Nara in One Day: Move: Walk to Kofukuji Temple — Guide Nori

Can You Do a Private Day Trip from Kyoto to Nara? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting and traveling in Japan from South America. Prior communication about adjusting the destinations was handled with the group. The guests were very meticulous — before I sent my first message after being assigned, their first message had already arrived, that was how quick they were. I hurriedly replied with my first message, and just two hours later a response came back, packed with important information. At that point the guests were staying in Kyoto and wanted to enjoy a full-day day trip to Nara. They left the choice of destinations to the guide but asked for a relaxed tour rather than one covering many places, and since they were interested in various aspects of Japanese history and culture, they asked for clear and easy-to-understand explanations. In addition, they wanted a light lunch and wagyu sukiyaki for dinner — a list of requests that made it easy for the guide to fully apply their skills in building the tour. After consulting with the guests, the itinerary was finalized as: Kofuku-ji ⇒ Nara Park ⇒ Todai-ji ⇒ Nigatsu-do and Sangatsu-do ⇒ lunch and rest ⇒ Kasuga Taisha ⇒ Higashimuki Shopping Street ⇒ end of tour, after which the guests would have dinner.

On the day, although the temperature was on the low side, it turned into wonderful weather with sunshine — perfect conditions for a walking tour. I met the guests on schedule in front of the underground ticket gate at the Kintetsu Nara Station, and after a brief greeting, self-introduction, and confirmation of the itinerary, we set off. The guests had a very gentle atmosphere. During the tour, we carefully visited two representative Buddhist temples (Kofuku-ji and Todai-ji) and one shrine (Kasuga Taisha), while I gave historical explanations about the introduction of Buddhism and its great influence on Japan, and the coexistence of Shinto and Buddhism. The guests listened to the explanations with great interest and asked many questions. Although most of the itinerary involved walking, thanks to keeping the schedule relaxed and taking sufficient breaks along the way, we were able to complete the tour without much strain.

Click here for more details: Nara Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide

Tour Report by Nori

Hi, everyone! I’m Norifumi Kamon, a government registered guide interpreter. Please call me “Nori”, or “Kamon-san”.
Let me introdece myself. I was born on April 17th in 1952 in Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu island. I used to be an English teacher of Osaka Prefectural high school. When I retired from a teacher ten years ago, I decided to get a professional guide license. I wanted to play a role of the bridge between Japanese people and the people from all over the world as a second life of mine. After two years efforts, I finally got the guide license. Since then, I have guided several handreds of foreign people mainly in Kyoto and Nara for about five years except Corona Pandemic period. Almost all the tourists were deeply impressed by the beauty of nature, traditoin, culture, and art of Japan. I can surely help you enjoy and be satisfied with the sightseeing in Japan. And I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.