Kyoto in One Day: Tour of "Nijo Castle" — Guide Nori

What Is a 6-Hour Private Kyoto Walking Tour Like in Summer? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests on this tour were a group visiting Japan from North America, sightseeing while traveling on a cruise ship (docked at Osaka Port, Tempozan). Prior communication about which places to visit was handled through one member of the group. Since it was the group's first visit to Japan, they expressed a wish to "see as many places as possible," and the final itinerary was set as: Nijo Castle → Nishiki Market → Gion → (via Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka) → Kiyomizu-dera → Fushimi Inari. This was quite a packed itinerary for a "6-hour course," but at that point I judged it feasible since the destinations were clustered from central Kyoto toward the east.

On the day, although it was mostly cloudy, both the temperature and humidity were high, and it was expected that traveling on foot would be quite challenging. With "heat stroke alerts" being issued, I discussed things carefully with the guests, and we agreed on the importance of responding flexibly so as not to put too much strain on the body. The visit to Nijo Castle went smoothly with a round trip by subway, and Nishiki Market was comfortable thanks to the air conditioning in the many shops lining the street. The challenge came afterward, with the outdoor walking tour around the Gion area and the route to Kiyomizu-dera via Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka. I judged that walking for a long time under the blazing sun in high heat and humidity would be very dangerous, so I suggested, "Let's take a break for about 30 minutes at a café," and we rested and rehydrated at a shop on Kiyomizu-zaka. During this break, I discussed with the guests what to do about Fushimi Inari after visiting Kiyomizu-dera. The guests expressed the wish that, "since it is more demanding than we imagined, we would like to cancel Fushimi Inari and return to the Gion area to enjoy the atmosphere of the Gion Festival." Based on this conclusion, after thoroughly exploring Kiyomizu-dera, we walked down to the bus stop on Gojo-zaka and parted ways.

Even in the extreme heat, it was a tour that reminded me once again of the importance of communicating well with the guests and responding flexibly.

Click here for more details: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day 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.