Kyoto: Sightseeing ②: Nijo Castle — Guide Nori

Title: What Is a Private Full-Day Kyoto Tour by Car Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting Japan from North America, traveling on a tour with a private car and driver. The booking details listed "4 adults," but in fact one member of the group was a young child. Prior communication and coordination were handled through a messaging app with one member of the group. During our exchanges, the destinations were decided quickly, but the guests were concerned about crowds at the sites, so a few adjustments were made to the itinerary. For example, lunch was changed from eating while strolling through Nishiki Market to dining at a regular restaurant, and the departure time was moved earlier to 9:00. The original itinerary was Nijo Castle → Arashiyama (Bamboo Grove, Tenryu-ji Temple, Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple) → Nishiki Market → Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine.

On the day of the tour, I arrived at the hotel 30 minutes early, confirmed the arrival of the private car ten minutes later, contacted the guests via a messaging app, and waited for them in the lobby. Although we started about five minutes behind schedule, I met the entire group and we boarded the private car right away. Before departing, the driver advised, "Since there is a major festival at Fushimi Inari, heavy crowds are expected, especially in the afternoon, so why not visit Fushimi Inari first?" As a result, we changed the first destination to Fushimi Inari. This turned out to be a major factor in making the rest of the day's tour go smoothly.

Although the sun was out on this day, the air was dry and, especially in the shade, there was a cool, autumn-like feeling, making for a comfortable tour. At Nijo Castle the guests could feel the sense of history, and in Arashiyama they were able to fully enjoy various forms of natural beauty. In the end, we ran out of time and were not able to guide them directly through Nishiki Market itself, but the guests were still able to thoroughly enjoy sightseeing in Kyoto. At first, the youngest member of the group was shy and would only smile bashfully when spoken to, but by the latter half of the day they began responding to my questions. Tours with young children require extra care in many respects, but once you build a rapport, they can become truly enjoyable tours.

Click here for more details: Kyoto Customized Private Tour by Car with Licensed Guide

Tour Report by Nori

Hi, everyone! I’m Norifumi Kamon, a government registered guide interpreter. Please call me “Nori”, or “Kamon-san”.
Let me introdece myself. I was born on April 17th in 1952 in Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu island. I used to be an English teacher of Osaka Prefectural high school. When I retired from a teacher ten years ago, I decided to get a professional guide license. I wanted to play a role of the bridge between Japanese people and the people from all over the world as a second life of mine. After two years efforts, I finally got the guide license. Since then, I have guided several handreds of foreign people mainly in Kyoto and Nara for about five years except Corona Pandemic period. Almost all the tourists were deeply impressed by the beauty of nature, traditoin, culture, and art of Japan. I can surely help you enjoy and be satisfied with the sightseeing in Japan. And I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.