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

Title: Can You Do a Private Kyoto Tour Visiting Fushimi Inari, To-ji, and Nijo Castle? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests arrived in Osaka by cruise, and had mentioned in advance that they would come from Osaka to Kyoto by either bullet train or a local line. Since they had listed Fushimi Inari Taisha among the places they wanted to visit, I set our meeting point at the central transfer gate for the bullet train. They kindly emailed me beforehand and told me what they would be wearing. Assuming they would arrive by bullet train, I kept looking toward the bullet train side, but when they did not appear at the appointed time, I turned around and saw someone in the clothing they had described standing a little further up. It was very easy to identify them, which was helpful. They said they had taken the local line for cost reasons.

They did not seem quite sure where to get off, and had only purchased a ticket to Kyoto Station, so I helped with the fare adjustment for the excess ride at Fushimi Inari Station. As one of the guests had some difficulty walking, we made a quick visit up to the Senbon Torii and then headed to our next destination, To-ji. Originally I had thought of transferring to the Kintetsu line from Kyoto Station, but considering the walking difficulty, I suggested taking a taxi from Kyoto Station, and we went to To-ji by taxi. To-ji, in contrast to Fushimi Inari Taisha, had a quiet atmosphere with plenty of shade and cool spots, and the guests liked it very much. Since one of the guests was firm about visiting every place they had decided on, and they said they wanted to take a taxi to the next destination, Nijo Castle, we did so. They had visited Nijo Castle once before but arrived just before closing and did not really understand it, so I tried to pick out and explain the elements that most benefit from a guide's explanation. After viewing the Ninomaru Garden, it was 14:30, so the tour concluded for the time being.

They had asked in advance for directions on how to get to Arashiyama, and I had planned to explain this, but as we talked it seemed they were not quite clear on it. Since I was also returning toward Arashiyama, I accompanied them on the subway and the JR line, explained the route to the bamboo grove using a map in front of the station, went partway with them, and we parted ways. The guests were friendly, and I truly enjoyed guiding them. As it was a tour in the heat, I hope they were not too tired afterward.

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

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!