Kyoto in One Day: Sightseeing ①: Fushimi Inari — Guide Nori

Title: What's a Private Half-Day Tour of Kyoto Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Fushimi Inari and Arashiyama

The guests on this occasion were visitors from North America touring Japan. Prior arrangements, such as discussing the itinerary, were made in advance with one of the guests. Regarding the destinations, they said, "We definitely want to see the bamboo grove and a Japanese garden in Arashiyama, but we'll leave the other places up to you as our guide." Taking advantage of the excellent fact that their hotel was located along the approach to Kiyomizu-dera Temple, I ultimately proposed "Kiyomizu-dera → Fushimi Inari → Arashiyama → Gion," and they agreed.

However, on the day itself, when we met at the 1:00 p.m. meeting time and I began explaining the itinerary, one of the guests requested, "We moved to Kyoto from the Tokyo area before noon today, so we don't have much time to spare and are a little tired. Could you shorten the 6-hour course by two hours to make it a 4-hour course? We understand that because this is a same-day change, there will be no refund of the guide fee." In response to this request, I said, "Kiyomizu-dera and Gion are both close to the hotel and can be enjoyed on another day without a guide. It's a bit of a distance, but I suggest Fushimi Inari → Arashiyama (bamboo grove → Tenryu-ji → Togetsukyo Bridge)." The guests agreed with my proposal, and the 4-hour course (two locations) was confirmed.

Once the actual tour began, the guests were, far from being "tired," full of energy — so much so that even I as the guide found myself walking quickly to keep up. With a strong interest in Japanese culture and history, they listened attentively to my explanations about religion (Shinto and Buddhism) and history, and asked many related questions.

Although there was a major change to the itinerary, it turned out to be an enjoyable half-day tour, and it was a pleasure to guide such refreshing and energetic guests.

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.