-hour tour starting at 10am ends at 4pm—including the hour you spent eating lunch. This matters when planning dinner reservations or evening activities.
One reviewer noted their tour was "5.5 hours and 1 was spent eating lunch." The meal was part of the tour, not added time.
Bathroom breaks and rest stops
Guides structure routes around public bathrooms, convenience stores (which always have restrooms), and coffee shops. But they can't read minds.
Don't wait until you're desperate. Say "I need a bathroom" or "Can we stop for 5 minutes?" Guides expect this. Tours involve 10-15 kilometers of walking. Nobody walks that far without breaks.
Day-of routing changes vs duration changes
Flexibility doesn't mean everything is improvised. It means knowing what's easy to change versus what requires coordination.
Easy to Change | Requires Coordination |
|---|---|
Skipping a shrine to spend more time in a market | Extending the tour by 1-2 hours (needs guide availability + payment discussion) |
Swapping neighborhoods (if travel time is similar) | Changing tour duration significantly (affects guide's next commitments) |
Adding a shopping stop | Adding destinations far outside the planned route |
Adjusting pace (walking slower, taking more breaks) |
What flexibility actually means
Guides don't interpret requests as rude. They interpret lack of communication as not knowing what you want.
Want to skip something? Say so. Interested in a shop you pass? Mention it. Tired and want to sit? Tell them. This is what you're paying for.
The more you know how things work, the more confident you'll be asking for changes. For planning major route adjustments before tour day, see how to customize your itinerary.
Running late: the protocol
In Japanese culture, "on time" means arriving 5-10 minutes early. Arriving exactly at the scheduled time is considered late. This applies to business meetings, medical appointments, and tour meetups.
If you're running late, text or call your guide immediately. Don't just hurry and hope you make it. In Tokyo, the cultural norm is instant notification the moment you realize you'll be delayed.
Guides compensate for this by providing very specific meeting points and arriving 10 minutes early themselves. But they expect you to communicate if something goes wrong.
Train delays are the only universally accepted excuse for lateness. Tokyo train operators issue official "delay certificates" for even 5-minute delays, which passengers present to employers or schools as proof of non-personal tardiness.
Mid-tour needs
Need | What to Do | Details |
|---|---|---|
Bathroom | Say "I need a bathroom" when you need one | Don't wait until desperate |
Water | Ask your guide | Guides carry extra water bottles—confirm with yours. Convenience stores sell water for ¥100-150 |
Rest | Say "Can we sit for a few minutes?" | Guides know where benches are |
Food | Mention if you're hungry between meals | Guides adjust routes to pass good snack options |
Changing plans on the spot
Want to spend 30 more minutes at a temple? Skip the planned shopping street to see a shrine instead? Add a coffee break? Just say so.
Guides adjust constantly based on how the day flows. But they need input from you. Silence gets interpreted as "everything is fine" — which may not be true if you're exhausted or bored.
Handling problems
Problem | What Happens |
|---|---|
Feeling sick | Tell your guide immediately. They know where clinics are, which convenience stores sell medicine, and can adjust the itinerary to minimize walking |
Weather changes | Guides adapt routes for rain—more covered arcades, fewer open parks, indoor alternatives. If a typhoon is forecast, coordinators contact you in advance to reschedule |
Unexpected closures | Temples occasionally close for ceremonies. Guides have backup options |
What "tour ends at 4pm" actually means
"Tour ends at 4pm" means the tour ends at 4pm. Not "starts wrapping up at 4pm." Not "ends at 4pm but guide walks you to hotel so really 4:30pm."
If you have a 6pm dinner reservation, account for:
Travel time from tour end point to restaurant
Time to return to hotel and change if needed
Buffer for delays
4pm end → 6pm reservation is tight. 4pm end → 7pm reservation is comfortable.
End location
Hotel drop-off is convenient but may not be where you want to be for evening plans. If your tour ends at your hotel in Shinjuku but you have dinner reservations in Ginza, you're adding 30 minutes of travel.
Station drop-off (Shibuya, Shinjuku, Tokyo Station) puts you in a neighborhood. You can grab dinner nearby without backtracking.
Discuss end location preference when confirming the meeting point 24-48 hours before the tour.
Buffer time for next plans
Tokyo trains run frequently, but transfers between lines can take 10-15 minutes at major stations. If your tour ends in Shibuya and you need to get to Ginza for dinner:
Subway: 15-20 minutes
Walking to platform, transferring: 10-15 minutes
Total: 30-35 minutes
Add buffer time if you want to shower or change first.
Extending on the spot if tour is going well
Extension is possible if:
Your guide's schedule allows (no back-to-back bookings)
Payment is coordinated (per-hour rates)
Expect ¥4,500-10,500 per hour for extensions, depending on operator. This requires on-the-spot payment coordination, via cash or mobile payment.
Extensions work better when discussed earlier in the day rather than at the planned end time. If your guide has another commitment at 5pm and your tour ends at 4pm, a 1-hour extension isn't possible.
Better strategy: Build buffer time into your booking. A 7-hour tour provides more flexibility than a 6-hour tour with hoped-for extension. If you're deciding between tour lengths, see full-day vs half-day tours.
What guides typically carry vs what you bring
This varies by operator. Budget operators expect guests to bring everything. Premium operators provide guest supplies.
Ask when booking: "What should I bring vs what do you provide?" This question helps clarify what's included—for example, Tokyo Together and Infinite Tokyo include different provisions based on tour format. For more booking questions that clarify expectations, see 10 questions to ask before booking.
What Guides Typically Carry | What You Should Bring |
|---|---|
Transit cards (for subway/train travel) | Comfortable walking shoes (tours cover 10-15km—see walking details) |
Umbrellas (summer rain is frequent) | Small amount of cash (¥3,000-5,000 for purchases, temples, convenience stores) |
Water bottles (confirm with your guide) | Phone and battery pack (for photos, maps, communication) |
Camera (optional, if you want better than phone quality) |
What you definitely don't need
Guidebooks. Your guide navigates.
Printed maps. Unnecessary and cumbersome.
Large water bottles. Tokyo has vending machines and convenience stores every few blocks. Guides know where public water fountains are.
Umbrellas (usually). Guides have extras for unexpected rain.
First-time visitors pack like they're going hiking. You don't need a gallon water bottle or an emergency supply of snacks. Tokyo is a city with infrastructure. Need something? You can buy it.
For a complete breakdown of clothing and gear by season, see what to wear and bring on your Tokyo tour.
Hotel pickup eliminates the meeting point anxiety entirely—your guide meets you at your hotel lobby, not a station with 200 exits. Instant booking confirmation via Google Calendar means you know your guide and meeting time immediately, not 24-48 hours before. Real-time availability shows you which guides are free on your dates, so you're not waiting for assignment.
At Hinomaru One, we design culturally rich, stress-free private Tokyo tours for first-time and seasoned travelers. Unrushed. Insightful. Always customized.
