Kyoto in One Day: Break at a café — Guide Nori

What Is a 6-Hour Private Walking Tour of Arashiyama and Sagano in Kyoto Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests on this tour were a group visiting Japan from Europe. I discussed and adjusted the itinerary, including the places to visit, mainly with one of the guests. They had a strong interest in Japanese religion and culture, and from the outset they specified that the temples they absolutely wanted to visit were Otagi Nenbutsu-ji and Adashino Nenbutsu-ji, and they requested detailed historical explanations. They also asked me to suggest other options within the framework of a 6-hour tour. So, wanting them to fully enjoy Arashiyama adjacent to Sagano as well, I designed a course entering from the western edge of Arashiyama, covering "Togetsukyo Bridge ⇒ Tenryu-ji ⇒ the Bamboo Grove" in the first half, then, after a lunch break, moving by bus (in reality, since the bus was running late, I switched to a taxi) to tour "Otagi Nenbutsu-ji ⇒ Adashino Nenbutsu-ji." In addition, the guests made an extra request that "after the 6-hour tour ends, we would like to visit the Monkey Park on our own," so I set the tour's endpoint at the "entrance reception of the Monkey Park."

On the day, as usual, I arrived at the designated hotel 30 minutes before the scheduled meeting time, greeted the front desk staff, and confirmed the guests' stay, only to be told, "There is no guest by that name on our list of guests." I had experienced cases before where the actual place of lodging differed from the meeting location, which caused a great deal of panic, and this was another such case. In any event, I explained the situation to the hotel staff and asked to be allowed to wait in the lobby, which they permitted. Eventually, just before the agreed time of 10:00, the guests appeared in the hotel lobby and we were able to meet. After a brief discussion, I apologized and thanked the hotel staff, and we set off on the tour.

In any case, the guests were extremely curious, absorbing my explanations eagerly and returning many questions. What surprised me most was their walking speed and energy. As mentioned earlier, after the guided tour ended they climbed up to the Monkey Park, and later in the evening they also visited Fushimi Inari, letting me know by email along with photos. It was an enjoyable day spent with a friendly group who loves Japan.

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.