Kyoto in Half a Day: Kiyomizu-dera & Nanzen-ji — Guide Satoko

What Is an Early-Morning Private Kyoto Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Kiyomizu-dera, Kodai-ji, and Nanzen-ji

The guests were a group visiting from North America. From the outset they had a tea ceremony booked from 12:30, so they asked that the tour be finished before then. The tour had originally been scheduled to start at 8:30, but to make it in time for the tea ceremony, we needed to wrap up by 12:00. We therefore moved the start time up to 7:30, and since they wanted to visit Kiyomizu-dera first, which opens in the early morning, we decided to go in the order of Kiyomizu-dera → Kodai-ji → Nanzen-ji.

It appeared that one of the guests had arranged everything, so I offered a compliment about how thoughtful that arrangement was, and the guests were very pleased. At the same time, I mentioned that I too should follow that example and be more devoted to my own family. Working in this profession, I get to meet all kinds of people, and sometimes it makes me reflect on my own everyday attitude. Being able to look back on myself through others is one of the things that makes this work so rewarding, and I felt that anew.

Because it was early morning, Kiyomizu-zaka was uncrowded and easy to walk. At the entrance to the main hall, the guests tried lifting the iron staff and iron geta, and rang the bell inside the main hall. They also listened attentively to my explanations of the Buddhist statues in the inner halls. After a while, a group of elementary school students on a school trip, wearing yellow caps, arrived. When we came back around to Otowa Waterfall, the students had taken a shortcut straight there. When I explained why the schoolchildren were lining up at the waterfall, the guests noticed the children were not lining up at the "waterfall of learning" and remarked that they really ought to line up there.

We then walked to Kodai-ji, passing along Sannen-zaka and in front of the Yasaka Pagoda (Hokan-ji). At Kodai-ji, the pond water was murky and there were many buildings under construction, which personally I found a bit disappointing. The approach has quite a lot of ups and downs, so some of the guests found it difficult to walk, and I felt a little sorry about that. As it happened to be the equinox period, a family had come to visit a grave at their family temple, and the guests took an interest in Japanese burial customs, asking, "How much does it cost to purchase a grave in Japan?" They also asked whether one gravestone holds a single burial. I answered that you can tell by looking at the names inscribed on the gravestone. I wondered why they asked, and it seemed that in their home region ground burial is common with one person per gravestone, so they were curious how it worked in Japan.

We then headed to Nanzen-ji, where we climbed the Sanmon gate. The autumn equinox service happened to be taking place, and remarkably a monk was performing a service on the upper level of the Sanmon. Because of this, more doors than usual were open, allowing a good view inside. The guests were captivated by the rare ceremony. It was my first time seeing a service held on the upper level, so it was a valuable experience for me as well. I mentioned that guests often ask whether services are really still held at temples today, and because I had witnessed it myself, I could answer that yes, they truly are. We then went to the Dharma Hall (Hatto), where the autumn equinox service was also being held; the side doors had been removed, giving a good view inside the hall. This too was unusual, and the guests took an interest and spent a while gazing at it.

By this time it was 11:15, and there was not enough time to see the Hojo, so I asked what they would like to do. They said they wanted to see something viewable in about 15 more minutes, so we decided to see the Suirokaku aqueduct. When I asked whether they wanted to go up to see the actual flow of water, one of the guests wanted to go up, while another was tired and chose to rest at the bottom. As it was just the right time, the guests called a taxi at Nanzen-ji and headed to the tea ceremony venue. They thanked me for starting the tour so early in the morning.

For the photo, since it is rare to be able to take a relaxed picture in front of the three-story pagoda at Kiyomizu-dera, I took one, but I accidentally shot it in portrait orientation. My apologies.

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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!