Nara Day Trip by Car: Kyoto to Osaka — Guide Kazu

What Is a Private Osaka-to-Nara Day Trip with a Car Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a family visiting from North America, and it was their first time in Japan. They were touring Osaka and Nara, planning to visit Kyoto the next day, and then move on to Tokyo. From the early stage of planning the itinerary, there was much back and forth, and it ended up being an unusual pattern: a pickup with a vehicle at the hotel in Osaka, sightseeing in Nara, and then returning to the hotel in Kyoto. One of the guests had just returned the day before from a school-organized trip abroad and was now traveling to Japan, so it was quite a demanding schedule, and they were in a dreamy daze all day. But considering the circumstances, that was understandable, so the rest of the group let them do as they pleased. I understood why they had chosen to have a vehicle. The guests, one in particular, were extremely curious. It is rare for me to have a guest who wants to enter the National Treasure Museum. I explained each of the exhibits in considerable detail, and they listened intently to everything and asked questions, and I was honestly astonished inside at their concentration. They took plenty of photos, of course, and when a monk was chanting sutras at Nigatsudo, they went up and sat quietly on the tatami room for about 15 minutes listening to the chanting. They also loved shopping, which seemed endless. But they were not so fond of the deer. If they had liked the deer too, we might not have been able to make it to Kasuga Taisha. One of the guests was a great talker, and whenever I explained something, they would enthusiastically share how things are back home, and while that conversation went on, another of the guests would go off to collect goshuin stamps. The travel from Osaka to Nara and from Nara to Kyoto each took about an hour, so we were able to talk about various things — I was sometimes asked to speak frankly — and it was a meaningful exchange. Today it rained all day unfortunately, and I was very grateful to the driver for all the care taken with waiting and picking us up at each site. I sincerely express my thanks once again.

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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