This is a private guided tour report by Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.), a network of 1,000+ government-licensed, English-speaking local guides across all 47 prefectures of Japan. Not affiliated with the Japan Guide Association.

Tour Itinerary

  • 9:00 Meet at Kyoto Station  9:25 Fushimi Inari  10:45 Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple  11:20 Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple  12:25 Lunch (Sushi) 13:05 Kinkaku-ji Temple 14:25 Kiyomizu-dera Temple
  • 15:15 Gion  15:45 Tour Ends

Title: What's a Private One-Day Kyoto Tour by Car Like in Summer? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visitors from North America. They were staying at a hotel in Shin-Osaka and came to Kyoto Station by Shinkansen on the day of the tour. After meeting, the start of the tour was slightly delayed because they exchanged dollars for yen, but since it would have been inconvenient to have no cash, this was unavoidable. Kyoto was extremely hot, exceeding 36 degrees, and at each site, foreign tourists were lined up sitting wherever there was a place to sit. On the veranda of Kiyomizu-dera, many tourists gathered in the shade to sit and rest. Perhaps because schools had entered summer vacation, there were no school excursion groups, so the sites were not that crowded. As I also noted in the tour time section, during our visit to Kiyomizu-dera it looked like we might run over the scheduled time, so I consulted with the driver and we used the car for 30 minutes. Since it was such a hot day, it was good that we did not have to walk to Gion. The photo was taken in the bamboo grove at Adashino Nenbutsu-ji.

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.

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