Nara Day Trip from Kyoto: Customized Tour — Guide Kazu

Title: What Is a Private Day Trip from Kyoto to Nara Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visitors from Europe on their first trip to Japan. There had been no replies to my emails beforehand, which was a concern, but we discussed and decided on the places to visit during the JR train ride to Nara. Everyone was in good spirits, so from the hotel meeting point we jogged over to Kyoto Station and made it in time for the rapid train to Nara. That morning there had been an incident of people entering a railway crossing on the JR Nara Line, which caused delays, and the train even came to a brief stop on the way to Nara Station. As a result, our arrival at Nara Station was slightly delayed. At Nara Park, the guests happily played with the deer. For lunch we went to a tonkatsu restaurant I often visit. It is always full of foreign visitors; today, including myself, there were only three Japanese people there. One of the guests worked as a teacher, and we exchanged a little professional information with each other. It was another hot day, and after visiting the Naramachi Koshi-no-ie (traditional lattice townhouse), I asked, "Would you like to walk a bit and do some shopping?" but the guests said they wanted to return to Nara Station, so in the end we arrived at Kyoto Station about 30 minutes earlier than planned. I think part of the reason was that one of the guests had caught a cold. At the lattice house, the guests asked many questions and took a lot of photos. The photos were taken at Kasuga Taisha Shrine.

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Tour Report by KAZU

I was born and grew up in Kyoto and now live near Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. I used to be a schoolteacher of English and welcome a lot of students from foreign countries. I really enjoyed showing them around Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Himeji, and Hiroshima. I have been a professional tour guide for about 8 years. I always try to let my guests learn Japanese traditional and modern culture. Since I was born in Kyoto, I know a lot about its culture and people. I myself enjoyed several sports, such as soccer, judo, and marathon when I was young. I’m much interested in baseball and sumo. My motto as a tour guide is to let my guests learn about our tradition and culture precisely and really enjoy themselves. I strongly hope you will enjoy the tour in Japan with me.