Kyoto in One Day: Sightseeing ③: Sanjusangendo — Guide Nori

What Is a Private One-Day Kyoto Tour Like for a Family with Small Children? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests I assisted this time were a group visiting Japan from North America. All pre-tour communication, including discussions about the itinerary, was handled through one member of the group. Initially, the group had requested as many as six destinations (Fushimi Inari, To-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, the Higashiyama district, Arashiyama, and the Philosopher's Path), but they took the stance of "we'd like to hear your opinion as a guide on what the best choices would be," so I could expect flexibility.

In this case, the most important consideration in planning the itinerary was to respect the guests' preferred destinations while accounting for the fact that a very young child in a stroller was traveling with the group. "How to ensure the safe movement of the little one" became the central point of the itinerary planning. I set the following principles and began adjusting the plan: (1) avoid crowds as much as possible, (2) keep travel times as short as possible, and (3) build in as many rest breaks as possible. Specifically, I proceeded with the following policies: (1) use JR, subway, and buses as the main means of transport in principle, and use taxis only when absolutely necessary, and (2) choose destinations that could be reached by JR as much as possible. After several email exchanges with the group, we finalized four destinations (Arashiyama → Fushimi Inari → Ginkaku-ji → the Philosopher's Path), obtained the group's approval, and prepared for the tour.

However, major changes were required the day before and on the day itself. First, the meeting time was pushed back by 30 minutes due to the group's circumstances (notified the previous evening). Second, "there was some trouble and we changed hotels — can you accommodate that?" (notified at 7:00 a.m. on the day, while I was on my way to the hotel). Especially, being notified of a hotel change and meeting-point change on the very morning of the tour was a first in my experience as a guide, and I was a little flustered, but fortunately the new hotel was in an easy-to-find location, so I was able to arrive at the hotel 30 minutes before the scheduled meeting time (9:00 a.m.). However, the guests did not appear even by the agreed time of 9:30, and there was no contact. For a moment the thought "maybe this will be called off" crossed my mind, but they finally arrived at the hotel two or three minutes before 10:00.

The guests were very apologetic and repeatedly expressed their regret, saying "we're so sorry for being late." I, in turn, offered words of comfort, saying, "It must have been hard traveling with a little one. Are you all right?" Because of this rather "close-call" sequence of events, the tour started an hour behind the original schedule, and 30 minutes behind the later revised schedule, beginning at 10:00 a.m. (naturally, the end time was also pushed back to 4:00 p.m.). However, once we actually got underway, the tour progressed more smoothly than expected. In places with many stairs, such as JR and subway stations, the group cooperated to lift the stroller, and we were able to move around more smoothly than I had anticipated. It was everyone's first visit to Japan, and they had a strong interest in Japan's nature, history, and culture. They listened enthusiastically to my explanations at each key point and asked many questions. That said, traveling with a young child does take time — for things like diaper changes — and we ended up with only about an hour left after lunch. The final plan had been "Ginkaku-ji and the Philosopher's Path," but since the travel time from Kyoto Station to the site would take too long, I proposed changing the destination to the closer Sanjusangen-do. The guests understood the situation well and fully agreed.

Looking back on this tour, there were many things to learn as a guide. What truly saved the day, however, was the presence of the little one. When I first saw the child, I even thought, "Isn't bringing them on an overseas trip a bit reckless?" but seeing how adorable the child was and the devoted, cooperative spirit of the group, my desire to "make this a fun trip for them" won out. It was a tour full of nervous, heart-pounding moments and quite a bit of worry, but the child's smile was the greatest comfort of all. (Please forgive the long report.)

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.