7 Best Photography Tours in Tokyo

In some cities, neon museums are often tourist attractions, and what could be better than a museum? A city, and in Japan you'll find it. This is Tokyo, the city of neon lights, extravagant cuisine, towering skyscrapers and colourful culture; every photographer's dream.

On every corner you'll find a reason to take a great photo. It's like an endless walk that awakens the senses between innovation and tradition. If you're looking for the best photography tours to add to your list of things to see and do in Tokyo, this post is for you.

Take note of this type of tour, especially if you are visiting the Japanese city at the end of winter. Sensoji and its picturesque gardens will be in full bloom and you will be wearing a kimono or hakama to look like a true Japanese.

Looking for an immersive experience amongthe things to see and do in Tokyo in spring? This tour is made for you.

Your photographic adventure will often begin in a kimono shop in Asakusa. After getting dressed, the concrete jungle will lend itself to a beautiful photo shoot.

The tour usually passes by Sensoji Temple, the famous Nakamise Street, Azuma Bridge, the curious Sapporo Monument, and Tokyo SkyTree.

In fact, this tour not only deserves to be among the best photography tours in Tokyo, but also among the most essential guided tours of the Japanese capital.

The tour lasts more than 3 hours with a professional photographer and a guide, who, dressed in traditional clothing, will explain the historical importance of the region to you and/or your group of up to 6 people.

At the end, you can conclude your visit to the city with a ride on a rickshaw or traditional Japanese horse-drawn carriage for an additional fee.

Details of interest

• Price: From £72.
• Duration: 3 hours and 30 minutes.
• Time: From 7pm.
• What the tour usually includes: guide by professional photographer, kimono or hakama rental. Walk through Asakusa and its surroundings.
• Transport: on foot

The metropolis of Tokyo is a huge expanse of concrete that stretches for miles in all directions, with scattered urban centres. With this type of tour, you can capture the best scenes of Shimbashi and Ginza, such as Tokyo Tower, with your camera.

Another popular destination for these tours is Shibuya, home to the Cherry Blossom Garden, the iconic Meiji Shrine and Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, a national park that will take your breath away, among other attractions.

You will be part of a group of up to 6 people, who will receive tips on photography techniques and composition from your local expert while you capture images to remember.

Details of interest

• Price: From £160.
• Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes.
• What the tour usually includes: Return transport to your hotel. Personalised itinerary, advice from a professional photographer. Tripod (if necessary). Guide to Tokyo.
• Means of transport: on foot.

Under the moonlight, the city of neon signs comes to life. On this night photography tour, you'll receive tips on image composition and techniques for getting the most out of your camera with artificial and natural night lighting.

As you visit iconic spots in Shinjuku and Shibuya, such as Shibuya Crossing, better known as Shibuya Crossing, or the lively nightlife district surrounding Japan's busiest train station in the Shinjuku district, your group of up to 6 people will capture the best images of the evening.

If you don't have a tripod, don't worry, you can hire one for an additional fee on this type of tour. Enjoy the experience and let yourself be carried away by this vibrant city.

Of course, if you are visiting Tokyo in winter, I advise you to bring warm clothing, as it can get quite cold.

Useful information

• Price: From £160
• Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes.
• Time: From 7pm.
• What the tour includes: guide by professional photographer. Night-time walking tour of Shinjuku and Shibuya. Option to hire a tripod for an additional fee.
• Transport: on foot

Leave your beginner's mistakes behind with this type of tour. An expert professional photographer will take you by the hand and explain creative ways to take street photos in the night-time landscape of Tokyo's most colourful districts.

As well as understanding the ideal settings for street photography, you will practise setting up panoramic shots of traffic and using reflections, shadows and contrasting silhouettes.

This is a photography master class to get the most out of your camera at night, with or without a tripod.

The tour usually starts in Shinjuku, one of the busiest areas of Tokyo. There, your small group of up to 4 people will explore the smoky and bustling Omoide Yokocho before diving into the red-light district of Kabukicho.

After examining the surroundings from the inside out through your camera lenses, you will travel by underground to Shibuya, where you will visit an old building full of pipes and ducts, a scene straight out of a cyberpunk film.

Finally, the tour ends in Dogenzaka, another neighbourhood flanked by neon lights, perfect for capturing the hustle and bustle of Shibuya.

Add this type of tour to your list of things to see and do in Tokyo at Christmas, when St. Nicholas' Eve and New Year's Eve add spectacular lighting that you'll want to capture with your camera.

Details of interest

• Price: From £234

• Duration: 3 hours.

• What the tour may include: advice and instruction from a professional photographer who is an expert in Japanese culture. A visit to various tourist attractions in Kabukicho, Shibuya and Shinjuku.

• Means of transport: on foot

Tokyo is a metropolis that perfectly combines Japanese aesthetics and tradition with a futurism that is as retro as it is modern. The city seduces photographers with its neon lights, graffiti-filled alleys and smoky bars.

On this type of tour, your experience is personalised. Let your operator know the places you're interested in or the type of images you want to capture with your camera, and they'll take care of everything.

On the day of the tour, the adventure often begins at your hotel, where you will meet your photographer guide and then visit a variety of areas, such as the famous Omotesando Avenue, the Shibuya pedestrian crossing, and the intricate streets between Shinjuku and Shibuya with fantastic photo opportunities such as the fashion of Harajuku.

This type of tour is quite comprehensive. It is done on foot and you will be walking for hours (wear comfortable shoes) to take photos at the right moment. As you tour the city, your guide will share stories and anecdotes about the place.

Another interesting aspect of these tours is that they are suitable for expert photographers who want to get the most out of their lens, amateur photographers with modest cameras, those who only have smartphones, and influencers.

My advice is to include this tour at the top of your list of things to see and do in Tokyo in 3, 5 or 7 days. After the advice you receive, you will be ready to explore the city on your own.

Details of interest

• Price: From £395.
• Duration: 6 hours.
• What the tour may include: return transport to your hotel. Personalised itinerary, advice from a professional photographer. Tripod (if necessary). Guide to Tokyo.
• Means of transport: on foot.

Whether you're travelling alone, as a couple, with friends or family, it's hard to capture spontaneous photos while really enjoying the moment, especially when time is short, such as when planning Tokyo in 2 Days: everything you need to know

Don't leave it to a stranger on the street, the solution is simpler: hire the services of a personal photographer.

When you choose this type of service, a local photographer will advise you on the best route to the places you like and then accompany you or your group to take the photographs.

You will have 60 minutes to explore, for example, the gamer's paradise of Odaiba, where you can stroll through the fabulous National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation before crossing Tokyo Bay via the Rainbow Bridge.

As it is a shorter tour and you have a photographer at your disposal to immortalise the visit, this tour could well be one of the things to do in Tokyo with children.

Details of interest

• Price: From £83.
• Duration: 1 hour.
• Schedule: to be agreed with the photographer.
• What the tour includes: guide by professional photographer. 300–400 professional photographs. Retouching service for up to 20 photos.
• Transport: on foot

The charm of Japan is not limited to Tokyo, but extends to other cities such as Kyoto and Osaka. This intensive photography workshop was created to master photographic techniques while getting to know Japan's three most popular cities.

This is the most comprehensive tour for getting to know Japan's major cities while immersing yourself in a 10-day photography master class.

Tokyo

The experience usually begins in Tokyo. First, the group of up to 10 people explores the streets of Ginza.

To begin working on concepts and contrasts of light, you will visit a few shrines, markets and temples in the heart of the metropolis.

With the streets lit up by the neon lights of Shinjuku and Shibuya, the group will explore the mysterious alleys where the light enters with a ghostly glow.

The old neighbourhoods of Tokyo will also take centre stage on this tour, as will the "shitamachi" or "lower town", where the houses date back to the post-war boom and their facades tell as many stories as the elderly residents of the district.

Kyoto

The tour changes cities and arrives in Kyoto after a short ride on the bullet train. There, traditionalism and a conscious connection with the environment and nature converge. The surroundings of the Zen temple complex of Nazenji are often visited.

The gardens of Nanzenji are ideal for creating composite photos. Afterwards, the tour continues to the moss-covered temples on the slopes of the mountains flanking the ancient capital, ending in less travelled places.

Osaka

The group heads to the third city on the tour, Osaka, where you will discover this ancient metropolis that seems to have been frozen in time.

It's time to photograph Japanese cuisine with Nikkei food. It's worth learning how to use contrasts, and Osaka has everything you need to perfect this technique.

Interesting details

• Price: From £2,700
• Duration: 10 days.
• Schedule: all day.
• What the tour may include: Professional photographer guide. Tripod for your camera. All breakfasts. Geisha photography session. Entrance to the Mori Tower. Luggage transfer service between Tokyo and Kyoto. 10 nights' hotel accommodation. Train ticket. Bullet train ticket between Tokyo and Kyoto. Tour and guide of the main cities and conurbations of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.
• Means of transport: on foot, train and underground.

• These types of tours are designed to help you explore your camera's potential to the fullest and get the most out of all its features.

• Always wear comfortable shoes for these tours, as they tend to be long and most of them are done on foot or by public transport.

• Be sure to plan a daily schedule of activities with your operator so you don't waste time in the city. Tokyo has a wide variety of picture-perfect spots, but it takes time to travel from one end to the other.

• Try to opt for personalised tours or small groups.

• Book your photography tour well in advance. Places fill up quickly as this is a hobby for the Japanese and a tourist attraction.

• The Tokyo Skytree, an amazing 334-metre structure that is visible from almost anywhere in the Japanese capital.
• Odaiba, a land of contrasts between gardens and technology and innovation.
• Tokyo Tower, the photographs there — especially if you visit at sunset — are reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower at night.
• Senso-ji Temple, a sacred space with breathtaking views at the end of Nakamise Street.
• The Rainbow Bridge, an example of the use of renewable energy. Its multicoloured lights are powered by solar panels.
• The entrance to Tokyu Plaza Harajuku and its always busy street.
• Shibuya Crossing, an iconic intersection that you will surely recognise from films representing Japan.
• The Hama-rikyu Gardens, a 280-metre oasis that concentrates the natural beauty of Japanese culture.
• Weekend cosplay in Yoyogi Park.
• The traditional Omotesando Avenue.
• The bustling Omoide Yokocho and its memory lane.