Kyoto in One Day: Sightseeing ①: Nijo Castle — Guide Nori

Title: What Is a Private One-Day Kyoto Tour Like for Guests Who Prefer Less Walking? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests this time were a group visiting Japan from Oceania for sightseeing. I handled the pre-trip consultation, such as selecting destinations, with one of the guests. My assignment was confirmed in mid-July, but even after I sent my first message, I did not receive a reply for quite a while. The travel agency representative also prompted the guests, and finally, in November, I received a response. In it, there was a request saying, "We would like to communicate in detail via a messaging app," and after that our communication took place through a messaging app. There was important information that one of the guests could not walk long distances, and a request was written asking to "avoid Kiyomizu-dera and Fushimi Inari, which have many uphill slopes." Taking this into account, the final itinerary was confirmed, starting from places close to the hotel: "Nijo Castle ⇒ Sanjusangendo ⇒ Yasaka Shrine ⇒ Nishiki Market." All travel between the destinations was done using public transportation such as the subway, buses, and the Keihan train line.

On the day, the sudden cold snap that had begun the previous day continued, bringing temperatures that made it feel like winter had arrived, but there was sunshine throughout the day and the weather turned out to be fairly good. By almost exactly the scheduled time of 8:30 a.m., all the guests had gathered, and after a brief greeting and confirmation of the itinerary, we set off. All of the guests had a strong interest in Japanese history and culture, listening attentively to my explanations everywhere we visited and asking many questions. At Nijo Castle I explained samurai government and the imperial system, at Sanjusangendo and Yasaka Shrine I explained the history and characteristics of Buddhism and Shinto and their influence on the lives of modern Japanese people, and at the final stop, Nishiki Market, they experienced plenty of the food culture of the people of Kyoto.

After finishing the visit to the final destination, Nishiki Market, I asked the guests for their impressions, and I received the delightful response, "We were able to have a truly wonderful experience. Thank you."

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.