Kyoto in Half a Day: Fushimi Inari Taisha & Nishiki — Guide Satoko

What's a 4-Hour Private Kyoto Tour by Taxi Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests came from North America. From the time of assignment, their responses to inquiries were quick, and they even provided the itinerary above in advance. When I explained that the planned route could not possibly be completed within four hours using public transportation, they suggested using a taxi. One of the guests wore a T-shirt featuring the anime Naruto and kept holding a Naruto figure that had been purchased in Japan the whole time. Apparently it had cost 7,700 yen. When I expressed surprise, they explained that the hands, feet, and face could be swapped out. After getting out of the taxi near Fushimi Inari Taisha, there was a Pokémon card vending machine at the entrance of a drugstore along the way. One of the guests asked to buy Pokémon cards. They seemed to have visited Tokyo before coming to Kyoto, but this appeared to be their first time at a Shinto shrine. So I explained the proper way to worship at a shrine, and they paid their respects at the main hall as well. They found the torii-shaped ema plaques and said they wanted to write one themselves, so they wrote a wish and took it home. We also passed through the Senbon Torii, and whenever a favorite scene was found, the guests would stand together and ask me to take a photo. After passing through the outbound path of the Senbon Torii, I asked what they would like to do, and they said they wanted to walk a bit further up, so we continued walking. Around this point one of the guests seemed to get a little bored, grumbling somewhat while going back several times to take photos at the torii even when told, "Just one more photo here and then we're done." Next we moved to Kinkaku-ji. Here too, they took photos of the golden pavilion and the Rikushu Pine, though they mentioned it was a shame there were so many people. Around the carp near the Ryumon waterfall, when I connected the carp to the Pokémon character Magikarp, it seemed to spark their interest. I also had them sit on the Kijin-toh stone to take a photo. Next we moved to our following destination, Nishiki Market. The taxi driver was a cheerful person who told jokes in broken English, so there was constant laughter in the car as well. And then to Nishiki Market. Since I could not accompany them all the way to the end due to time constraints, I guided them through the key spots, and at the end one of the guests enjoyed a chocolate-covered strawberry, getting chocolate around the mouth so it looked like a mustache, which prompted laughter and photos. As the time came, we said our goodbyes. The photo was taken in front of the fox statue by the Nenoagari Pine at Fushimi Inari Taisha.

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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!