Kyoto Local Food & Culture Tour in 1 Day — Guide Yuka

February, 2025

This is a private guided tour report by Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.), a network of 1,000+ government-licensed, English-speaking local guides across all 47 prefectures of Japan. Not affiliated with the Japan Guide Association.

Tour Itinerary

  • 1. 9:00 Meet up @Hyatt Place Kyoto
  • 2. 9:30 @Ginkaku-ji Temple
  • 3. 10:15 @Philosopher's Path
  • 4. 11:30 @Suirokaku Aqueduct
  • 5. 11:45 @Nanzen-ji Sanmon Gate
  • 6. 12:30 @Nishiki Market
  • 7. 15:15 @Gion
  • 6. 16:25 Disband @Gion-Shijo

What Is a Private Kyoto Walking and Food Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Nishiki Market, Ginkakuji, and the Philosopher's Path

The guests mentioned being sensitive to gluten, though not allergic, so I was a little concerned about how a food tour would go, but they enjoyed everything without any problems. The main goal was to enjoy Nishiki Market, and otherwise they wished to avoid crowds and visit places with beautiful gardens. When I proposed an itinerary of Ginkakuji → the Philosopher's Path → Nanzenji → Nishiki Market, they said they were happy to walk a lot and decided to go with this plan. They were very pleased with both Ginkakuji and the Philosopher's Path. After walking a great deal and working up an appetite, we headed to Nishiki Market. They enjoyed sampling various foods, bought a knife at Aritsugu, and also purchased a kanzashi hairpin as a souvenir. At Nishiki Market, they were extremely happy, saying the guiding exceeded their expectations and that they were able to do everything they had hoped to. Since they wished to see a bit more, we extended the tour by two hours and I showed them around Gion. They appeared quite tired by then, so they took a taxi back to their hotel from Gion-Shijo. They also kindly mentioned that some of their close friends were planning to travel to Kyoto and Osaka, and asked if I could guide them as well.

Click here for more details: Kyoto Local Food & Culture Tour in 1 Day, Licensed Guide

Transportation cost per person

No.TransportationRouteFare
Section 1BusKarasuma Marutamachi～Ginkakuji-michi230JPY
Section 2TrainKeage～Sanjo Keihan220JPY
Total450JPY

Tour Report by YUKA

Hi! My name is YUKA. I’ve got the government license in 2018 and joined a half year traning to do the guide. But a half year later I started my carreer, Covid came. I should have given up guiding. During the Covid, I’ve read many books and made my own materials to explain Japanese culture, history, etc. I love guiding because the guests expand my horizon all the time and let me know their own country and culture, etc. It is really important for us all to know each other and respect each other to make this world peace. Thank you for coming to Japan! Let’s enjoy Japan together!

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