Kyoto Customized Full-Day Private Tour — Guide Nori

What Is a Private Kyoto Walking Tour with Kids Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting Japan from North America. Before the tour, I communicated frequently with one of the guests to coordinate the destinations and to plan for the needs of the younger members of the group. The biggest concern beforehand was whether the younger guests could handle an 8-hour walking tour without a private vehicle. At the same time, the group was very enthusiastic about sightseeing and expressed a wish to visit as many places as possible. After several email exchanges, we reached a shared understanding: we would draw up a plan, but prioritize the health and safety of the group above all, making decisions on the spot and staying flexible. As an initial plan, I set five destinations as a guide: Kinkaku-ji, then lunch in Arashiyama, followed by sightseeing in Arashiyama (Togetsukyo Bridge, Tenryu-ji, and the Bamboo Grove), then Fushimi Inari, Gion, and a manga museum.

On the day of the tour, the rain that had been falling since the previous day still lingered, which made me anticipate a challenging day ahead. We met at the hotel, reconfirmed the course and our plan to prioritize the situation of the younger guests and respond flexibly, and set off. When I actually met the group, everyone was very cheerful and energetic and reasonably cooperative, which put me a little at ease.

We traveled between destinations entirely by public transportation (subway, bus, and JR). Although I had been worried about how this would go, the guests cooperated with one another and the transfers went smoothly. The concern was how much walking the group could endure between stations or bus stops and the destinations. I constantly observed how the group was doing and consulted with them along the way, taking sufficient rest breaks when anyone seemed tired and offering sweets to keep energy up. Because of this, we sometimes far exceeded the planned travel times, but I managed by consulting frequently with the group and canceling some destinations.

In the end, we canceled the latter part of the plan (Higashiyama/Gion and the manga museum) and visited three places: Kinkaku-ji, Arashiyama, and Fushimi Inari. Because the group walked energetically to the very end (covering about 10 kilometers over the whole route!) and the rain stopped and the weather turned around, we were able to finish the tour feeling wonderful. It was a tour in which I was greatly encouraged by the smiles of the guests.

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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.