This is a private guided tour report by Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.), a network of 1,000+ government-licensed, English-speaking local guides across all 47 prefectures of Japan. Not affiliated with the Japan Guide Association.
Tour Itinerary
- Hotel pick up. ⇒Kinkakuji ⇒ Fushimiinari. ⇒Kiyomizudera. ⇒sanneizaka.⇒yasakanotou ⇒koushindou.⇒ Gion. ⇒Return to Hotel
What Does a Private Kyoto Day Tour Look Like on a Hot Summer Day? A Licensed Guide's Report
The guests were a group visiting from North America. As requested in advance, we visited Kinkaku-ji, Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu-dera, and then walked from Sannenzaka to the Yasaka Pagoda before touring Gion. Originally, the forecast suggested it would be cooler (33 degrees) than the previous day (36 degrees), but in the afternoon the temperature eventually rose to 36 degrees, making it another hot day. The morning was pleasantly cool, but before heading to Gion, the guests said they felt unwell from the heat and could no longer walk outside. I parked the car in front of Tatsumi Shrine in Gion and, in the cool interior of the vehicle, explained about geiko and maiko using illustrations. After cooling down, some of the guests joined me to walk around the teahouses and geisha houses near Shirakawa. Finally, I had the driver take a slow route so I could explain Hanamikoji and Miyagawacho from inside the car, bringing the tour to a close. Although it was a hot day, we managed well by making good use of taxis, and it turned out to be an enjoyable tour.
Click here for more details: Kyoto Customized Private Tour by Car with Licensed Guide
Hi, every one. How have you been? I am JGA tour guide Kazu. It is my great pleasure that I can introduce myself here. I am already more than 70 years old, but I believe I am still young both mentally and physically. I like walking with my customers very much. I am from Tokyo, but now
I live in Kyoto traditional city and an old capital of Japan. I had worked at electric manufacturing company for more than 40 years. While I was working at that company, fortunately I had a lot of chances to visit many foreign countries.
I lived in Singapore, Malaysia, Poland and Mexico. Also I visited America, Britain, and other countries. Basically I used English to proceed my job there, however I always tried to speak local languages as much as possible. Through staying other countries, I found that there were great differences of the culture or the way of thinking between those countries and Japan. I though I had a valuable experience. After I retired from the company 5 years ago, I began to work as a tour guide although I got the National English tour guide license 7 years ago. Besides English I speak Spanish but I don’t have Spanish tour guide license yet. I belong to the comany JGA and worked around 10 days a month. So far I accompanied with mu customers more than 100 groups. All of my tour was good and lucky as I was always favored with gentle and kind customers.
My hobby is playing the guitar, dancing and learning foreign languages. I sometimes join the concert by playing the guitar, and it is fun for me. Though I like dancing, I can not dance well. I only enjoy dancing here in Japan.
About the tour in Japan, I usually take my tourists to the famous spots in Kyoto like Kinkakuji, Kiyomizu dera, Fushimi inari, Gion area,Nishiki market and Arashiyama area. In Arashiyama area we often visit Bamboo forest,Nonomiya shrine,Togetsukyou bridge and Kimono forest. I will cope with my customers demands as much as possible so that I try to visit any places up to your requests.
I welcome a lot for your coming to Japan. and if possible I would like to help you to visit various kind of spots in Japan especially in Kyoto. JGA is very flexible company so that I have a confidence that you will be satisfied with our attitude and hospitality. I am glad that many of my customers told that it was so nice to travel around Japan. We will and I will expect you come down to Japan any time and we are ready to help your memorable trip in Japan. I can not wait!
Sep 26, 2025
kaylah199
Amazing tour guide
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Kazu was extraordinary! He planned a wonderful day for…
Sep 26, 2025
kaylah199
Amazing tour guide
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Kazu was extraordinary! He planned a wonderful day for us. He was very knowledgeable
and very accommodating of our children and strollers! Thank you!
Jul 30, 2024
Venture826497
Great time in Kyoto!
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
My daughter and I had an amazing time…
Jul 30, 2024
Venture826497
Great time in Kyoto!
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
My daughter and I had an amazing time on our tour with Kazu! He catered our tour to exactly what we wanted and took the best photos of us for our memories. We loved the bamboo forest and the surrounding town. He was able to give us all the history of Kyoto as well as showing us how to use the train station. I highly recommend taking a private tour with Kazu! You will not be disappointed. Very sweet respectful human being! Wish we had more time with him!
Jul 8, 2024
233vickies
6 hour Kyoto tour with Kazu
Tripadvisor review: Private Kyoto Tour with Government-Licensed Guide and Vehicle (Max 7 persons)
We had…
Jul 8, 2024
233vickies
6 hour Kyoto tour with Kazu
Tripadvisor review: Private Kyoto Tour with Government-Licensed Guide and Vehicle (Max 7 persons)
We had an amazing experience with Kazu and our driver. Both Kazu and our driver were already at our hotel when we made our way down to the lobby 15 minutes early. Kazu provided us with historical tidbits about the locations PLUS his own personal experiences as an actual resident of Kyoto. It was incredibly hot and humid, but Kazu made sure we were comfortable the entire time. By the end of the 6 hour guide, my daughter was experiencing heat exhaustion, so Kazu catered the last 60 minutes of our guide to be inside the van. Visiting locations is one thing but to have the knowledge of the area you experiencing is another and as a family we received that with out tour with Kazu. We highly recommend!
Jun 21, 2024
Hoc_N
A fascinating experience in Kyoto we won’t forget
Viator review: Kyoto 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
The most memorable parts…
Jun 21, 2024
Hoc_N
A fascinating experience in Kyoto we won’t forget
Viator review: Kyoto 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
The most memorable parts of our trip was when we saw the many different historical shrines and temples of kyoto. We saw specifically the Kinkakuji Golden Pavillion which was truly spectacular in its unique design of gold and the Fushimi Inari shrine with many torii gates that were placed in sequence. All have left us in awe.