Kyoto Customized Private Tour by Car — Guide Kazu

What Is a Private Kyoto Tour of the Torii-moto Preservation District Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting from North America who spoke both Chinese and English at home, and they were quite lively and fluent in both languages. At one point there was a lighthearted joke that Chinese was sometimes used when the conversation became inconvenient, which made all of us laugh. The group was very cheerful throughout the day. This time, the guests strongly wished to walk through the Torii-moto Scenic Preservation District, so we devoted a lot of time to Otagi Nenbutsu-ji, Adashino Nenbutsu-ji, and the preservation district. As it happened to be the Obon season, they listened very attentively to the stories of the thousand-tower memorial service, Jizo Bosatsu, and the stone stacking at Sai-no-Kawara. I also explained the background of Atago Shrine and what the Torii-moto Scenic Preservation District actually is.

Because it was a larger group today, a chauffeured car was arranged. Since it was a big vehicle and I was able to sit beside everyone, I was really glad to be able to chat about many things during the drive, including everyday life in Japan. For example, we talked about why I wanted to become a national guide-interpreter, the different temperaments of people from Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, the Kansai dialect, earthquakes, and more. We also chatted energetically about how to spend the coming days, with ideas for Osaka, Nara, and Kobe-Himeji. As the schedule ran a little tight, the driver was a great help in keeping everything on track. We ended the day with the promise to meet again for the autumn foliage.

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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