Kyoto in One Day: ～10：00　Nijo & Okochi Sanso Villa — Guide Satoko

Title: What Can You Do on a Private Kyoto Tour with Young Children? A Licensed Guide's Report

The group had originally planned to join with another group, but as some of the other guests were unwell, only the group led by the main contact took part. Although the booking was made quite close to the tour date, it took a while to receive a reply about the meeting point, which was a little nerve-wracking. Fortunately, with the help of [Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.)](https://www.j-g-a.org/), we managed to sort it out. As for the destinations, during our prior exchanges the guests mentioned that they did not want to walk much because they were traveling with children and asked if there was somewhere suitable. I recommended Nijo Castle and Kinkaku-ji, and the plan became to visit Nijo Castle first, then Kinkaku-ji, and decide the rest on the day. The guests seemed quite interested in life in Japan and asked me many questions along the way. At Nijo Castle, unfortunately it was difficult to explain things in detail because one of the young ones kept wandering about. We had planned to go to Kinkaku-ji next, but since they were traveling with a stroller, I thought the stairs after viewing the pavilion would be difficult, so I suggested going somewhere else. They said they wanted to visit the bamboo grove in Arashiyama, so I asked whether it would be all right to walk the same path back and forth without passing through Kameyama Park, and they said that was fine, so we headed there. As the guests were carrying a stroller, they preferred to travel by taxi, so we went by taxi. When we arrived at Okochi Sanso, they wanted to go inside, so even though it was my first time there, I joined them. As one of the children had just fallen asleep, I strolled around with part of the group. Okochi Sanso had an air-conditioned rest area where you can have a free drink, so some of the group rested there. Partway through, one of the guests said it was too large, so we turned back and left Okochi Sanso. It seemed the guests had their own list of places they were interested in, and they asked for my opinion on where to go next. Looking for somewhere the children would not get bored and where they would not have to walk much, we decided on the Kyoto Railway Museum. It was my first visit since taking my own family there when it opened. Various trains were on display, and they enjoyed seeing an early Shinkansen car, a 500 series Shinkansen car, and Plarail models. During this time, they mentioned they would spend the whole next day in Kyoto and travel to Osaka the day after, so I explained as much as I could about the areas on their list. After that, since there was little more for me to do by staying on, they said I could leave around 13:00, so I took my leave. The photos were taken at the Railway Museum. I do not think the Railway Museum anticipated many international visitors when it first opened, so its English explanations are sparse. The guests pointed this out as well. In Kyoto, children can get tired of visiting only temples and shrines. There are places children enjoy, such as zoos, but in summer I think the indoor Railway Museum is preferable. I hope the operating body understands this point and puts a little more effort into creating English explanations.

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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!