Kyoto Customized Full-Day Private Tour — Guide Kazu

Title: What Is a Private Kyoto Tour of Shimogamo and Kamigamo Shrines Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

Since the booking came through a travel agency, I had assumed the guests were from Europe, but it turned out the group was visiting from North America. As with a previous Kyoto tour, we happened to be of the same generation, which created a curious sense of camaraderie. I am not a returnee and honestly do not know exactly what casual spoken English sounds like, but I could sense that the three of us were speaking to each other in a relaxed, informal way. For example, it was like, "What? I can't quite catch your pronunciation! Oh, I see!" One of the group teaches mathematics, though you would not have guessed it from the way they spoke. Both asked many questions and listened attentively to my explanations, and we also talked about personal topics. What was amusing was that the two would start speaking at the same time and throw different questions at me, yet neither seemed to mind. The questions were all sharp and insightful. At Shimogamo Shrine, I spoke about the roots of the Japanese people, the Mongolian spot, the lineage of the emperors beginning with Emperor Jimmu, the Ise Grand Shrine, and the story of the Kamo clan and the Izumo clan. I explained that, before the capital was moved to Kyoto, Kamigamo and Shimogamo Shrines belonged to the Kamo clan, that after the relocation the Kamo clan served as the head of Onmyodo in the Kyoto court until the famous Abe no Seimei appeared, and about the connection between Shimogamo Shrine and the Tokugawa shogunate. Because the group was such good listeners, there were many questions, making it a busy but very enjoyable day. In the end, we parted at Kyoto Station with a warm "ookini."

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Tour Report by Kazu

Hello, this is Kazu Akiyama, your tour guide. Nice to meet you and welcome to Japan. Thank you for joining me on the tour. Now I am a retired salaried worker, living in Osaka. I have been very much interested in not only learning Japanese history, culture, religion myself, but also talking about them (sometimes going off topics) in English with tourists from all over the world as well. I am so excited being with you as your guide on coming day! I am very much looking forward to you enjoying with me visiting the must-see places and some of the hidden gems. See you soon. Thank you – Kazu Akiyama