Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day — Guide Nori

What's a Private Day Trip from Osaka to Kyoto Like for Cruise Ship Guests? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests this time were a group visiting Japan on a cruise ship from Europe. Communication and coordination regarding the meeting point and itinerary were handled through one of the guests, but as it was difficult to reach them, the specific details remained undecided until just before the tour. In the end, since frequent contact was hard to maintain by regular email, we communicated through a messaging app. It was only the day before the tour that we finally confirmed the meeting point and the destinations (Kinkaku-ji ⇒ Arashiyama ⇒ Fushimi Inari ⇒ Kiyomizu-dera), and prepared for the tour the following day.

Getting to the start on the day itself was also quite a challenge. I usually arrive at the meeting point and wait at least 30 minutes before the scheduled meeting time to welcome my guests. However, in this case, even while waiting in the lobby of the Hotel, which was the meeting point, the guests did not appear. While waiting, I exchanged several confirmation messages with the guests, and shortly after 9:00 I received a message saying they had taken the wrong train and would be about 30 minutes late. Anticipating a considerable delay, I judged that changing the meeting point to the front of Kyoto Station (Central Gate) would save time, and after getting the guests' agreement, I moved to the Central Gate of Kyoto Station and waited. In the end, I was able to meet up with the guests around 10:00 a.m., an hour later than planned.

We greeted each other on the spot and discussed how to restructure a tour that was now running an hour behind. It was only at this point that I realized this group was doing a "day trip to Kyoto" using the time their cruise ship was docked at Osaka's Nanko port. Therefore, they were not staying at the Hotel, and had come from Osaka by Shinkansen that morning. I explained that completing the planned itinerary would require at least a one-hour extension, and that a guide surcharge would apply in that case. The guests said that since the cruise ship departed at 7:00 p.m., they wanted to be back on board by around 5:00 p.m., so an extension was not possible. In the end, we confirmed with the guests that we would cancel the final destination, Kiyomizu-dera. As for lunch, the guests said they had eaten a large, late breakfast on the cruise ship and did not need lunch, so we finalized the plan as a "5-hour tour" covering three locations without lunch.

On the day of the tour, although it was a little hot and humid, the guests thoroughly enjoyed each destination. There were various troubles, such as the delay at the start, but once the tour got underway, they were a very warm and close group who listened attentively to my explanations, and it was a pleasant experience to guide them. In any case, I wonder if there is some way to address the lack of information that comes with guests arriving by cruise ship.

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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.