The growing interest in surface plasmon-based technologies has been driven by their promising applications in nanoparticle trapping, biosensing, and real-time in-situ diagnostics. Among these, leaky surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) excited via the Kretschmann configuration on thin metallic films particularly gold have garnered significant attention due to their enhanced field confinement and propagation capabilities. In this study, we propose a novel approach to improving photon–plasmon coupling efficiency by utilizing a tapered gold stripe structure. The tapered geometry is designed to gradually concentrate SPPs toward the narrow end of the stripe, thereby significantly enhancing local field intensity. To investigate the behavior of SPPs under various excitation and tapering conditions, a three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D-FDTD) simulation framework is employed. The results reveal that a tapering angle of approximately 45° yields a more than 60% increase in mode intensity after an 8 μm propagation distance, compared to a uniform (untapered) stripe. This improvement is achieved without significantly increasing power consumption, making the design highly energy-efficient. Furthermore, the proposed structure is readily compatible with low-cost microfabrication techniques, enabling straightforward integration into lab-on-a-chip and optical manipulation platforms. Overall, this enhanced tapered stripe design presents a promising avenue for advancing plasmonic optophoresis systems and may serve as a foundational element in the development of compact, integrated photonic chips for biomedical and nanoscale applications.