Nara Day Trip from Kyoto: Customized Tour — Guide Kazu
October, 2024
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.
Tour Itinerary
- 9:20 Meet at Kyoto Station Central Gate 9:37 Board JR Nara-bound rapid train 10:23 Transfer to Horyuji-bound at Nara Station 10:44 Board Horyuji-bound bus 10:50 Arrive at Horyuji Tour Horyuji
- 12:29 Board bus bound for JR Horyuji Station 12:53 Board JR Nara-bound 13:05 Board at JR Nara Station 13:30 Nara Park & Todaiji 15:00 Kasuga Taisha 16:10 Naramachi "Nigiwai no Ie" 16:45 Board bus bound for JR Nara Station 17:02 JR Nara Station 17:07 Board JR Kyoto-bound 17:53 Arrive at Kyoto Station Escort to subway station and tour ends
What Is a Private Day Tour of Nara from Kyoto Like? A Licensed Guide's Report
The group joined the tour, coming from North America. Among themselves, the guests spoke together in their own language. After discussing the destinations, we decided to visit four places including Horyu-ji Temple, but it turned out to be a bit ambitious. As expected, visiting Horyu-ji Temple took a good hour or more. As a result, the tour ended up with no lunch break and no time for shopping. Everyone cooperated by walking quickly to help save time. Looking back, I think I could have been less greedy and cut one location within Nara city. In the end, the stay at the "Nigiwai no Ie" was only about 25 minutes, which felt rushed. We returned to Kyoto more than 30 minutes later than scheduled. However, by visiting all four places, I believe the guests were able to enjoy the atmosphere of the ancient capital of Nara. We took photos at Kasuga Taisha Shrine, but since one of the guests declined to appear on the web, we took the photo with the remaining members of the group. I am sending the images just in case.
Click here for more details: Nara Day Trip from Kyoto: Customized Tour, Licensed Guide
Transportation cost per person
| No. | Transportation | Route | Fare |
| Section 1 | Train | Kyoto～Horyuji | 990JPY |
| Section 2 | Bus | Horyuji Station～Horyuji Approach | 220JPY |
| Section 3 | Bus | Horyuji Approach～JR Horyuji Station | 220JPY |
| Section 4 | Train | Horyuji～Nara | 230JPY |
| Section 5 | Free Pass | JR Nara～JR Nara | 600JPY |
| Section 6 | Train | Nara～Kyoto | 720JPY |
| Total | 2,980JPY | ||
I was born and grew up in Kyoto and now live near Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. I used to be a schoolteacher of English and welcome a lot of students from foreign countries. I really enjoyed showing them around Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Himeji, and Hiroshima. I have been a professional tour guide for about 8 years. I always try to let my guests learn Japanese traditional and modern culture. Since I was born in Kyoto, I know a lot about its culture and people. I myself enjoyed several sports, such as soccer, judo, and marathon when I was young. I’m much interested in baseball and sumo. My motto as a tour guide is to let my guests learn about our tradition and culture precisely and really enjoy themselves. I strongly hope you will enjoy the tour in Japan with me.
Sep 28, 2026
Miguel_E
Amazing Service
Viator review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
We had a wonderful time with Kazuo.…
Sep 28, 2026
Miguel_E
Amazing Service
Viator review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
We had a wonderful time with Kazuo. He had such insightful knowledge of each area we wanted to visit and had all the best spots to take photos and was very patient with us.
Sep 27, 2026
T
TrailBlazer47194
Kazuo Sumi is a great guide.
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto Customized Full-Day Private Tour with Licensed Guide
Our guide Kazuo Sumi…
Sep 27, 2026
T
TrailBlazer47194
Kazuo Sumi is a great guide.
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto Customized Full-Day Private Tour with Licensed Guide
Our guide Kazuo Sumi was excellent. We had a wonderful time, learned a lot of new things about Japanese culture and history, practiced navigating transport, enjoyed a perfect lunch. Kazuo-San even facilitated a purchase of a UV blocking umbrella, which was much needed on that sunny day.
Sep 1, 2026
Steve6172014
Excellent tour of Kyoto
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
We had a great tour…
Sep 1, 2026
Steve6172014
Excellent tour of Kyoto
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
We had a great tour with Kazuo, our guide. Days before arrival he communicated directly with me to set up the tour according to sites we wanted to see and he made good suggestions. Besides listening to his Kyoto detailed knowledge, we enjoyed the local walking of streets, taking buses and trains between sites. Kazuo has excellent English and has travelled himself so being with him for the day was a pleasure. I highly recommend using him as your guide
Aug 7, 2026
Pascale_Q
Viator review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour by Car with Licensed Guide
Very good private tour of Kyoto with Kazuo
We had…
Aug 7, 2026
Pascale_Q
Viator review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour by Car with Licensed Guide
Very good private tour of Kyoto with Kazuo
We had a wonderful experience during our Kyoto Customized Private Tour by Car with Licensed Guide. Our guide, Kazuo, was truly outstanding from start to finish. He shared an impressive amount of knowledge about Kyoto’s history, culture, temples, and daily life. You can feel how passionate he is about his city, and he explains everything with the calm, precision and kindness so typical of Japanese guides. His English was clear and easy to follow, which made the whole day even more enjoyable. Kazuo was also extremely friendly, attentive and careful. He always made sure we were comfortable, took the time to answer all our questions, adapted the pace of the tour, and anticipated our needs without us even asking. Travelling by car made the experience smooth and relaxing, allowing us to see more places without rushing. We felt very well taken care of throughout the day, and we learned so much thanks to him. We highly recommend Kazuo to anyone looking for a personalized, insightful and stress‑free discovery of Kyoto.