Kyoto in One Day: Arashiyama & Nanzen-ji — Guide Satoko

Title: What's a Private Walking and Taxi Tour of Kyoto's Temples, Gardens, and Bamboo Grove Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visitors from North America. In advance, they had told me they wanted to see gardens and visit Nishiki Market, so I had proposed and they had agreed to a walking course from their hotel, passing through the quiet Miyagawacho area, then Yasaka Shrine → Chion-in → Shoren-in → the Okazaki area → Nanzen-ji → Shirakawa → Nishiki Market. However, when I met them and confirmed whether this itinerary was acceptable, they said they wanted to go to the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove instead. When I explained that it would take some time to travel to the bamboo grove, they said they would arrange a taxi, which made the transportation very easy. Both of them enjoyed the scenery of the bamboo grove. One of the guests asked me, "What do you think about foreigners who settle down and live in Japan?" It was an engaging conversation. I also wanted to introduce the moss garden of Nonomiya Shrine, so we went in. As I expected, they both liked it very much and took photographs.

Next I asked where they would like to go, and they said "a garden," so we again took a taxi to Shoren-in. Since the Sanmon gate of Chion-in is also worth seeing, we got off in front of the Chion-in Sanmon. They also wished to tour the temple grounds, so we climbed up via the Otoko-zaka slope. Although a memorial service was being held in the Miedo hall by worshippers, we were able to go inside. Here I explained why the hall is so large. Next we headed to the great bell tower. One of the guests was very interested in how the bell tower was built and how such a heavy bell is suspended. On the way down, we passed a group of junior high school students on a school trip, and one of the guests noted that the students' skirts were rather long. I explained that in Japan, diligent students wear their skirts long without alteration, while others roll up the belt to shorten them, and the guest replied that it was the same in North America and that it had been so during their own high school days. In North America, uniforms are found at private schools, while public schools allow ordinary clothing.

Next we went to the neighboring Shoren-in. As I expected, they liked the garden attributed to Soami. Afterward we strolled through the garden, and the guests also rang the bell at the exit. Next we moved to Heian Shrine. Since we had already talked about the Ukon tachibana orange and the Sakon cherry at Shoren-in, I was able to explain the meaning of the shrine's crest and that there are similarly a cherry tree and an orange tree in front of the main hall. Next I asked whether they wanted to enter the shrine garden or go to Nanzen-ji, and they said they wanted to visit a Zen temple, so we walked toward Nanzen-ji. Since I had shown them the Sanmon of Chion-in first, they were not so surprised by its scale, but they were astonished by how unusually high the threshold was. We then toured the Hatto and the Hojo in order. They particularly liked the first stone garden. Next we visited the Suirokaku aqueduct, and since we had roughly completed the itinerary (they had already visited the geisha district on a separate tour the previous day), I asked what they would like to do. They said they would go to Nishiki Market for lunch and that we could end the tour there, so I told the taxi driver their destination and ended the tour. The photographs were taken at the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. Since we traveled by taxi and on foot, no transportation costs were incurred.

Click here for more details: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed 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!