Kyoto Customized Half-Day Tour — Guide Kazu

What Is a Private Walking Tour of Kyoto's Gion and Higashiyama Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visitors from North America. Their family had traveled to Japan the previous year and enjoyed Tokyo and Kyoto so much that the guests decided to visit as well, arriving in Japan via Asia and starting their trip in Kyoto. When I asked about their wishes, they mentioned Kennin-ji, Kodai-ji, and Kiyomizu-dera, all in the Gion, Higashiyama, and Kiyomizu areas, so I arranged a complete walking tour. Unfortunately, it was drizzling today, and as the rain grew heavier, we skipped Kodai-ji and Kiyomizu-dera and finished by visiting Sanjusangen-do.

The guests listened with great interest to the history of Gion, the history of geisha, and the daily life of maiko. Both of them had read the novel "Memoirs of a Geisha," so the conversation flowed easily, and even though it is fiction, they were excited to see the places that appear in the book for the first time. I also spent time talking about the dry landscape garden and the concept of wabi-sabi at Kennin-ji. After seeing the famous folding screen of the Wind and Thunder Gods at Kennin-ji (a replica), we then viewed the original Wind and Thunder God statues at Sanjusangen-do, which made for an interesting explanation and a perfect combination.

At Sanjusangen-do, everyone is overwhelmed at the sight of the 1,030 Buddhist statues before them and lets out an "Oh!" Once they had calmed down after being overwhelmed, I talked about the Buddhist worldview. The tour ended in front of Sanjusangen-do, but afterward we decided to have lunch together on a personal basis, taking a taxi back to the Kawaramachi Rokkaku area and going into an okonomiyaki restaurant. We were so absorbed in conversation that we forgot to order for 30 to 40 minutes, until the staff finally came over to ask us to place our order and we realized we hadn't ordered yet. Since we were of a similar generation, the conversation naturally went on for a long time. As they had a tea ceremony reserved from 16:30, we enjoyed the okonomiyaki and then said our goodbyes. Kennin-ji charges an admission fee for guides as well, so I have attached the receipt.

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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