Kyoto: Travel to Fushimi Inari by JR — Guide Nori

What Is an 8-Hour Private Kyoto Walking Tour Like in Summer? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting Japan from North America. Prior arrangements regarding the itinerary were made by contacting one member of the group. The guests showed broad interest in the "Kyoto sightseeing" proposed by [Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.)](https://www.j-g-a.org/), and I sensed an enthusiasm to fully experience Kyoto over three to four days. Ultimately, about two weeks after my first message, they sent me their specific requests for places to visit (Fushimi Inari, Kinkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Nishiki Market, and Nijo Castle or Kyoto Imperial Palace). This would be feasible as an "8-hour course" with a private vehicle, but it would become quite a tight schedule using public transportation, so I proposed "Fushimi Inari → Kiyomizu-dera → Nijo Castle → Nishiki Market," excluding Kinkaku-ji. The guests accepted this and finalized the itinerary. However, the day before the tour, the guests contacted me with a request to "change the start time from 8:00 to 8:30 in the morning," so the entire schedule was pushed back by 30 minutes.

On the day, as the weather forecast had predicted a "summer day exceeding 30 degrees," the sunlight was strong from the morning, and travel on foot was a concern. The first destination, Fushimi Inari, could be reached smoothly and quickly from Kyoto Station, and the guests fully enjoyed the exotic "Senbon Torii." However, the journey to the next stop, Kiyomizu-dera, required an uphill walk of about 20 minutes after getting off at Kiyomizu-Gojo Station, which seemed to be quite a burden for the guests. By the time we reached the main gate of Kiyomizu-dera, one of the guests was quite tired, so we rested in the shade for about 10 minutes while replenishing fluids. Thanks to the break, the visit to Kiyomizu-dera proceeded smoothly, and the guests seemed moved by the beauty created by the fresh greenery and the buildings.

The next destination was Nijo Castle, but the bus transfer took about 40 minutes, and the bus after the transfer was extremely crowded, which seemed to physically exhaust the guests. According to the plan, lunch was scheduled after visiting Nijo Castle, but since everyone was hungry, we decided to have lunch and a break first. There was a request from the group, out of consideration for one member, to "please make lunch a restaurant with strong air conditioning," so we changed from the ramen shop we had originally planned and had lunch at a restaurant in a hotel near Nijo Castle. The hotel was well air-conditioned, making for a comfortable lunch and rest.

After regaining energy with lunch and a break, the guests took a proper look at Nijo Castle. As all the guests were interested in Japanese culture and history, they listened attentively to my explanations as we toured the Ninomaru Palace.

The final stop was Nishiki Market, which we had planned to reach by bus, but the guests seemed quite affected by the crowded buses in the morning, and in particular one member said, "I've had enough of crowded buses, I'd like to travel by taxi." So we used an app to charter a large taxi (since five people including the guide needed to ride, a small one would not work). Although we were able to travel comfortably by large taxi, the crowds at Nishiki Market also seemed to be a burden for the guests. At Nishiki Market, I had planned more than an hour of strolling and shopping including on Teramachi Street, but after the guests had walked through Nishiki Market from west to east for about 30 minutes, a request came out to "return to the hotel and rest, a little earlier than planned." I responded to that request and went out to Shijo Street to hail a taxi, but it was quite difficult to catch a large taxi. So I confirmed, "A small car has a capacity of only four people, so I cannot ride along. If you would allow the guiding to end here, you can return to the hotel in a small car—would that be all right?" I received the reply, "Of course, that is fine." I told the driver, "Please take the guests to the hotel," saw them off, and ended the guiding there.

During this period, when it is getting hot at an earlier pace than in previous years, this became a tour that made me feel the necessity of building an itinerary that is not overly demanding, on the premise that the guests will become considerably exhausted. Of course, I did not intend to create a careless itinerary at the planning stage, but I keenly felt that the choice of transportation methods in particular becomes crucial.

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Tour Report by Nori

Hi, everyone! I’m Norifumi Kamon, a government registered guide interpreter. Please call me “Nori”, or “Kamon-san”.
Let me introdece myself. I was born on April 17th in 1952 in Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu island. I used to be an English teacher of Osaka Prefectural high school. When I retired from a teacher ten years ago, I decided to get a professional guide license. I wanted to play a role of the bridge between Japanese people and the people from all over the world as a second life of mine. After two years efforts, I finally got the guide license. Since then, I have guided several handreds of foreign people mainly in Kyoto and Nara for about five years except Corona Pandemic period. Almost all the tourists were deeply impressed by the beauty of nature, traditoin, culture, and art of Japan. I can surely help you enjoy and be satisfied with the sightseeing in Japan. And I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.