All Reviews for Japan Autumn Tours 2024

The Omotesando and Shibuya course is more about seeing the people who live in present-day Tokyo than visiting famous landmarks and historical sites.

The starting point in front of the Mitsubishi Building is in Marunouchi, Tokyo's office district, where you can see people going about their work. The bus departs while heading towards Kasumigaseki, passing by Tokyo Station. Kasumigaseki is Japan's government district, where you can see the National Diet Building and various ministry buildings. Next to it is the Imperial Palace. As we head towards Omotesando, we can see the moat of the Imperial Palace. Omotesando and Aoyama are where Tokyo's fashionable people gather. By this time, the people passing by have changed from suits to stylish, trendy clothes. Since it's a bus without a ceiling, you can also smell delicious food in the air.

We pass through the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, where you can see Tokyoites skillfully navigating the streets. This is the turnaround point, and we head back to Tokyo Station. The rows of trees near the State Guest House and glimpses of Tokyo Tower between the buildings excite us passengers. The bus passes by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism building and returns to Marunouchi.

The small trip of about an hour and a half of Tokyo people-watching comes to an end.

表参道、渋谷コースは東京の名所、旧跡を訪ねと言うより、今の東京の住んでいる人々を見るコース。
出発点の三菱ビル前は東京のオフィス街、丸の内。働く人々が行きかうところが見る事が出来ます。バスは東京駅横に見ながら霞が関の方向に向かい出発していきます。霞が関は日本の官庁街、国会議事堂、各省庁の建物を見て進んで行きます。その横は皇居。皇居のお堀を見ながら、表参道方向へ。東京のおしゃれな人たちが集まる表参道、青山と進んで行きます。この頃になると通行する人達はスーツ姿からおしゃれな流行の洋服に変って行きます。天井のないバスなので、この当たりは美味しそうな匂いもしてきます。そして渋谷のスクランブル交差点を通り、東京の人が器用に右往左往に道路を渡る姿を目にする事が出来ます。ここから折り返し地点。また、東京駅へと戻ってきます。迎賓館の並木、ビルの隙間隙間から見る東京タワーが乗客の私たちをわくわくさせてくれます。バスは国交省のビルを横目に見て、丸の内に戻ってきます。
約1時間半の東京人ウオッチングの小旅行の旅が終わります。

This was a good tour. Although we didn't get to view Mt Fuji due to the weather it was still good to go. It's a long day and would suggest taking the bullet train back. Our guide Hashi was knowledgable and helpful. In our opinion we spent too much time at the thermals and the meal we had at the hotel was the worst we had in Japan. But although quite expensive it was a good but not great tour.

After exchanging the voucher for tickets at the meeting point near Marunouchi Building, we boarded. Since the seats are assigned in advance, it's a bit reassuring even for solo travelers. (As we move clockwise towards our destination, sitting on the right side (side D) feels like a bit of an advantage.)

Once we started moving, there was a chorus of cheers from the passengers. The wind feels great! The traffic lights are close! It's oddly delightful to see people waving from the roadside! That refreshing feeling is something you rarely find elsewhere. Honestly, I didn't expect an open-top bus to be this enjoyable.

A guide accompanied the tour, providing commentary from the back of the seats with a microphone. The information about dessert shops while passing through Omotesando and Shibuya was particularly detailed (though we couldn't get off).

Tokyo Station, Kasumigaseki, Omotesando, Shibuya... places that aren't particularly rare for those living in Tokyo look so sparkling from a high vantage point without a roof! It was a tour filled with new discoveries. I want to invite someone and go again soon, without waiting for another opportunity.

丸ビル近くの集合場所でバウチャーをチケットと交換してもらってから搭乗。あらかじめ座席指定がされているので、一人参加でもちょっと安心です。
(目的地を時計回りに進むので、進行方向右側の座席(D側)の方がちょっとおトクな気はします)

走り始めたら、一斉にお客さんから歓声が。
風が気持ちいい！信号機が近い！沿道から手を振ってくれる人がいて妙にうれしい！
あの爽快感はなかなか他では見当たらない種類のものです。正直、オープントップバスがこんなにイイものとは思ってませんでした。

ツアーにはガイドさんが一人添乗し、座席後方からマイクで案内。特に表参道・渋谷を通り抜ける際のスイーツ店情報はかなり力が入ってました(降りられるわけではないですが)。

東京駅・霞ヶ関・表参道・渋谷…と、東京に住んでいれば特に珍しくもない場所が、屋根のない高い視点から風を受けながら眺めると、これほどまでにキラキラして見えるのか!?と新しい発見に満ちたツアーでした。
機会があればと言わず、ぜひ誰かを誘って近いうちにまた乗りに行きたいです。

I 'm remiss in posting this review. My daughter and I took this trip last year. We traveled from Boston to Tokyo and were thrilled that the cherry blossoms were in bloom. We only had three days in Tokyo before heading to Kyoto so this tour was fantastic. We hit all the high points. We started by going to Tokyo Tower. The views were awesome and we were lucky to be able to see Mt. Fuji. We had a tour of the city, a visit to the royal palace, several shrines, a park, lunch and a boat ride. I found the prices very reasonable for all we got and the lunch was terrific as well. Our guide was very knowledgeable and was happy to answer questions. The day was rainy and cold but the spirit of all was very bright. We were lucky that it warmed up and we were able to return on our own to some of the spots we saw. I looked at several tour companies before I left and this was the best. I have recommended this company to my boss when she went to Paris and she was happy with her tours as well. I will be using this company next year when I visit Italy.

I applied urgently because the points will no longer be available in March.
The night view of Tokyo was wonderful!
If there's another opportunity, I want to go with everyone and have a great time!

ポイントが3月出なくなるので急きょ申し込みました。
夜の東京は素敵でしたよ
又機会が会ったらみんなでワイワイ行ってみたーい

I had previously taken the hop-on bus from this company, but I had always wanted to ride it without getting off at any stops. I boarded on a sunny afternoon when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, so there was no glare from the west sun, allowing me to enjoy various beautiful views. It's amazing to be so close to the cherry trees around the Imperial Palace, but personally, I found it thrilling and exciting to see the scenery of people having hanami in the National Diet front garden and to pass under the 3.6-meter guard at Sukiyabashi. Riding through Ginza's Chuo-dori on a double-decker open-top bus was incredibly fun.

この会社のホップオンバスは乗ったことがありましたが、途中下車のない方も一度乗ってみたいと思っていました。ちょうど桜が満開の晴天のお昼に乗車したので、西日もなくきれいに色んな景色が楽しめました。皇居周辺の桜の木が間近なのも凄いですが、個人的には国会前庭で花見をしている風景と、数寄屋橋の3.6メートルのガードをくぐるのがスリリングでエキサイティングでした。銀座の中央通りを2階建てオープントップバスで通るのは凄く楽しかったです。

Thouh we encountered traffic on the way to mt. Fuji and had to hurry up to finish the tour without skipping an activiy, it was still an awesome activity. The only thing i will change for my next travel is taking a shinkansen train back to tokyo because the hiway is traffic.

Wonderful Mount Fuji, we were lucky to have good weather so able to see the Mount Fuji clearly.. Great tour guide.. Very funny.. During the bus ride, she introduce the japan culture and language.. Hope to join this tour again.. Thank you Gray Lines tour..

This tour is definitely worth it!
We did it in Feb 1st week and it was cold but worth the visit to Hakone and Mt. Fuji.
All the sites were very pretty and luckily we got a clear view of the Mt. Fuji.
Our tour guide was extremely sweet and very patient with all our questions.
The cruise at Lake Ashi was also exhilarating.
The most amazing part was the return by bullet train. The most amazing and fast Shinkasen experience!
Would definitely do this entire tour again in another season to see different scenic views!!!!
Thank you Veltra for this awesome trip!!!!

Thank You Veltra for making our Mt.Fuji tour experienced fun & memorable.

A good tour to save time. It is very difficult to navigate these places via public transport in Japan and it also saved a lot of time having to line up to purchase tickets.

This tour is certainly worth the money. Met some lovely people and enjoyed the beautiful views of Mount Fuji. Thanks Veltra!

The Full Day Grand Tokyo Tour was a nice and relaxing way to view the cities highlights and gardens. Nagi and Jun were excellent guides throughout the day and even taught us a few greetings and how to count in Japanese. I would recommend this tour as a good way to hit the major highlights of Japan.

The trip was nice, we enjoyed the cablecar and the pirate boat. Went to the 5th station in Fuji but other than a meandering mountain road there was nothing up there but a souvenir shop. A bit of quick trekking around would be nicer.
The guide was very helpful and made the coach trip much entertaining, providing interesting info and jokes :)
The but comes at stopping times, particularly at the Hakone fumes, which made us literally run to see the fumes and get back to the bus on time.

Certainly the best thing to do at the start of a holiday in Tokyo. Shame that a couple of items were missed out of the program because our trip fell on a Friday, but the lunch made up for it, excellent lunch and well worth the cost.