Kyoto in One Day: Kinkaku-ji Temple & Nijo Castle — Guide Satoko

Title: What Is a Private One-Day Kyoto Tour with a Licensed Guide Like? A Guide's Report from Kinkaku-ji to Gion

Since it was the guest's first time in Kyoto, at the guest's request, the tour was extended by three hours. The guest was in Japan to attend an academic conference beginning on a later date at the Kyoto International Conference Center, and, perhaps feeling uneasy about traveling alone, requested to be escorted all the way to the hotel. There were no particular requests other than Gion, and since the guest wished to learn about the history and culture of Kyoto, I selected the classic options of Kinkaku-ji, the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and Nijo Castle. The guest did not ask many questions, but nodded and said "OK" to the things I explained. The guest photographed the beautiful scenery everywhere, and seemed to especially like the Oike Garden at the Imperial Palace. The guest was fairly good at walking, so for lunch we walked to Karasuma Marutamachi and went into a ramen shop there. The guest seemed to enjoy the meal. We then moved by bus and got off at Horikawa Marutamachi. Since a sign indicated that Nijo Castle was 0.3 km away, the guest remarked that it seemed within walking distance, so we decided to walk. The guest also wished to walk around the entire perimeter of Nijo Castle, so we did so. It seemed the guest actually wanted to request my guiding for the following day as well, but as I already had another commitment arranged in advance, I regretfully had to decline. Since the guest seemed anxious about traveling alone the next day, I made an effort to explain transfers and similar details as carefully as possible. The guest took many photos of the stations. I am not entirely sure of the details, but the guest mentioned feeling anxious because the mobile phone internet would not connect. Originally we had planned to head straight to Gion, but since the guest wished to participate in a tea ceremony, I recommended the tea ceremony at Nanzen-ji. As the guest's walking pace was quick, there was not enough time to go all the way into Nanzen-ji, but we went a little further and got off at Keage, where I explained an overview of Nanzen-ji and the location of the tea ceremony. Since Gion was within walking distance, I proposed visiting Nanzen-ji before heading to Gion, and the guest agreed, so we proceeded that way. The photo was taken at Kinkaku-ji. I accidentally took it in portrait orientation. My apologies.

Click here for more details: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide

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!