The oldest and most established sightseeing tour-bus company that operates in Tokyo is the Hato Bus. This tour company has been around for more than a half-century and boasts that its name is practically synonymous with Tokyo tourism. Services include pick-up and drop-off at certain major hotels, giving clients the added convenience of not having to go to the departure station--which lessens the risk of getting lost in Tokyo and missing the tour. Tour packages are categorized according to length, time of day and the routes to be taken. Some packages include meals and each bus or tour group is led by a certified interpreter-guide. Guides proficient in English, Chinese, Korean and Spanish are provided.
There are half-day and full-day tours. Half-day tours begin in the morning about 9 and last until noon or 1 p.m.; in the afternoon, half-day tours leave about 1:40 and last until 5. Full-day tours begin about 9 a.m. and last until 5 p.m. In either case, the official departure point is Hamamatsucho Bus Terminal, at the World Trade Center Building Annex. The ticketing office is also located in the terminal. Hato Bus offers what is called mainstream Cityrama tours that visit the Tokyo's most popular tourist attractions, such as the Imperial Palace East Gardens (morning) and the Tokyo Tower (afternoon). As a variation to the main fare, Hato Bus offers a Symphonic tour in the morning that visits less popular sites and ends with a lunchtime cruise along Tokyo Bay on a restaurant boat named Symphony.
Night tours are also offered and begin around 5:40 p.m., lasting until 9 or 10. Night tours afford guests the opportunity to visit Tokyo landmarks such as Ginza, Roppongi and Odaiba. There is also a geisha tour--properly termed the Mukojima Geisha Tour--that offers tourists seasonal kaiseki cuisine delicacies while watching geishas perform.
A more recent addition to Tokyo's sightseeing tour buses is the open-top double-decker bus. Skybus Tokyo, the first to introduce this type of tour bus, is naturally the most popular of its kind. Each Skybus accommodates 45 people and the route covers most of the city's central districts. The attraction is that one can literally do more sightseeing as the open top gives tourists an unobstructed view.
Unlike regular sightseeing bus tours, a Skybus Tokyo tour only lasts one hour. Every hour starting at 10 a.m., a bus leaves the Marunouchi South Entrance of Tokyo Station 3. The ticketing office is on the first floor of the Mitsubishi Building, just across the terminal. The last trip begins at 6 p.m. Ticket fees vary for adults and children ages 12 and up, and children 4 to 11. The Skybus Tokyo tour course visits the Imperial Palace, the Otemachi financial center, the Diet Building, Ginza and Nihombashi.
