Kyoto in One Day: Sightseeing ③: Kinkaku-ji tour — Guide Nori

What Is a Private One-Day Kyoto Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Nijo Castle, Arashiyama, and Kinkaku-ji

The guests this time were a group visiting Japan from North America for sightseeing. They were a lively and energetic group. I discussed the itinerary in advance with one of the guests, but even after I sent my first message, there was little response, and since there were only about ten days between the booking and the tour day, I asked [Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.)](https://www.j-g-a.org/) to help follow up for a reply. Finally, four days before the tour, I received a response to the message I had sent via a messaging app, and we were just barely able to discuss the itinerary. Since the guests' requests for places to visit were difficult to finalize, on the day I proposed two plans (Plan 1: Nijo Castle → Arashiyama → Kinkaku-ji; Plan 2: Kiyomizu-dera → Kodai-ji → Gion), and in the end we decided on Plan 1: Nijo Castle → Arashiyama → Kinkaku-ji.

On the day, the extreme heat that had continued for several days was ongoing, so I made an effort to keep the itinerary comfortable and manageable while being considerate of the group. Fortunately, since we mainly used trains, subways, and buses for transportation, we were able to spend most of the travel time in cool, air-conditioned environments. Also, although the plan for Arashiyama had included three spots (the Bamboo Grove, Tenryu-ji, and Togetsukyo Bridge), after walking through the Bamboo Grove, at the guests' request we skipped Tenryu-ji and Togetsukyo Bridge and decided to take a leisurely lunch instead. At a restaurant with strong air conditioning and spacious seating, we were able to relax and enjoy the meal at our own pace. At each destination, the guests showed a keen interest in Japanese history and culture, and they asked many questions in response to my explanations. Despite the extreme heat, it was an enjoyable tour with a close-knit group.

Additional note (regarding input of transportation costs during the tour): Because the above matter was "sent back," I tried to input the information again using the method advised, but I could not proceed beyond "④ Amount: select the amount/route from the pull-down menu." Could there be a discrepancy in the system here? Having no other option, as with my first input, I set the "transportation method" to "Other," manually entered the "amount," and entered "error" in the "remarks" field.

Click here for more details: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed 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.