Kyoto in Half a Day: Kyoto Imperial Palace & Nijo — Guide Satoko

What's a Private Kyoto Day Tour of the Imperial Palace and Nijo Castle Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting from Europe. It seemed they had come to Japan for a leisure trip. Since they had requested to learn about Kyoto's history and to enjoy delicious food, I proposed the course described above. This was my first time guiding guests from this region, but recalling that this area also has a royal history, I brought up that topic. They told me that castles in their home region tend to be built on hills with fortifications to prevent enemy attacks, which is completely different from the Kyoto Imperial Palace that spreads out across flat ground. They also taught me about a historical queen who was the first to send children to school. One of the guests mentioned that a relative had once managed a castle, and that they had been given a tour of it as a child. In particular, some of the guests seemed very interested in the buildings, and before I knew it they had stopped to take photos, so the pace was slower than usual. Perhaps the Kyoto Imperial Palace has become popular recently, as I was surprised to see a line at the baggage inspection at the entrance. The guests listened carefully to all of my explanations. I feel I was able to fully introduce the charms of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. The guests were especially moved by the beauty of the Oike Garden. Just then, there were three herons on the small island in the Oike Garden, and I mentioned that this too was a rather rare sight. We then left the Kyoto Imperial Palace and headed to Nijo Castle. Nijo Castle is very large, but since we needed to move on to Nishiki Market next, I had told them in advance that we would only visit the Ninomaru Palace and the Ninomaru Garden. As I had asked them to purchase tickets in advance, we were able to enter smoothly. Some of the guests seemed to have a strong interest in the gates and doors, and looked at them very closely. I had never had guests do this before, so I was quite surprised. Here too they listened carefully to my explanations, and I feel I was able to fully convey the charms of Nijo Castle. The magnificence of the ranma carvings in the great hall is famous, but the guests also pointed out the carvings on the ranma in the corridor. We then admired the Ninomaru Garden. The Ninomaru Garden is of course splendid, but I felt it seemed somewhat less impressive after having seen the garden at the Kyoto Imperial Palace, so I asked the guests which garden they preferred, and they had the same impression as I did. Next, we moved by subway toward Nishiki Market, guiding them through Teramachi along the way. On the way, the guests showed me photos from a wedding. Seeing a person in a relative's photo wearing short trousers, I wondered about it, and they explained that this was their traditional folk costume. They also told me that the traditional women's costume is a dress with a bib front, and showed me a photo of a relative. I had known nothing about this, but recalling that a character in "The Sound of Music" wore such clothing, I mentioned it, and they told me that people in the southern part of that region wear such clothes. Finally, I guided them to Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine and saw them off as they headed into Nishiki Market, where we parted ways. The photo was taken in front of the Oike Garden at the Imperial Palace, which everyone loved.

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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!