A held sushi counter, an after-hours art house and the world's most exacting city.
A held sushi counter, an after-hours art house and the world's most exacting city. Here is Tokyo, arranged privately — browse it by the occasion you're marking, by what moves you, or by the season that suits you best.
What an advisor can open that an algorithm cannot. Each of these is staged on your terms — the access, the timing, the people.
An eight-seat Shibuya counter reserved entirely — the master's omakase for your group only, course by course, the fish from the inner Toyosu market bought that morning by the chef himself, the two unhurried hours that turn an exceptional meal into a conversation.
The outer Tsukiji market at the hour the professionals arrive — a wholesale tuna broker who has worked this trade for thirty years walks your party through the auction culture, the grading, and why certain fish never reach a menu.
Tokyo's immersive digital art space opened privately before the first general admission — the flooded rooms at the moment the LED fields are calibrated, the installation seen as the artists intend it, with silence and no one else.
Not a package — a starting point. Each is a journey we have designed and refined; your advisor reshapes it for the version only you would recognise.
A ryokan suite in the city's most tucked-away alley, a private tea ceremony in Yanaka, a held counter at a Ginza sushi master, and the teamLab installation walked before the first public visitor.
The Tokyo National Museum's samurai armour and Edo period art walked with a curator, a private visit to a contemporary gallery in Roppongi that shows the work before the Tokyo Art Week crowds, and the Imperial Palace East Garden at the hour it opens.
Tokyo's unrivalled food culture navigated privately — Tsukiji at 4am with a tuna broker, a Jiro-level omakase held entirely for your party, a sake brewery tour in the northern suburbs, and the izakaya in Shinjuku where the reservation list has a three-year wait.
The koyo season in November — Rikugien's illuminated maple garden reserved for a private morning visit, Shinjuku Gyoen at first light, and the kaiseki counter in Akasaka where the menu changes with each maple variety that turns.
Each a starting point — our advisors weave them into a single, seamless journey.
Tokyo's sakura usually peaks late March to early April, with Chidorigafuchi near the Imperial Palace, Ueno Park and the Meguro River among the finest viewing settings. Autumn foliage arrives at much the same time as in Kyoto, peaking late November into early December, with the ginkgo avenue at Meiji Jingu Gaien especially admired. Avoid Golden Week in early May and the August Obon period, when the city empties of locals but transport and popular venues are strained.
The leading bases are Marunouchi and the Imperial Palace area for refined calm and rail access, Ginza for shopping and dining, Roppongi for art and contemporary luxury, and Shibuya for energy and design. Most well-planned itineraries allow three to four nights in Tokyo to balance neighborhoods, museums, dining and day trips without rushing. Forest Travel matches the district and hotel category to your priorities, whether that is quiet seclusion or proximity to Ginza's flagship boutiques.
Yes. Tokyo holds more of the world's most decorated restaurants than any other city, and the leading sushi, tempura and kaiseki counters seat very few guests and are notoriously difficult to access; many require booking through established relationships rather than online. Your advisor arranges these counter reservations alongside a knowledgeable private guide who can navigate etiquette, translation and the unspoken codes of the most exclusive establishments. We also coordinate private experiences such as after-hours gallery visits and access to artisans in their workshops.
A refined Tokyo balances tradition and modernity: the temples and old streets of Asakusa and Yanaka, the galleries and architecture of Roppongi and the teamLab digital art museums, the boutiques and depachika food halls of Ginza, and the calm of the Imperial Palace East Gardens. A private fish-market experience, a sake or whisky tasting, and a tea house visit add depth beyond the obvious sights. Day trips to Nikko's shrines or Kamakura's temples extend the itinerary without changing your base.
Haneda is far closer to the city than Narita, roughly thirty to forty-five minutes versus an hour or more, and your advisor arranges a private car and driver for all airport and intercity transfers. Within Tokyo, private cars are more comfortable than the subway for evening dining, though the rail network is exceptional for those who prefer it. For onward travel, the Shinkansen departs Tokyo Station for Kyoto in about two hours fifteen minutes, with Green Car or Gran Class seating and porter assistance arranged in advance.
In Tokyo, anything with a timed entry should be booked before you land. The teamLab museums and Shibuya Sky sell timed slots that go weeks ahead, and the lower observation deck at the Toyosu tuna auction is allocated by official lottery, while the upper viewing windows are free to anyone arriving before dawn. Two closures matter: Miraikan, the national science museum, is closed from 1 October 2026 until 22 April 2027, and the Mori Art Museum closes on 24 September 2027 until late April 2028.
Between Tokyo and the next city, forward your bags by takkyubin: next-day delivery between the major Honshu cities, up to 160 cm combined and 25 kg per case. You travel with an overnight bag and meet your luggage at the next hotel. A car and driver is placed on every airport and intercity transfer, because Tokyo's rail network is superb but not with luggage or after a long dinner.
The Tsukiji visit takes your party into Tokyo's outer Tsukiji market at 4am, the hour the professionals arrive. A wholesale tuna broker who has worked this trade for thirty years walks you through the auction culture, the grading, and why certain fish never reach a menu. It anchors The Tokyo Table, a journey that also includes an omakase held entirely for your party and a sake brewery tour in the northern suburbs.
Yes. Tokyo's immersive digital art space, teamLab Planets, can be opened privately before the first general admission. You walk the flooded rooms at the moment the LED fields are calibrated, seeing the installation as the artists intend it, in silence and with no one else. The Tokyo Honeymoon includes the teamLab installation walked before the first public visitor, alongside a private tea ceremony in Yanaka.
Tokyo is not for travellers who want a walkable, legible city they can finish. It asks for transfers, translation and a certain tolerance for scale, so a first-timer who wants one beautiful neighbourhood and a slow week is better served by Kyoto or a ryokan at Hakone. If dining is the whole point of the journey, say so at the start, because the restaurant calendar, not the hotel, should then set the dates.
It depends on the trip: Marunouchi for quiet and the shortest walk to a Shinkansen platform, Ginza for dining and flagship boutiques, Roppongi for museums and contemporary design. Tokyo is four or five cities rather than one, and the district you choose decides more about the week than the hotel does. Shibuya suits travellers who want the city awake outside the door. Three or four nights is the right length to know two of them.
A private Tokyo stay is estimated from around US$1,000 per person per night, so the three to four nights we recommend run from around US$3,000 to US$4,000 per person before international flights, plus our US$250 planning fee per itinerary. The leading sushi, tempura and kaiseki counters seat eight to twelve, release seats one to three months ahead and apply cancellation fees. Avoid Golden Week, Obon and the year-end days, when hotels price accordingly.
Every journey here is a starting point a private advisor reshapes entirely around you — your pace, your people, the Tokyo only you would recognise.
A real person answers: an in-house luxury travel advisor, in English or Spanish. The first conversation is complimentary.
