Kyoto in One Day: Travel: Walk to Nijo Castle — Guide Nori

What's a Private One-Day Kyoto Tour Like from Nijo Castle to Sanjusangendo? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests this time were a group visiting Japan from Oceania. The itinerary and destinations were arranged in advance with one of the guests. Their desired destinations were clear from the start: Nijo Castle, Nishiki Market, Gion, and either Kiyomizu-dera Temple or another temple. They wanted a compact itinerary since the destinations were close to one another. As for the temple, they were concerned about the crowds at Kiyomizu-dera, so I suggested Sanjusangendo Temple, which is relatively close to Gion, and they agreed.

On the day, we were blessed with good weather. The temperature was not too cold, making it perfect conditions for a walking tour. I met the guests on time at the Hotel, exchanged greetings and introduced myself, briefly explained the overview of the destinations, and then set off on the tour. We first headed toward Nijo Castle, which is about a 10-minute walk from the Hotel (or so I intended), but I ended up walking in the opposite direction after leaving the Hotel and had to hurry back, so it took more than 20 minutes to reach Nijo Castle. I caused the guests some inconvenience right from the start and apologized politely, but the guests kindly said, "We love walking, so don't worry about it." This became the biggest point of reflection for me this time.

After arriving at Nijo Castle, while touring the site, I explained in considerable detail the roughly 800 years of samurai political history and the relationship between the Emperor and the Shogun. Some of the guests showed great interest in this and seemed to understand it well. I later learned that one of the guests was studying "Japanese History" as an elective subject at school and listened to my explanation with great interest.

Next was a visit to Nishiki Market, which was truly packed with the usual inbound tourists as well as many Japanese customers preparing for the year-end. Even so, the guests showed interest in various ingredients, tried a "quick tasting" of sake, and had a great time. I had planned to have lunch inside Nishiki Market, but since we couldn't wait for a long time, we decided to head to Gion to find a place for lunch. The guests wanted to eat ramen for lunch, so we went to a branch of "Kamukura," which has been popular recently. We were able to get in after about a 10-minute wait, and once we ordered, we didn't have to wait long to eat. The guests especially loved this ramen, and they were satisfied, saying, "This is the best I've ever had."

Refreshed after lunch and a break, the guests also seemed to enjoy strolling through Gion, especially Hanami-koji. Finally, at Sanjusangendo Temple, they exclaimed, "This is amazing!!" in front of the thousand and one statues of Kannon Bodhisattva.

Although the tour had some mishaps from the start, when I said my farewell greetings at the end of the guided tour, they said, "You were a wonderful guide, and we had a great time." Reflecting on my mistake, I expressed my gratitude for being able to guide such a lovely group pleasantly, and we parted ways.

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.