Kyoto: Transportation: Taxi & Fushimi Inari Taisha — Guide Satoko

Title: What Can You See on a 6-Hour Private Kyoto Tour by Taxi? A Licensed Guide's Report

When I asked the guests where they wanted to go, they mentioned the Bamboo Grove, Kinkaku-ji, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Gion, and Nishiki Market. I explained that covering all of these within 6 hours, including lunch, would be difficult, so we dropped Nishiki Market. Even so, they asked to travel mainly by taxi to save time, which we did. Since the guests wanted to visit the Bamboo Grove early in the morning, it was fortunate that it was still uncrowded before 9:00. The atmosphere was calm, so I also introduced Nonomiya Shrine. The guests showed interest in many things and wrote an ema votive tablet at Nonomiya Shrine. They seemed to thoroughly enjoy the scenery of the Bamboo Grove. At Kinkaku-ji, the guests were moved by the beauty of the Golden Pavilion. Since one of the guests seemed a bit bored, I tried to keep things engaging, for example by pointing out the carp in the pond. For lunch, the guests wanted sushi, so I took them to a nearby conveyor-belt sushi restaurant. It was my first time going to a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant with guests as a guide. We then moved on to Fushimi Inari Taisha, where the guests were overwhelmed by the crowds. One of the guests was very surprised to see a large amount of sake offered at the outer worship hall in preparation for the New Year. Another guest was intently looking at the ema at Higashimaru Shrine. The guests were impressed by the scenery of the Senbon Torii. I had considered traveling by train if we had time, but I thought it would be better to part at an easy-to-find location, so I decided it would be best to guide them along Hanamikoji Street from Kennin-ji toward Shijo Street, and we traveled by taxi once again. As we strolled along Hanamikoji Street, I talked about maiko and geiko, which the guests found very interesting. Finally, we took a group commemorative photo in front of Yasaka Shrine and said our goodbyes. I keenly felt that my future challenge is to devise ways of guiding so that younger guests do not become bored.

Click here for more details: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest & Sagano Tour with Licensed Guide

Tour Report by Satoko

I am a 53-year-old woman, living in Kyoto for nearly 40 years. I got the license in 2001. Since then, I worked as an interpreter or a translator in several companies, secretary at universities, and now work for a company on weekdays at the international dept.I do guiding job only weekend now. I started full swing guiding career after COVID-19 pandemic. I have gotten good review from many of my guests. I love my hometown, Kyoto which has a lot of interesting and historical sites to see. Particularly, I am native to Arashiyama which is famous for bamboo forest. So, I know a lot of places where you can relax yourself around this area. Other than that, Kyoto has many attractive sites which surely interest you.Also, I like meeting many people from different cultural background. I am very happy if I learn about your culture as well. Let’s enjoy exploring around Kyoto!