Kyoto Customized Half-Day Tour — Guide Satoko

Title: What's a Private Kyoto Day Tour from Osaka Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were staying in Osaka and wanted to visit Fushimi Inari in the morning, so we arranged to meet in front of Nijo Castle. They arrived a little late, as they had come by taxi and gotten caught in traffic. At Nijo Castle, the guests were especially interested in samurai and listened attentively to my explanations. Next was Kiyomizu-dera Temple, but since the guests wanted to experience Japanese public transportation, we decided to travel by subway and city bus. I had planned to get off at Gojozaka, go up from Chawanzaka, and come down Kiyomizuzaka, but since the bus seemed unlikely to make progress from Kiyomizumichi to Gojozaka, we decided to get off at Kiyomizumichi. That may have been a mistake, however, as Kiyomizuzaka was more crowded than I had ever seen, making it nearly impossible to go up, and the guests said they would rather go to Nishiki Market, so we decided to head toward Gion via Sannenzaka. They happily took photos at Sannenzaka, the five-story pagoda of Hokan-ji Temple, and Yasaka Koshindo. While on the bus, I had introduced Yasaka Shrine as the origin of Gion, so I asked whether they wanted to visit Yasaka Shrine, but they said they would rather go to Nishiki Market, so we decided to pass through Yasui Konpiragu Shrine and stroll along Hanamikoji. I also asked whether they wanted to see Shinbashi, but again they said they would rather go to Nishiki Market, so we crossed Shijo Ohashi Bridge and guided them from Kawaramachi to Nishiki. When I explained that the well at Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine is the birthplace of Nishiki Market, they said they could manage on their own from there, so we parted ways a little earlier than planned.

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

Tour Report by Satoko

I am a 53-year-old woman, living in Kyoto for nearly 40 years. I got the license in 2001. Since then, I worked as an interpreter or a translator in several companies, secretary at universities, and now work for a company on weekdays at the international dept.I do guiding job only weekend now. I started full swing guiding career after COVID-19 pandemic. I have gotten good review from many of my guests. I love my hometown, Kyoto which has a lot of interesting and historical sites to see. Particularly, I am native to Arashiyama which is famous for bamboo forest. So, I know a lot of places where you can relax yourself around this area. Other than that, Kyoto has many attractive sites which surely interest you.Also, I like meeting many people from different cultural background. I am very happy if I learn about your culture as well. Let’s enjoy exploring around Kyoto!