Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day — Guide Kazu

Tour Report by Kazu

Hello, this is Kazu Akiyama, your tour guide. Nice to meet you and welcome to Japan. Thank you for joining me on the tour. Now I am a retired salaried worker, living in Osaka. I have been very much interested in not only learning Japanese history, culture, religion myself, but also talking about them (sometimes going off topics) in English with tourists from all over the world as well. I am so excited being with you as your guide on coming day! I am very much looking forward to you enjoying with me visiting the must-see places and some of the hidden gems. See you soon. Thank you – Kazu Akiyama

What's a Private One-Day Kyoto Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Fushimi Inari, Nishiki Market, and More

The guests were a group visiting from North America. Some of them had previously been to Tokyo and Kyoto a few years earlier, while others were experiencing Japan for the first time. The group seemed well-traveled, and when we met, they decided on their destinations by sitting down casually somewhere inside Kyoto Station and having a lively, informal discussion that took about fifteen minutes. Their request was to mix quiet, beautiful dry landscape gardens with must-see spots even if crowded, and the itinerary reflected exactly that.

Some of the guests loved joking around, listening to my explanations only halfheartedly while cutting in with jokes and asking all sorts of different questions. As soon as I answered one question, they would already be looking off in another direction or coming back, enjoying themselves freely in their own way. Partway through, I got used to it, and when they were facing away and not listening, I would tap them on the shoulder and say, "Please listen to me for a moment!" I got quite carried away and did it in a friendly manner. They had the kind of personality that allowed for that, and they were a fun group to be with.

On the other hand, one of the guests took things quite seriously about everything and could speak a bit of Japanese, at least for simple greetings and casual responses.

After eating at Nishiki Market, on the way to Fushimi Inari Taisha by taxi, I responded to a request and stopped by the Nintendo headquarters to take a photo. When I said, "Now you're a superstar among the local kids!" they were quite delighted.

As always, I spent the whole day insistently teaching them "ookini," and they liked it quite a lot, so I warned them that they shouldn't use "ookini" once back in Yokohama and Tokyo — but in the end, we said goodbye with an "ookini." After this, they would take the Shinkansen straight back to a hotel in Shin-Yokohama and planned to explore Tokyo the next day. I hope they enjoyed themselves.

Click here for more details: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide

Tour Report by Kazu

Hello, this is Kazu Akiyama, your tour guide. Nice to meet you and welcome to Japan. Thank you for joining me on the tour. Now I am a retired salaried worker, living in Osaka. I have been very much interested in not only learning Japanese history, culture, religion myself, but also talking about them (sometimes going off topics) in English with tourists from all over the world as well. I am so excited being with you as your guide on coming day! I am very much looking forward to you enjoying with me visiting the must-see places and some of the hidden gems. See you soon. Thank you – Kazu Akiyama