Kappabashi Knife Shopping Tour med statligt licensierad guide

We had such a lovely day with Haruka all around Kappabashi and surrounding areas. She was absolutely fluent in English and so knowledgable about not only knives--she had in depth answers to any question we asked. In addition, she is kind and fun! It was a delightful way to learn about Tokyo and Japanese culture while we ate yummy treats and bought lovely souvenirs! And she gave us honest opinions about any deals we considered. It was like shopping with a good friend!

My guide Seizo was fantastic. At Asakusa Temple he showed me the correct way to approach and enter the temple. The explanation of these rituals was fascinating. The stories about various aspects of the Temple were very interesting. We then went to Kappabashi Street where I was able to find the most beautiful knives and teapot. From there he took a detour to show me the outside of the Imperial Palace, again his knowledge and story telling was wonderful. A trip through the fish market finished our tour. I highly recommend this tour and Seizo as a guide.

What a great experience! Solo, 1 on 1 tour of the new and old fish markets. I could not believe the new Toyosu market...the size, activity and the sheer volume of product. Amazing to see. Matt was a great guide. Grew up in the UK and spoke perfect English and Japanese which was a great benefit. He guided us through the active market and then we went to Tsukiji market and stopped at some of the food stands, did some shopping before heading the best part of the experience...making sushi. When booking there were not enough people for the tour so I inquired and was able to do a private tour by covering the cost for multiple spots. Doing this was great and enable a special sushi making event at a small sushi restaurant which focuses on high quality tuna. 1 on 1 with the sushi chef, making my own lunch and then drinking some famous...and delicious sake. I will do this exact tour again when I am back with my family. Fantastic experience.

Izumi was a fantastic guide. He covered our itinerary to Tsujiki, Asakasa, and Kapabashi in a very thorough and detailed way, and also included lots of general cultural and historical background. We took a couple of unplanned detours into temples and shrines along the way, which I enjoyed very much. I highly recommend Izumi’s tour to anyone interested in a fun and engaging visit to some of the “must see” items on your Tokyo list.

Absolutely fantastic!, not just a knife tour at all. The guide Sam was very informative about the shops and the building’s history. AAA plus

Our guide Lily was very punctual, helpful, patient, gave many tips, answered all questions and spoke very good English; she was an English teacher. A great half day.

Our guide was Mr.Shuji an avuncular old gentleman who , with old world courtesy and graciousness took us for a delightful tour of the Tsukiji market and Kappabashi street. Our tardy purchases meant that instead of staying with his timetable, we photo finished to our Shinkansen connection to Tokyo. Very considerately he accompanied us to the railway station,showed us the entrance to our platform and wished us safe travels. Have absolutely no hesitation in recommending him to anyone !

Knife shopping was the key driver for booking this tour, but we got much, much more out of the experience with our guide, Hiro Chikata. It was only our second full day in Tokyo, and we had already trekked back and forth twice through a long underground passage to a Ginza station near our hotel. Instead of taking us on that same boring route, Hiro took us on a longer walk to a different metro line station, which had us strolling through beautiful parks and a green residential neighborhood instead of a boring repeat trip through a tunnel. Our first destination was the Tsukiji outdoor shopping market with a stop beforehand at the lovely Hongan-ji Temple that's nearby. Hiro helped thread our group through the maze of shops and stalls, filled with hungry fellow travelers. We tasted some samples that were being offered, had some snacks (onigiri, for one), and bought souvenirs. We did a quick viewing of Japanese chef knives at one shop, but decided to move on when we learned that they didn't offer international shipping. (This was a must for us because we were leaving Tokyo on a cruise ship that doesn't allow knives onboard, for obvious security reasons.) Our second destination was Kappabashi Street, but on our way there Hiro wisely steered us to the basement level food hall in the Mitsukoshi Department Store. The wide array of Japanese food options - including bento boxes that were mini works of art - was all just beyond belief! Hiro also knew to take us to an upper floor of the department store where we had our lunch on an outdoor terrace. (We liked this lunch option so well we made a point of coming back there the next day!) Guided to Kappabashi Street, we dipped in and out of the various kitchenware shops, finally arriving at a gorgeous knife shop that Hiro recommended where we ended up buying three knives that we had shipped home. (Pro tip: when they ship your items via DHL Express, they really mean EXPRESS - DHL attempted delivery just TWO days after our purchase, so we had to have them delay delivery until after we get home.) We also visited some of the plastic food shops where their offerings are just mind-blowing. Afterwards, we ending up skirting the Senso-ji temple area on the way back to our hotel because we were booked on another tour with our cruise line that was going there later in the week. Along the way, we popped into shops of interest (including a Hello Kitty store) and took note of the many couples in kimonos heading for the temple area for photo shoots of their own. The tour does require a fair amount of walking, but our group of three travelers in their late-60's (similar in age to our guide) with one 33-year old did just fine. Just- make sure you wear comfortable shoes! We got all we expected and much, much more out of this tour and from our guide, Hiro, who filled us in on a broad range of Japanese cultural topics, not just on knife shops. Highly recommended!

I booked this tour because it combined a tour of the typical sites of Tokyo with knife shopping. First, the tour was by foot and train. We just followed our tour guide's instructions and it all worked out well. Even when it was over, he made sure we were on the right train, knowing which exit to take. He would have travelled all the way with us but that wasn't necessary. Because it was just our family, we could customize what we did. For the most part, we followed his lead. We learned a lot and saw some of the sites we wanted to see. When we went knife shopping, I really didn't know what I was doing. Our guide helped some and facilitated others helping. Again, this was all customizable. We visited about 10 shops and we could have kept going. But, I found what I wanted and we moved on. Other than knife shopping, I think my favorite part was the Tsukiji Fish Market area. My understanding is that the true fish market by the water is somewhere else but this place with all the small markets was awesome. Wish we could have spent more time there.

It was a great morning - Izumi was very knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating. He adapted the tour based on my requests and my goal of leaving Japan with a new set of cooking knives was accomplished