I recently took part in the Tokyo Nightlife bus tour, which takes visitors across the famous illuminated Rainbow Bridge and through the dazzling skyscraper districts of Odaiba, Ginza and Roppongi. The tour not only has a professional English-speaking guide showing you around, but also includes hotel drop-off service, four different delicious dinners to choose from, and entry to the Tokyo City View observation deck on top of the Roppongi Hills complex--all for only JPY 6,500! This is really great value, as if you were to try and get all of this separately for yourself, I'm sure it would cost much more.

The meeting time for the tour was at 17:20 at Tokyo's Hamamatsucho Bus Terminal, on the first floor of the World Trade Center building. Hamamatsucho is actually extremely conveniently located, being only 20 minutes from Haneda Airport by monorail and 10 minutes from Tokyo Station on the Yamanote Line.

Upon arrival, I was given a sticker and a ticket with my seat number on it, and then I got on the bus.

Having left Hamamatsucho, we were taken first to have dinner.
Dinner was served at Sanjusangendo restaurant, which is located on the 22nd floor of the Tokyo Bay Ariake Washington Hotel. The restaurant itself has a commanding view over beautiful Tokyo Bay. We were able to choose between four meals, made using seasonal ingredients: sukiyaki, tempura, sashimi and a vegetarian option (udon noodles). Meals came with orange juice, oolong tea or umeshu (plum liqueur) to drink. The portions were big and the food tasted great!

After dinner, we headed to a place in Odaiba, from which we could see Tokyo's Statue of Liberty, Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower. Our tour guide joked that from here one could take in New York (Statue of Liberty), San Francisco (Golden Gate Bridge) and Paris (Eiffel Tower) in one unbroken view.
After 30 minutes of free time, we had a group photo taken.

Leaving from Odaiba, we crossed over Rainbow Bridge. Crossing the bridge, we could look out over Odaiba and the pleasure boats cruising Tokyo Bay. The bus then took us via the famous areas of Akasaka and Ginza to Roppongi. Seeing the bright lights of the glitzy area of Ginza by night was a real treat. Upon arriving at Roppongi Hills, one of Tokyo's main attractions, I first went to take a look around the lovely Japanese-style Mori Garden. After this, I headed to the part of the tour I had really been looking forward to: the observation deck on the 52nd floor. The night view of Tokyo from 250 m above street level was quite simply superb. It'd be great to come back and spend some time at the Mori Art Gallery, which is located on the same floor.

Having left Roppongi Hills, we were back where we started, Hamamatsucho Bus Terminal, in what seemed the blink of an eye. Guests staying at one of Tokyo's main hotels were taken directly back to their door with the extremely convenient included drop-off service.　

Check to see if your hotel has a drop-off service!

With JAPANiCAN.com, you can book this tour until two days prior to the desired date. These tours are not designed just for groups; they are perfect for solo visitors, such as business travelers, too.

Click here to find out more