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.
Tour Itinerary
- 9:00 Meet at Kyoto Station 9:55 Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple 11:15 Okochi Sanso Villa 12:00 Arashiyama Bamboo Grove 13:20 Yasaka Pagoda 13:40 Lunch (Kiyomizu-dera)14:30 Kiyomizu-dera Temple 15:40 Sannenzaka, Ninenzaka, Ishibei-koji 16:10 Yasaka Shrine 16:45 Tour ends
What Is a Private Kyoto Walking Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Arashiyama, Kiyomizu-dera, and Yasaka Shrine
The guests were a group visiting Japan for the first time from Europe. One of the guests had recently celebrated a birthday while in Japan. To reach Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple, we took a bus from Arashiyama (Nonomiya). Today an extra bus came for us. There have been occasions in the past when an extra bus was arranged as well. Since this area, along with Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple, has been growing in popularity recently, I would like to see the number of buses increased in the regular timetable itself, rather than relying on extra buses. On the bus today, once again everyone except me was a visitor from abroad. One of the guests is studying Japanese and Chinese at school. They had memorized a few kanji, setting aside the correct stroke order. It seemed breakfast had not been quite enough, so we stopped for light snacks a few times along the way as we walked. There were requests to visit Kennin-ji Temple and Nanzen-ji Temple as well, but keeping the guests in mind, we took our time over lunch and explored Kiyomizu-dera Temple at a relaxed pace, ending the tour at Yasaka Shrine. The photo was taken at the bamboo grove in Arashiyama.
Click here for more details: Kyoto Customized Full-Day Private Tour with Licensed Guide
Transportation cost per person
| No. | Transportation | Route | Fare |
| Section 1 | Train | Kyoto～Saga-Arashiyama | 240JPY |
| Section 2 | Bus | Nonomiya / Kyoto Bus～Toriimoto / Kyoto Bus | 230JPY |
| Section 3 | Train | Saga-Arashiyama～Tofukuji | 240JPY |
| Section 4 | Bus | Tofukuji / Kyoto City Bus～Kiyomizu-michi / Kyoto City Bus | 230JPY |
| Total | 940JPY | ||
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.
Sep 28, 2026
Miguel_E
Amazing Service
Viator review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
We had a wonderful time with Kazuo.…
Sep 28, 2026
Miguel_E
Amazing Service
Viator review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
We had a wonderful time with Kazuo. He had such insightful knowledge of each area we wanted to visit and had all the best spots to take photos and was very patient with us.
Sep 27, 2026
T
TrailBlazer47194
Kazuo Sumi is a great guide.
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto Customized Full-Day Private Tour with Licensed Guide
Our guide Kazuo Sumi…
Sep 27, 2026
T
TrailBlazer47194
Kazuo Sumi is a great guide.
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto Customized Full-Day Private Tour with Licensed Guide
Our guide Kazuo Sumi was excellent. We had a wonderful time, learned a lot of new things about Japanese culture and history, practiced navigating transport, enjoyed a perfect lunch. Kazuo-San even facilitated a purchase of a UV blocking umbrella, which was much needed on that sunny day.
Sep 1, 2026
Steve6172014
Excellent tour of Kyoto
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
We had a great tour…
Sep 1, 2026
Steve6172014
Excellent tour of Kyoto
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
We had a great tour with Kazuo, our guide. Days before arrival he communicated directly with me to set up the tour according to sites we wanted to see and he made good suggestions. Besides listening to his Kyoto detailed knowledge, we enjoyed the local walking of streets, taking buses and trains between sites. Kazuo has excellent English and has travelled himself so being with him for the day was a pleasure. I highly recommend using him as your guide
Aug 7, 2026
Pascale_Q
Viator review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour by Car with Licensed Guide
Very good private tour of Kyoto with Kazuo
We had…
Aug 7, 2026
Pascale_Q
Viator review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour by Car with Licensed Guide
Very good private tour of Kyoto with Kazuo
We had a wonderful experience during our Kyoto Customized Private Tour by Car with Licensed Guide. Our guide, Kazuo, was truly outstanding from start to finish. He shared an impressive amount of knowledge about Kyoto’s history, culture, temples, and daily life. You can feel how passionate he is about his city, and he explains everything with the calm, precision and kindness so typical of Japanese guides. His English was clear and easy to follow, which made the whole day even more enjoyable. Kazuo was also extremely friendly, attentive and careful. He always made sure we were comfortable, took the time to answer all our questions, adapted the pace of the tour, and anticipated our needs without us even asking. Travelling by car made the experience smooth and relaxing, allowing us to see more places without rushing. We felt very well taken care of throughout the day, and we learned so much thanks to him. We highly recommend Kazuo to anyone looking for a personalized, insightful and stress‑free discovery of Kyoto.