Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day — Guide Kazu

What Is a Private Kyoto Walking Tour Like with Young Guests? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a family visiting from Europe. The parents spoke fluent English, and it was interesting that when they spoke to the child at natural speed in their native language, the child understood everything and replied entirely in British English, which created a curious dynamic. The child's British English was genuinely hard for me to follow, especially when the names of toy characters were mixed in. Explaining things like the local superstition that stumbling on Sannenzaka slope means you will die within three years was tricky, since wordplay did not come across. When I improvised and said that a god had decided it that way, the child responded with remarkable sensitivity, asking, "So if I fall here, the god will kill me? He's a god, won't he help me?" Today the parents had no interest at all in the historical explanations of each spot, and whenever the story grew a little long, they would wander off, tend to the child, or become somewhat distant in their manner. They also wanted to take many photos with an SLR camera, so I kept my explanations as brief as possible. Anyone can give a long explanation as a guide; today felt like great practice in conveying the key points concisely in a short time, around 15 to 20 seconds. Even so, they were especially fond of Fushimi Inari, and although they knew there was no time to climb all the way to the summit, they kept saying, "Just a little further, just a little further, this is so beautiful!" and were truly moved. Since there were many questions, I was able to weave in a few of the points I wanted to share by tying them to those questions. I would be glad if I was of help to them today.

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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