Nara in One Day: Guide to Kofukuji Temple — Guide Toshi

Title: What Is a Private Nara Day Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Deer, Todaiji, and Mount Wakakusa

The meeting point was suddenly changed from JR Nara Station to Kintetsu Nara Station, so I met the guests, a group visiting from the Middle East, at Kintetsu Nara Station at 9:15, fifteen minutes later than planned. I explained the day's itinerary there and began the Nara tour. I guided the group through Kofukuji Temple, but they did not seem very interested in temples. I concluded that this was likely because they had already seen plenty of shrines and temples in Kyoto. It became clear that the purpose of the guests' visit to Nara was the deer, so I kept the Kofukuji explanation brief and moved on to Nara Park, where they enjoyed feeding the deer. After they had spent enough time playing there, we headed to Todaiji Temple, but as the rainy season had just ended, the sunshine was very strong and we had to move while choosing shaded paths. I guided them through the Nandaimon Gate and then to the Great Buddha Hall, where I talked about Buddhism while explaining the Great Buddha. As the guests followed a different faith tradition, they listened to the talk about Buddhism but did not ask any particular questions, so unfortunately the explanation had to remain simple. It was the same at Nigatsudo Hall of Todaiji; they did not seem interested in the story of the Omizutori ceremony, so I decided to guide them to Mount Wakakusa. Today the fresh greenery of Wakakusa made for a wonderful scene. Some of the guests waited at the foot of the mountain, while I encouraged others to climb. The view from Mount Wakakusa was magnificent, and they seemed to enjoy it very much. Next, we moved from Mount Wakakusa to Kasuga Taisha Shrine, where I gave a brief talk about Shinto, connecting it with Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. Finally, we walked down the approach path from Kasuga Taisha back to the shopping street, where I introduced an okonomiyaki restaurant. As the guests said they would have lunch on their own, I concluded today's tour there.

It seems the guest photo was mistakenly taken in portrait orientation. I will be careful about this in the future.

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Tour Report by Toshi

After a rather long teaching experience at Japanese college, I converted my career about 6 years ago into working as a tour guide for the tourists visiting Japan.
As my career overseas, I’ve been in the UN and the Japanese Embassy, all in the USA, totaling more than 6 years.
And then I had made a big change in my career from a diplomat to an academic researcher. For that career to achieve, I studied abroad and won a doctorate degree in linguistics from Indiana University and landed a teaching position at college in Japan.
With all these interesting and exciting experiences I’ve made myself ready to enrich your tour and make it both enjoyable and worthwhile.