Kurashiki Customized Private Tour in 1 Day — Guide Naoki
January, 2026
This is a private guided tour report by Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.), a network of 1,000+ government-licensed, English-speaking local guides across all 47 prefectures of Japan. Not affiliated with the Japan Guide Association.
Tour Itinerary
- 11:00 Meet at Okayama Station West Exit
- 11:30 Korakuen (Free admission on New Year's Day)
- 12:10 Okayama Prefectural Museum (Free admission on New Year's Day)
- 12:40 Okayama Castle (Free admission on New Year's Day)
- 13:50 Lunch at Okayama Station
- 15:00 Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter
- 17:00 Disband at Okayama Station

Title: What's a Private Day Trip from Osaka to Okayama and Kurashiki Like? A Licensed Guide's Report
We met smoothly at the west exit of Okayama Station. It was a one-day sightseeing trip to Okayama and Kurashiki, with the guests staying overnight in Osaka. The weather was clear and not too cold, making it a perfect day for sightseeing. The guests were a group traveling together. At Korakuen Garden, the beauty of the garden and a koto performance were very well received. Okayama Castle was something the guests had been looking forward to. For lunch, we split up between a ramen restaurant and a tonkatsu restaurant inside the Sante shopping area at Okayama Station. Both the ramen and the tonkatsu were very popular. After that, we moved to Kurashiki and strolled through the Bikan Historical Quarter. Along the way, some of the guests enjoyed strawberry candy. The scenery of the Bikan Historical Quarter in Kurashiki was calm and very well received. We traveled together from Kurashiki back to Okayama and parted ways in front of the Shinkansen ticket gates. Since it was New Year's Day, lunch options were limited, so I did thorough advance scouting. (The shops in the Chika Ichibangai underground street were closed, while the shops in Sante were open.) On New Year's Day, Korakuen Garden, the Okayama Prefectural Museum, and Okayama Castle were open to the public free of charge, which I thought was wonderful.
Click here for more details: Kurashiki Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Transportation cost per person
| No. | Transportation | Route | Fare |
| Section 1 | Other | Okayama Station Front~Shiroshita | 160JPY |
| Section 2 | Train | Okayama~Kurashiki | 330JPY |
| Section 3 | Train | Kurashiki~Okayama | 330JPY |
| Total | 820JPY | ||
English / Guide in English and German / Guiding areas are in Tokyo, Yokohama and my home town Okayama. (Since I’m based in Tokyo, I might not be able to guide in Okayama, depending on the timing.) My profile in German follows!
First of all, thank you very much for your taking time to have a look at my profile. My name is Naoki Shimono. Naoki would be fine. I’m a certified tour guide in English and German. After long years of work at Japanese electronics manufacturer, always in charge of international marketing, I’m focusing on tour guide and interpreter. As of now, I did tour guide more than 50 times in English and more than 50 times in German. Not only in Tokyo but also other cities, such as Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hakodate, Niigata, Shimizu, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Naha etc. It is always a big pleasure for me to show around Japan to guests from abroad. I’m looking forward to seeing you in Japan!
Deutsch / Reiseleiter auf Deutsch und Englisch / In Tokio und Yokohama sowie in meiner Heimatstadt Okayama. (Da ich in Tokio ansässig bin, kann ich je nach Zeitpunkt möglicherweise nicht in Okayama als Reiseleiter tätig sein.)
Zunächst einmal vielen Dank, dass Sie sich die Zeit genommen haben, mein Profil anzusehen. Mein Name ist Naoki Shimono. Naoki wäre schön. Ich bin zertifizierter Reiseleiter in Englisch und Deutsch. Nach langjähriger Tätigkeit bei einem japanischen Elektronikhersteller, wo ich stets für das internationale Marketing verantwortlich war, konzentriere ich mich nun auf die Reiseleitung und Dolmetschertätigkeit. Bisher habe ich über 50 Mal auf Englisch und über 50 Mal auf Deutsch als Reiseleiter gearbeitet. Nicht nur in Tokio, sondern auch in anderen Städten wie Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hakodate, Niigata, Shimizu, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Naha usw. Es ist mir immer eine große Freude, Gästen aus dem Ausland Japan zu zeigen. Ich freue mich darauf, Sie in Japan zu sehen!
Oct 16, 2025
Songqi_L
Highly recommend!
Viator review: Okayama Full-Day Private Trip with Government-Licensed Guide
Naoki san is a great guide. He’s very friendly, adaptive,…
Oct 16, 2025
Songqi_L
Highly recommend!
Viator review: Okayama Full-Day Private Trip with Government-Licensed Guide
Naoki san is a great guide. He’s very friendly, adaptive, and helpful. We ended up touring not only inside Okayama, but also Kurashiki area. And after knowing that I wanted to check out Kibitsu shrine and Naoshima island, he spent time writing down how to go to those places very carefully after our day trip. The additional help was much appreciated!
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Oct 11, 2025
Gizelle K
Wonderful Experience
Tripadvisor review: Okayama Half-Day Private Trip with Government-Licensed Guide
A very organise tour, from the prompt pick up…
Oct 11, 2025
Gizelle K
Wonderful Experience
Tripadvisor review: Okayama Half-Day Private Trip with Government-Licensed Guide
A very organise tour, from the prompt pick up at meeting place (train station) to drop off at
our accommodation. Our guide, Naoki has wealth of knowledge regarding the area and it’s
history, he covered a lot of ground in an allocated 4hr time frame.
