Nara Day Trip from Osaka: Customized Tour — Guide Nori

What Is a Private 8-Hour Day Trip from Osaka to Nara Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests this time were a group visiting Japan from North America. Discussions about the destinations were carried out with one of the guests. There was only one day between when the assignment was confirmed and the tour day itself, so I was a little worried about whether we would be able to communicate smoothly, but the guests kept in touch efficiently, and I was able to confirm the itinerary, including the destinations, on the very day the assignment was confirmed.

On the day, when I went to pick up the guests at the hotel in Osaka about 20 minutes before the meeting time, they were already waiting at the entrance. We exchanged brief self-introductions and greetings, and confirmed the itinerary. Some of the guests still used a buggy (stroller) for getting around. At this point, I understood that this group was punctual, that we should allow plenty of time and move at a relaxed pace, and that we should use elevators and escalators as much as possible at stations and other places.

The full itinerary was "8 hours, round trip from Osaka, sightseeing in Nara." Excluding the round-trip travel time between Osaka and Nara (about 2 hours in total), this left "6 hours of sightseeing in Nara," and starting from the closest to Kintetsu Nara Station, the route was: Kofuku-ji Temple → Nara Park → lunch and break (at "Yume Kaze Hiroba," near Todai-ji) → Todai-ji Temple → Kasuga Taisha Shrine → bus to Kintetsu Nara Station. The weather forecast for the day was "cloudy with occasional rain," and I was worried about heavy rain, but fortunately, except for a downpour at Kasuga Taisha at the very end, we were not troubled by rain.

Guiding "effectively 6 hours of sightseeing in Nara" presents quite a challenging task in terms of making sure every one of the guests is fully satisfied. Talking about Japanese culture and history is a matter of course, but such stories can be hard to grasp for younger members of the group. I have always considered guiding groups with young children to be one of my strengths, but in practice it can be quite difficult. Fortunately, Nara has "wild deer," an "entertainer" that everyone can enjoy, which was a great help. After lunch, we took about 30 minutes for "time to play with the deer," and after I explained the precautions for feeding the deer crackers, the group enjoyed it to the fullest.

Finally, let me share a "heartwarming incident" that happened on the train to Nara. On the Kintetsu train bound for Nara, a fellow passenger seated next to me was watching the group of sightseeing guests, including myself, with a smile. When that passenger got off, they placed a "strawberry-shaped piece of origami" into the hand of one of the guests. It happened in an instant, and although I said thank you, I was not able to ask their name, but the guests were delighted by this sudden gift from a stranger. After that, the origami strawberry was held in hand throughout the Nara tour. It was a small, unexpected happening on the train, but it seems to have become a memorable episode for the guests as well.

Guided tours with young children come with many challenges, but they are fundamentally enjoyable. This time, too, I reaffirmed that.

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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.