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
- 8:00 Meet at hotel 9:15 Nara Park, Todaiji Temple 10:20 Kasuga Taisha Shrine 11:30 Lunch (udon) 12:00 Shopping 13:00 Nakatanidou (mochi pounding demonstration)
- 13:15 Nigiwai no Ie 13:40 Karakuri Toy Museum 14:20 Depart Naramachi 15:10 Return to hotel, tour ends
Can You Do a Private Nara Day Trip from Osaka on a Rainy Day? A Licensed Guide's Report
The guests were a group visiting Japan from Asia. Unfortunately, it rained all day, so I guided them while trying to keep the walking distance under umbrellas as short as possible. In the heavy rain at Todai-ji Temple and Kasuga Taisha Shrine, the guests were able to interact with the deer, but we did not get as far as buying deer crackers to play with them. Most of the deer were sitting under the trees in the rain. One good point was that there were very few tourists. In particular, it was the first time I did not see a single school excursion group. There was also no line at the pillar with the hole in Todai-ji's Great Buddha Hall, so the two younger members of the group could pass through the hole at a leisurely pace. Some of the guests enjoyed sweets, so after lunch they had shaved ice and soft serve ice cream together in the shopping street. They also enjoyed watching the mochi-pounding performance at Nakatani-do. Partly because of the younger members of the group, our visit to the "Nigiwai no Ie" ended more quickly than usual, while at the "Karakuri Omocha-kan" (mechanical toy museum), they enjoyed spinning tops for a long time. Despite it being their first time, one of the younger members of the group was very skilled at spinning tops. The photo was taken at the "Karakuri Omocha-kan." As mentioned above, we were able to return to Osaka earlier than planned, so the tour ended quite early. During the tour in the heavy rain, the guests wanted to return to their hotel early.
Click here for more details: Nara Day Trip from Osaka by Private Car with Licensed Guide
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.