Kyoto in 1 Day from Kobe: Private Car Tour — Guide Kazu

What's a Private Cruise-Port Day Tour from Kobe to Kyoto Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group of eight who joined the tour after arriving in Japan by cruise ship from North America. It was the first day of a three-day holiday weekend, so the roads were extremely congested. Traveling from Kobe Port to Kyoto in the morning, it took about two hours to reach Fushimi Inari due to traffic. Since I had planned on roughly one and a half hours, the schedule became tight. The center of Kyoto was also very crowded, and travel took a long time, so I shortened the time spent at each destination. I also decided to share basic information inside the private vehicle before arriving at each site. Even so, compared with the content I usually cover as a guide, I was only able to convey about 60 to 70 percent. It was a rushed itinerary, but everyone was very cooperative. They wanted to have ramen for lunch and Kobe beef for dinner, so I made restaurant reservations. Since I could not find a ramen shop that could seat eight, I reserved a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant that I often visit and had them order mainly ramen there. The conveyor-belt sushi restaurant seemed novel to them, and they were delighted, saying it was a "unique experience." The center of Kyoto was very crowded, and after Gion we got caught in traffic. It took time to get through the congestion in the city, which was worrying, but thanks to the driver's cooperation we managed to arrive in time for the dinner reservation at a Kobe beef restaurant in Kobe. The photo was taken at the Kobe beef restaurant in Kobe. After dinner, the group took a taxi back to the cruise ship.

Click here for more details: Kyoto in 1 Day from Kobe: Private Car Tour, Licensed Guide

Tour Report by KAZU

I was born and grew up in Kyoto and now live near Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. I used to be a schoolteacher of English and welcome a lot of students from foreign countries. I really enjoyed showing them around Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Himeji, and Hiroshima. I have been a professional tour guide for about 8 years. I always try to let my guests learn Japanese traditional and modern culture. Since I was born in Kyoto, I know a lot about its culture and people. I myself enjoyed several sports, such as soccer, judo, and marathon when I was young. I’m much interested in baseball and sumo. My motto as a tour guide is to let my guests learn about our tradition and culture precisely and really enjoy themselves. I strongly hope you will enjoy the tour in Japan with me.