Kyoto in 1 Day from Osaka: Customized Tour — Guide Kazu

Title: What Is a Private Kyoto Day Tour Like for Guests Who Speak Little English? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visiting from Europe, and this was their first trip to Japan. Since their home area is known for a football team that a famous Japanese player once played for, we chatted a little about football. The guests did not speak much English, so although I offered a brief explanation of Kyoto's history in the morning, they seemed to find it difficult to follow, and I had to stop partway through. This time, the request was to see Gion and the bamboo grove, so I had prepared an itinerary that also included Tenryu-ji and Sanjusangendo. When I explained it on the day, however, they said they had already seen many temples in Southeast Asia and did not need more. Since detailed explanations were hard to convey, we simply walked around to photogenic spots one after another. Daitoku-ji and Obaiin are Zen temples, but rather than calling them temples, I introduced them as places to see a Japanese garden and a dry landscape garden. Although I did not explain much, I believe they enjoyed the simple beauty of the Zen temple. The attached photo is a little unusual, but one of the guests always looks away from the lens, so this was the only kind of photo I could get. I think it conveys something of their personality. The other guest was a quiet and gentlemanly person. The language barrier was significant, but the atmosphere was far from silent; since one of the guests was very lively, we talked about many things even without full understanding. At times, one of them would manage to interpret for the other. Both of the guests are technical specialists who handle the base preparation process before color is applied to craftwork, and I was able to hear about this in connection with the golden decorations on the buildings at Yasaka Shrine. Even that came through by translating into German on a smartphone and asking again and again, but in any case we had a lively time together. I hope they were able to enjoy their day. At Nishiki Market they had wagyu beef steak and loved wasabi, but eel apparently made them shudder. They also disliked chirimen-jako and takoyaki. They bought matcha and rice crackers as souvenirs and headed back to Osaka Port. Tomorrow they are going to Kochi, and I hope they will enjoy the seared bonito there.

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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