Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day — Guide Kazu

Title: What Is a Private Kyoto Photo-Focused Day Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guest was a visitor from North America. Until the morning of the tour, we had agreed on a route covering Fushimi Inari, the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Kinkaku-ji, and Gion, but on the day it changed significantly. The guest had found Monkey Park, Otagi Nenbutsu-ji, and Adashino Nenbutsu-ji on social media, so Fushimi Inari and Gion were dropped. The guest was very particular about photography and had me retake photos many times. Taking pictures of themselves at spots featured on social media was a major purpose of the day, and a large number of photos were taken. We used taxis for the round trip between Arashiyama and Otagi Nenbutsu-ji, from Arashiyama to Kinkaku-ji, and from Kinkaku-ji to Nishioji Oike. The guest did not seem interested in Japanese history or culture and was unfamiliar with words such as "shogun" and "Zen." I explained the basics at each site, but as photography was the main focus, this amounted to less than half of the usual explanation. After the tour time had passed at Kinkaku-ji, the guest said they would go to Gion alone, so I decided to guide them to the entrance of Gion, but partway (at Karasuma Oike) they decided to stop and return to the hotel, so I saw them off to Kyoto Station and the tour ended. The photo was taken at Kinkaku-ji.

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Tour Report by KAZU

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.