Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day — Guide Kazu

What's a Private Kyoto Day Tour Like for a Family? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting from North America. This was their first trip to Japan, and their wish was to see the most popular spots first even if crowded, which shaped the destinations for this visit. The guests had a quiet manner, and when I gave explanations it was sometimes hard to tell from their reactions whether they had fully understood. However, one of the guests would relay my explanations to the others, and each time it matched almost exactly what I had said, so I was surprised at how well it had been understood. At one point I even found myself saying, "It's impressive how accurately you remembered what I said." Since the group including me numbered five people, we traveled by two taxis. I usually rode in one taxi with one of the guests, and along the way to each destination I explained various things about the next place, asking that it be shared with the rest afterward. Because some of the guests were still young, it was difficult to find time for thorough explanations. On the way from Kinkaku-ji to Sannenzaka, the 10–15 minutes in the taxi were perfect for talking in depth about the world of Gion and the world of geisha and maiko. When guiding groups of more than four guests, deciding who rides in which taxi is quite important, and I want to keep this in mind next time as well. Today, at the guests' request, we skipped lunch and visited four places in one go. Afterward they planned to have a meal and then explore Kiyomizu-dera and Gion. I hope they enjoyed themselves.

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Tour Report by Kazu

Hello, this is Kazu Akiyama, your tour guide. Nice to meet you and welcome to Japan. Thank you for joining me on the tour. Now I am a retired salaried worker, living in Osaka. I have been very much interested in not only learning Japanese history, culture, religion myself, but also talking about them (sometimes going off topics) in English with tourists from all over the world as well. I am so excited being with you as your guide on coming day! I am very much looking forward to you enjoying with me visiting the must-see places and some of the hidden gems. See you soon. Thank you – Kazu Akiyama