Kyoto Customized Full-Day Private Tour — Guide Hiro

March, 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

  • 1)9:05 Meet at the hotel, then take the JR to Arashiyama
  • 2)10:00-11:20 Bamboo Grove, Nonomiya Shrine, Observation Deck, Tenryu-ji Temple, Togetsukyo Bridge
  • 3)11:30-12:20 Lunch, Kimono Forest, then take the Randen, subway, and bus to Kiyomizu-michi bus stop
  • 4)13:30-15:30 Yasaka Pagoda, Ninenzaka, Donguri Kingdom, Sannenzaka, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, then take the bus and JR to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine
  • 5)16:10-17:00 Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, then take the JR to JR Kyoto Station
  • 6)Around 17:30 Say goodbye at the Hachijo Exit of Kyoto Station

**Title:** What's a Private One-Day Kyoto Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Arashiyama, Kiyomizu-dera, and Fushimi Inari

**Body:**

The guests were a pleasant group, and their friendly nature made the tour very easy to conduct. At Arashiyama, they especially enjoyed the bamboo grove, and I took some group photos of everyone. We decided to have lunch in Arashiyama, but since some of the guests preferred to avoid fish and shellfish (I had asked about any dietary preferences before the tour, but did not receive a reply), we visited several places before settling on a restaurant for lunch. They kindly treated me to the meal. Afterwards, we visited the Kimono Forest, and since some of the guests seemed interested in mochi, I bought mitarashi dango for everyone to enjoy. Then we headed to Kiyomizu-dera. On the way, we stopped by a shop selling Studio Ghibli goods and took photos with Totoro. At Kiyomizu-dera, the guests experienced ringing the bell, pouring water over the Kannon statue, and drinking the water at Otowa Waterfall. At Fushimi Inari, they were amazed by the sheer number of torii gates, and here too they tried the omokaru-ishi (lifting stone). Afterwards, I accompanied them to the Hachijo exit of Kyoto Station near their accommodation, where we said our goodbyes. Having experienced so many things, it seemed they enjoyed the tour very much.

Click here for more details: Kyoto Customized Full-Day Private Tour with Licensed Guide

Transportation cost per person

No.TransportationRouteFare
Section 1TrainKyoto～Saga-Arashiyama240JPY
Section 2TrainArashiyama (Keifuku Line)～Randen Tenjingawa250JPY
Section 3TrainUzumasa Tenjingawa～Higashiyama (Kyoto)260JPY
Section 4BusHigashiyama-sanjo (Subway Higashiyama Station)／Kyoto City Bus～Kiyomizu-michi／Kyoto City Bus230JPY
Section 5BusKiyomizu-michi／Kyoto City Bus～Tofuku-ji／Kyoto City Bus230JPY
Section 6TrainTofuku-ji～Inari150JPY
Section 7TrainInari～Kyoto150JPY
Total1,510JPY

Tour Report by Hiro

Nice to meet you.
My name is Hiroki Muramoto, please call me Hiro.
Hiro in Japanese means large or big. Although I’m neither large nor big, you can call me Hiro. How are you doing ?
I lived in a city nearby Kobe city. Do you know Kobe ? Kobe is famous for Kobe beef and pearl. If you have not yet had Kobe beef, you should taste the authentic Kobe beef. It is very satisfying taste. But I have recently moved to a city in Kyoto prefecture, so I can be in Kyoto city in about one hour. By the way, I am a family of four. I have a son and a daughter. My son now works in Tokyo. I sometimes go to Tokyo to see him. Tokyo is a huge city, but too crowded, so it seems not to suit me. I seem to be better suited to a small city than a big one. Where do you live in ? How many families do you have ? If you like, please tell me about them. I worked in the quality assurance department of a pharmaceutical company and visited the factories of foreign affiliated companies, so I became interested in foreign cultures and obtained a qualification as an interpreter guide in 2015.

I have been a guide for about eight years. During that time, I have guided in Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Kochi and so on, although I could do little guiding work between 2020 and 2022 due to COVID-19. However, since last year, my guiding work has been back! So, I am happy to be able to meet different people again. My hobby is travelling, but sadly, I am not in a position to travel abroad easily at the moment due to the very weak yen, and I hope to travel abroad again when the situation eases a bit more.
How many countries have you been to so far ? Which countries have you liked so far? Another hobby is watching sports – baseball and football. Do you like the baseball ? Do you know Otani, Japanese baseball player ? He has joined Dodgers in Los Angeles this year. I look forward to another successful year for Otani.

By the way, what interests you in Japan? Food, history, scenery ? As far as tourist attractions are concerned, famous places are too crowded. If you like, I also would like to show you some less crowded places. Are you interested in experiencing something ? If you want to experience something, I can suggest an experience plan for you. If so, please contact me as early as possible. As for food, what kind of food do you like? There are many kinds of delicious food. Of course, you can get good food in fine restaurants, but you can also get good food in downtown restaurants. If you like alcohol, why don’t you try Japanese sake? It can range from light and fragrant to rich in flavor, so you’re sure to find a Japanese sake you like.

My motto is “Be content with life.” However, I find myself complaining all the time. If you like, please tell me your motto. I want to treat all guests who visit Japan with the spirit of “Treasure every encounter” and guide them so that they can enjoy themselves and have good memories of Japan.
You only live once (YOLO). So, I also want to enjoy it with you.

I look forward to meeting you.
Best regard.

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Nov 27, 2024
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