Osaka in One Day: Kyoto & Fushimi Inari Taisha — Guide Kazu

Title: What Is a Private Kyoto Day Tour Like in Summer? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting from North America. Part of the group had a work meeting in Osaka, so the group decided to make it a family trip to Japan at the same time. They spent a few days in Tokyo, a few days in Osaka and Kyoto, and then planned to head straight back home. I assumed they might be baseball fans of a local team from their home region, but one of the guests (the person in the white shirt in the center of the photo) turned out to be a big fan of the Hanshin Tigers and had even watched a game against Hiroshima at Koshien the previous day, which I found quite unique — perhaps it came about through the course of work. This person was very fun; even though we were speaking in English, the way they talked was full of the lively, energetic Kansai character, with a big cheerful voice. In the taxi, I talked about the differences in temperament between Tokyo people and Osaka people, and between Osaka people and Kyoto people, and this went over very well. One of the guests, despite a rather cool and tough-looking impression, had Pokémon tattoos all over and would stop dead in their tracks whenever they spotted a Pokémon gashapon machine. Another of the guests was very much the "I'm all ears" type who wanted to listen carefully to history and culture. Initially we had planned to visit Kinkaku-ji instead of Fushimi Inari, but on the day they changed their minds and we went to Fushimi Inari. As is the case everywhere in Japan, in such hot and humid weather standing still in one spot to listen to a guide's long-winded explanations is nothing but painful, so I made an effort to keep moving from place to place while keeping my explanations concise. I feel that a guide's role in this season really comes down to being fast, concise, and to the point.

Click here for more details: Kyoto in 1 Day from Osaka: Customized Tour, Licensed Guide

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