Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day — Guide Kazu

Title: What's a Private One-Day Kyoto Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Arashiyama, Nishiki Market, and Gion

The guests were from North America, and this was their second visit to Japan, having previously visited Tokyo many years ago, though it was their first time in Kyoto. They said they had wanted to see the bamboo grove, Nishiki Market, and the atmosphere of geisha walking in Gion. When I explained today that, unfortunately, geisha and maiko are rarely seen during the daytime because they are attending their lessons, we changed the destinations, which led to today's itinerary. Although the guests had lived in North America from a very young age, so I assumed they would be quite Westernized at heart, the influence of their upbringing and education gave them a strong Asian outlook, and they were both Buddhists. In particular, when I spoke at a Zen temple about the transmission of Buddhism and politics, dry landscape gardens, zazen meditation, wabi-sabi, and Rikyu's cherished idea of ichigo ichie, they did not know all of it, but they took a keen and personal interest in these topics, comparing them with their own understanding of Buddhist thought and enjoying the conversation. The guests enjoyed talking about their family and showing family photos to one another, and we had a fascinating discussion about politics and economics, the differences in national character between North America and Asia, and the differences in the structures of Japanese and North American society (such as taxes and pensions). The guests loved shopping, and at Nishiki Market they sampled food and bought various items, and I was impressed by how quickly they made decisions. Drinking, eating, talking, sightseeing, taking photos, and talking again — even though I was the one guiding, I have no doubt they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Since they were staying at a hotel in the Minami area of Osaka, we parted ways once in Gion after the tour, but in the end we traveled back together to Umeda in Osaka. As we chatted about this and that on the train, they mentioned they were going to buy a baseball glove in Umeda, so I told them where to find the MIZUNO store, and we said goodbye there.

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Tour Report by Kazu

Hello, this is Kazu Akiyama, your tour guide. Nice to meet you and welcome to Japan. Thank you for joining me on the tour. Now I am a retired salaried worker, living in Osaka. I have been very much interested in not only learning Japanese history, culture, religion myself, but also talking about them (sometimes going off topics) in English with tourists from all over the world as well. I am so excited being with you as your guide on coming day! I am very much looking forward to you enjoying with me visiting the must-see places and some of the hidden gems. See you soon. Thank you – Kazu Akiyama