Kyoto in One Day: Walk to Kiyomizu-dera Temple — Guide Nori

Title: What's a Private One-Day Kyoto Walking Tour Like in Summer? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visitors from North America, traveling for sightseeing. Advance communication about the destinations to visit was exchanged with one of the guests. The guests had many acquaintances in Japan and seemed to have plenty of information about Kyoto, so their initial wish list included as many as seven places, scattered across all directions of the city. In the end, taking into account the location of their accommodation (toward the Higashiyama area), the itinerary became: Kiyomizu-dera Temple → Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka → lunch → Gion → Nanzen-ji Temple → the Philosopher's Path → Ginkaku-ji Temple.

The day was hot and humid from the morning, and thunderstorms were forecast for the afternoon, so it was expected that flexible responses would be needed regarding movement between destinations and possible changes to the itinerary. Even so, things went smoothly from morning into the afternoon. We walked to Kiyomizu-dera Temple, enjoyed exploring Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka, and took lunch and a break at a Japanese restaurant near Gion. After enjoying lunch in a well air-conditioned space and getting sufficient rest to regain energy, we enjoyed the Gion area and were able to fully appreciate the many charms of Nanzen-ji Temple.

However, just as we began walking from Nanzen-ji toward the Philosopher's Path, the weather suddenly turned, and a heavy thunderstorm broke out. For a while we sheltered from the rain at the gate of Eikan-do, very close to the Philosopher's Path, waiting for the thunderstorm to pass, but there was no sign of it letting up, and the lightning was intense, posing a risk of strikes. After discussing the situation with the guests, we decided to interrupt the tour and return to the accommodation. As we parted at the accommodation, the guests expressed their thanks, saying, "Thank you for all your consideration under such difficult conditions. We were able to fully enjoy the tour." Although the tour ended with about one hour remaining, it was a tour from which I, as a guide, learned a great deal.

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.