Kyoto Customized Half-Day Tour — Guide Kazu

Title: What Is a Private Kyoto Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Temples, History, and Local Conversation

The guests were visitors from North America, and this was their first time in Japan. Their itinerary ran from Tokyo to Hakone, Nagoya, Osaka, and then Kyoto, where they stayed for three days before continuing to Hiroshima, returning to Tokyo, and flying back home. I usually explain the history of Kyoto with a focus on the story of the relocation of the capital, but today one of the guests was full of curiosity and asked many "why?" and "how?" questions. It is easier for me to talk when I receive questions, as the conversation flows and connects naturally. Another of the guests was more of the quiet, listening type and did not smile much at first, listening intently to my answers. Partway through, the atmosphere warmed up considerably, and the guests shared many stories with me, including topics unrelated to the tour itself.

I learned that one of the guests had lived in North America for a long time but was originally from another region. When I asked where would be a good place to visit there one day before I die, the guest could not stop talking: in short, if you base yourself at a hotel in the capital city and stay three to four days in one area and one day in another, you can fully enjoy not only beautiful seas but also temples, architecture, art, food, people, and history. The capital city itself is a major metropolis with so much to see. The guest said these few places are enough to understand the region, and spoke about it with great delight.

We had actually planned to visit Gion, Shirakawa Shinbashi, and Pontocho, but we ran out of time. The guests wanted to go to Uji that same day to buy Uji tea. I mentioned that you can buy Uji tea without going all the way to Uji, but one of the guests insisted it had to be Uji tea sold in Uji itself, so I told them that in that case they should definitely visit Byodoin Temple while there. We parted in a bit of a rush, but I was grateful to later receive a thank-you message via a messaging app, which let me return to Osaka feeling happy as well.

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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