Kyoto in One Day: Daitoku-ji & Nishiki — Guide Kazu

Title: What Is a Private Afternoon and Evening Tour of Kyoto Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting from North America, on their first trip to Japan and their first visit to Kyoto, traveling purely for leisure with no connection to work. They planned to spend a few days in Tokyo, a few days in Kyoto, and then return to Tokyo for a few more days before heading home. One of the guests hopes to become a surgeon in the future, and another enjoys math and calculation and dreams of becoming an astronaut and walking on the moon someday. Quite inspiring aspirations. I didn't ask today, but perhaps the family includes people in medical or academic fields.

We met at the Hotel at 13:00, and I spoke about the history of the ancient capital of Kyoto, the history of Japan beginning in Nara, the history of capital relocations, the return of power to the Emperor, and the Meiji Restoration, answering their questions as they came, and they listened with genuine interest. On the other hand, at a Zen temple, when I talked about Zen, dry landscape gardens, Obon, Hina dolls, Onmyodo, and the spirit of the tea ceremony, they listened rather lightly. At Nijo Castle, they asked eager questions again, so perhaps they were more interested in political history.

One of the guests was a bit of a picky eater and felt a little tired after Nijo Castle, so, to be safe, that guest returned to the Hotel with another member of the group to rest. From there, the remaining guests and I strolled and sampled various foods at Nishiki Market. They ate gyoza while dancing to the background music playing in the shop. What a cheerful group they were. And they really enjoyed eating. Since dinner was still to come, I asked, "Are you sure it's okay to eat so much now?" but they said "It's fine, it's fine" and kept trying various things.

Finally, we walked a little through Pontocho and Gion. At night, Pontocho is truly atmospheric with the lanterns lit. We took many photos. Around the Gion Shirakawa area, I suddenly remembered and asked whether they knew the novel "Memoirs of a Geisha," the original work behind the Hollywood film SAYURI, and one of the guests said they had read it thoroughly before coming to Japan and knew the world of Gion well! When I explained that although the novel is fiction, this area was the setting for the story, they were delighted. We walked while I explained the okiya, teahouses, and the geisha performance hall as we passed by. As it happened, no geiko or maiko were walking anywhere today, and as it was getting late, since the Hotel was right near Kyoto Kawaramachi Station along the Kamo River, we walked back to the Hotel.

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