Kyoto in Half a Day: Sightseeing ②: Nishiki Market — Guide Nori

**Title:** What's a 4-Hour Private Kyoto Tour Like from Kyoto Station? A Licensed Guide's Report

**Body:**

The guests on this tour were a group visiting Japan from North America, who came to sightsee in Kyoto. Advance communication and itinerary arrangements were handled through one member of the group. In fact, it was only after meeting the guests on the day itself that I learned they were sightseeing during a cruise ship's port call (this involved a difference in understanding between me and the guests, which I will note as a lesson at the end). At the initial planning stage, the destinations were (1) Fushimi Inari, (2) Nishiki Market, and (3) Nijo Castle, but the day before, there was a sudden request to replace the final stop, Nijo Castle, with the Bamboo Grove path in Arashiyama. In any case, since it was a short 4-hour course, this became a tour that required careful time management.

On the day, it was initially still extremely hot due to the ongoing heat wave, but the afternoon turned somewhat cloudy, and apart from Fushimi Inari, we walked mostly in the shade at places like Nishiki Market and the Bamboo Grove, making conditions relatively comfortable. However, visiting three locations in a 4-hour course inevitably meant that the time spent at each place was short, and there were aspects where my key explanations had to be somewhat abbreviated. That said, regarding time management, the guests cooperated fully, and we were able to proceed almost exactly according to the itinerary. The vividly colored torii gates of Fushimi Inari, the shops with Kyoto's distinctive character lining Nishiki Market, the serene and calming Bamboo Grove path, and the garden of Tenryu-ji temple — the guests appeared to thoroughly enjoy the culture, history, and nature of Kyoto and Japan while listening to my explanations.

Finally, I would like to offer some observations on "sightseeing during a cruise ship's port call." In the case of these guests, at the tour application stage there was no indication anywhere that this was "sightseeing during a cruise ship's port call," so as the guide I had no idea. During our communications, the meeting place changed from "undecided" to "Kyoto Station," so I assumed they would come by Shinkansen and proposed meeting at the Shinkansen Central Gate of Kyoto Station, which the guests confirmed. However, on the day, it turned out the guests came not by Shinkansen but by a local line from Kobe. Fortunately, the guests made their way to the Shinkansen Central Gate, so we did not miss the meeting time, but depending on the circumstances there could have been a possibility of not meeting up. From this experience, I drew the following lessons.

(1) When guests are traveling in from somewhere other than the destination, it is necessary to have them clarify, at the advance planning stage, where their accommodation is located and what mode of transportation they will use to reach the site.

(2) When guests apply for a tour through [Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.)](https://www.j-g-a.org/), if travel from a cruise ship or similar is required, it may be necessary to alert them to always state this clearly. I understand that even now many guests coming from cruise ships do state this, but the intent is that this be made even more thorough.

I would be grateful if [Japan Guide Agency](https://www.j-g-a.org/) would consider the above.

Click here for more details: Kyoto Customized Half-Day Tour with Licensed Local Guide

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.