Kyoto in Half a Day: Sightseeing ①: Nijo Castle — Guide Nori

Title: Can You Visit Kyoto's Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji, and Fushimi Inari in a 4-Hour Private Tour? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visitors from North America, currently traveling in Japan. Early that morning they had taken the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto, and they planned to return to Tokyo in the evening, so they had chosen a "4-hour course (10:30–14:30)" (the meeting time was later changed to 11:00).

In our advance communication about the itinerary, the guests wrote, "We are not interested in shopping. We would like to learn a lot about the history and culture of Kyoto," so their purpose for sightseeing in Kyoto was extremely clear. I therefore proposed "Nijo Castle → Kyoto Imperial Palace Park and Palace → lunch → Kinkaku-ji," but the guests replied, "We would really love to see Fushimi Inari as well — is that possible?" I explained, "As I proposed, a maximum of three places is the limit for a 4-hour course. If you really want to go to Fushimi Inari, we would have to either cancel Kinkaku-ji or move lunch to after the tour ends." In the end, they agreed with my proposal.

On the day, the guests appeared at the agreed central exit of the Shinkansen station about ten minutes earlier than scheduled, and we reconfirmed the itinerary. There, the guests still seemed unable to give up on Fushimi Inari, pressing me with, "Isn't there any way to make it work?" I responded, "If you skip lunch during the tour time and have it after the tour, I can manage to guide you to Fushimi Inari — would that be all right?" To this the guests replied, "Of course that's fine. Thank you for being so flexible." The thought crossed my mind, "In this continuing heat, water is always available, but will everyone be okay on an empty stomach (myself included)?" but since the guests seemed energetic, I decided to change the itinerary as requested.

Once the tour began, the guests moved very smoothly and were very cooperative with time management. As for transportation, we used the subway, city buses, and JR trains — almost all air-conditioned environments — so we could travel very comfortably. When the walking time to stations and stops is not too long, I was reminded that public transportation truly has its advantages in the heat. As I had understood from our advance communication, the guests had a strong interest in Japanese culture and history, listened closely to my explanations, and asked many questions. At times, I added quizzes such as, "Why is the fox the symbol of Fushimi Inari?" and we were able to enjoy the tour. It was guiding once again in intense heat, but I was able to have an enjoyable tour with a close and curious group.

Click here for more details: Kyoto Customized Half-Day Tour with Licensed Local Guide

Tour Report by Nori

Hi, everyone! I’m Norifumi Kamon, a government registered guide interpreter. Please call me “Nori”, or “Kamon-san”.
Let me introdece myself. I was born on April 17th in 1952 in Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu island. I used to be an English teacher of Osaka Prefectural high school. When I retired from a teacher ten years ago, I decided to get a professional guide license. I wanted to play a role of the bridge between Japanese people and the people from all over the world as a second life of mine. After two years efforts, I finally got the guide license. Since then, I have guided several handreds of foreign people mainly in Kyoto and Nara for about five years except Corona Pandemic period. Almost all the tourists were deeply impressed by the beauty of nature, traditoin, culture, and art of Japan. I can surely help you enjoy and be satisfied with the sightseeing in Japan. And I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.