Kyoto in One Day: Kiyomizu-dera Temple & Nijo-jo Castle — Guide Satoko

**Title:** What's a Private One-Day Kyoto Tour with Kiyomizu-dera and Fushimi Inari Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

**Body:**

1. The guests requested the locations above plus the Gion area. At first, due to geographical proximity and time constraints, Fushimi Inari Taisha had been left out, but given the recent heat, I consulted with the guests on the morning of the tour. I proposed replacing the walk from Kiyomizu-dera to Gion with a visit to Fushimi Inari Taisha, and suggested using taxis for the transfers from the hotel to Kiyomizu-dera and from Kiyomizu-dera to Fushimi Inari Taisha. The guests kindly agreed.

2. The group came from Europe and consisted of several members, all of whom listened attentively to my guiding. Some of the guests also actively shared information about conditions in their home region (such as the climate), which I found very educational.

3. At Kiyomizu-dera, after passing the main hall, the group chose to take the shortcut.

4. One of the guests asked me to explain what should not be done at Buddhist temples and shrines, so especially at Fushimi Inari Taisha I explained that one should bow before entering under a torii gate, avoid walking in the center of the torii, and that for offerings a five-yen or fifty-yen coin with a hole is preferable, but if unavailable, an eleven-yen offering is considered good because of the wordplay meaning "good relationships." The guests dutifully followed this, offering eleven yen at each place they visited. The Omokaru-ishi stone was also not crowded, so everyone was able to try it.

5. For lunch, I took the group to Bivi Nijo thinking they would be able to choose from a variety of options, but one of the guests had difficulty finding something to their liking, so it took a while to decide. We eventually settled on a ramen shop, but the ramen that was ordered was mostly left uneaten, which I felt bad about. (I did ask the shop to arrange forks.) When I asked whether the ramen was not to their taste, they explained that they simply had a small appetite. (Indeed, they had ordered a small size.) One of the guests also refrained from drinking the water served at the ramen shop, saying it was not good for their stomach, and instead drank bottled water they had brought along.

6. One of the guests was wearing a baseball cap with a red Mario mark, which I found very charming and memorable. They did indeed seem to be a Mario fan, and had apparently taken a photo the day before next to the large Mario figure at the Nintendo shop in Takashimaya.

7. This tour was a commemorative trip that was presented as a gift by some of the guests. In their home region, this age is said to be considered an entry point into adulthood.

8. Since one of the guests was occasionally taking candid family photos that included me, I offered to take a photo of the whole group together.

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!