Private Kyoto with Exceptional Guide Tailored to Your Needs
Description
Experience Your Dream Tour of Kyoto with a Local Guide! Embark on a personalized journey through Kyoto, tailored just for you. Choose between a half-day (4-hour) or full-day (8-hour) private tour and customize your experience to match your interests, whether it's savoring Japanese cuisine, diving into local culture, uncovering historical sites, shopping, or any unique passion you may have. You decide the pace and style of your adventure—from a relaxed walking tour using Tokyo's world-class public transportation to a more seamless experience with a private vehicle. We will offer some inspiring ideas for exploring places during your custom-designed tour. *Please download WhatsApp or let us know your email address, so our guide can contact you! *Many stores and restaurants in Japan only accept cash payments, so be sure to have some Japanese yen cash on hand.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Here are some popular destinations. *You can choose 2-3 places for 4 hours tour, 4-5 places for 8 hours tour. You may ask your local profssional guide for her/his recommendation. *Please download WhatsApp or let us know your email address, so our guide can contact you! *Many stores and restaurants in Japan only accept cash payments, so be sure to have some Japanese yen cash on hand.
The Shrine is one of the most impressive shrines in Japan with 10,000 red torii gates from the bottom to the top of Mt. Inari as the center of 30,000 Inari Shrines in Japan. You can donate a new red torii gate when your dreams come true!
One of the most beautiful temple’s buildings in Japan is the Golden Pavillion with the container of Buddha’s ashes & bones inside in the complex of the Temple. Please do not miss it!
The original military complex was converted to the harmonizing place between the military government in Tokyo (Edo) and the Imperial Palace in Kyoto 400 years ago, having modified with the decorations for the good ages in future. Please enjoy the beauties by samurai!
The Japanese garden with a pond in the backside of the Temple has been the one of the most magnificent gardens in Kyoto for 600 years, where Zen sect’s Buddhism monks had trained themselves through meditations. Let’s try meditations!
Commoners in the east side of Kyoto have supported the Temple for 1,200 years, having prayed to Kannon Boddhisattva for their deceased love-ones. The approaches to the Temple have been very popular due to many shops & snacks & photogenic spots as well. Please feel real Kyoto from the stage of the Temple!
The Temple was precisely designed to have become the perfect place for moon viewing on August 15th (old calendar) since 600 years ago, while it is not allowed to enter the Temple at night. Please imagine what will happen in moon viewing!
The Temple has been one of the most famous sightseeing spots because of the very mysterious 15 rocks on its landscape garden originally built in 15C. Please try to have dialogues with your minds!
You will be surprised at so many statues of Kannon Boddhisattva and their guardians originated from ancient Indian deities. And also, Japanese archery competitions had been held at back side of the Temple before. Please imagine so many arrows were shot backside of so many Buddhism statues!
It is required to book your visit in advance but its Japanese garden in one of the best gardens in Japan. Everything has been perfectly designed to surprise visitors by so many ways of beauties in the artificial garden. Please touch the masterpiece of Japanese garden!
The Temple was the first Zen sect of Buddhism temple in Kyoto 700 years ago. The Temple has the good mixture of the old-fashioned buildings and the modern Japanese gardens. The first Temple’s master encouraged Zen monks to drink green tea when he returned from China. Please imagine long histories of green tea at the Temple!
The Temple was originally created to embody the Buddhism Pure Land for the deceased 900 years ago. The main Buddha Statue of the Temple had been saved many times from a lot of fires in the past. You can imagine the imaginary world in the Buddhism.
The Temple was founded by the Emperors 1,100 years ago but burnt down so many times by fires caused naturally / by wars. And then, many buildings were relocated from other places including former Imperial Palace in Kyoto and the Japanese garden was recreated in 20C trying to be as many as possible in original ways. Please try to imagine you in the world 1,100 years ago!
Arashiyama (Mt. Arashi) area including Togetsu-kyo bridge on River Katsura and Bamboo trails: You can enjoy photos on the Bridge and in the Trails which are two of the most popular photogenic spots in Kyoto.
Gion (Entertainment) area including Tatsumi Daimyo-jin Shrine and Tatsumi-bashi bridge on River Shirakawa: You can enjoy photos in front of the Shrine and on the Bridge which are two of the most popular photogenic spots in Kyoto.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will pick up within Kyoto city.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(6)
Motoi Okishio san is a very knowledgable, fit tour guide with very good English. He gave us a comprehensive program tailored perfectly to our requirements. The included lunch was again to suit us, traditional Japanese in a restaurant hidden away, it was sensational. We rate him and the experience very highly.
Dear C-san, I am very glad that both of you were safely back home in Australia. And I fully appreciate your high review of full-day tour in Kyoto. It was a great pleasure that I had an opportunity to guide both of you on the only one day in Kyoto. As you felt, there are much more things that I would like to show and explain about long histories and many cultures in Kyoto as the former Capital city for more than 1K years. So, please come back to Kyoto. I truly hope that we will meet again someday and somewhere! Yours sincerely, OKI
This was one of the most wonderful tours we have ever experienced with one of the most wonderful tour guides, she was very knowledgeable and systematically took us to the golden temple and the bamboo forest, made multiple attempts at showing us great picture spots, and did a wonderful job Explaining Japanese culture in history.
Dear Swetal Thank you for joining our tour! It brings me great joy to hear that you enjoyed the experience. The time I spent with you all was an invaluable and wonderful experience for me as well. I would love to welcome you all back in the future.I look forward to seeing you again! Best regards, Ayako
The Omakase team came through again but this time in Kyoto. We booked a full day private guide and Yumiko-san did not disappoint. Wow - we had a list to get through from buying Kimono's to finding a Japanese Giants MLB hat (which we had forgotten to get when in Tokyo). Yumiko-san spent all her time rushing from shop to shop to make sure we got exactly what we needed. Our Tea Ceremony was everything we hoped for - not only was matcha tea ceremonially made for us but we were given the opportunity of doing it all ourselves - a real treat. On top of the ceremony, we were also given a guided tour of a traditional Japanese house - narrow but with everything you need including a little garden in the middle to let in light. Our ask - we want to see the monkeys! They were delivered with us exploring Arashiyama (well worth it but expect a very energetic climb up the mountain - the view is an aha moment). Arashiyama has so much to explore - give Otagi Nenbutu-ji Temple and Tenryu-ji Temple a visit and don't miss the bamboo forests. We bought ourselves a little time so Yumiko-san got on the phone and found us a rickshaw ride that took us right through the bamboo forest - AMAZING. Unfortunately, 1 days is not enough to explore everything - Kyoto and Omakase/Yumiko-san will definitely see us again. Thank you for taking such great care of us and ensuring we have amazing memories to last us a lifetime. Your ideas and WhatsApp chats kept us on point and I could not encourage others more to reach out. You will not be disappointed.
Thank you so much for all the heart-warming comments. I really enjoyed being with you two! I was especially excited when we found the yukata you liked and the shop selling the Giants hat we were looking for appeared right in front of us!! Yes, the Tea Ceremony was very good, you two did it perfectly. I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the tour. Please be sure to come back!! There are more places to see in Kyoto😊 Yumi
We did a total of five tours with OMAKASE tours, 3 full day tours to Kyoto and Himeji, and 2 half day tours to Osaka. It was a pleasure to have Oki-san and Miho-san as tour guides, they tailored the days exactly to our needs. And in addition to all the temples, shrines, and castles, Oki-san showed us the right places to eat. We enjoyed every minute, and we are already looking forward to our next trip, definitely again with Oki-san and Miho-san.
Dear rukowe-san, I appreciate your great review. It was more than happy that Miho & I guided both of you to Himeji, Kyoto and Osaka because of your sincere attitudes to learn Japanese historical assets and cultures with respects of accepting differences from Western ones. While I made both of you having walked more than expected, please take good rests on the ship to Hawaii and LA from today. I am sure that you enjoyed journeys to Thailand, and Japan so far, and I hope that you will enjoy Hawaii and LA as well. However, always both of you need to be careful for your safety and health until safe back home in Germany. Next time I would like to show you great views from the Mountain & the Shrine in Miyajima Island of Hiroshima at first. I strongly feel that we are going to meet again. Yours sincerely, Miho & OKI
We had a fantastic time with OKI-san on our half-day tour! We visited Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine and Kiyumizu-sera Temple. Our guide greatly added to our experience with lots of information, taking pictures and facilitating the travel between sites. And our recommended lunch spot (tempura) was delicious (note lunch not included for halfday tour). Overall 5 stars! I highly recommend this tour and our guide Motoi Okishio.
Dear Neil-san, I appreciate your great review! Because of you & your son’s sincere attitudes, I really enjoyed having guided both of you on the half-day tour in Kyoto under one of the coldest days in this winter. We visited only 1 shrine and 1 temple, both of which have been fully supported for 1200 years by all kinds of prayers’ passions for happiness in the current and the next world. I hope that the half-day tour could be the first step to explore Kyoto and Japan more widely and deeply in terms of histories and cultures. Please enjoy the rest of days in Japan and have a safe trip back to LA! Yours sincerely, OKI
Kyoto is beautiful, thanks for the tour. Great pictures and experience. Was great getting round on the local public transport. Thank you Oki-san!
I appreciate your great reviews! Because of your good decision to change touring date from Monday to Wednesday, your tour was carried under good weather. I really enjoyed having guided you, your wife, and your lovely children in touching long histories of 3 Temples and 1 Shrine based on cultural backgrounds of so many people having lived in Kyoto for 1300 years or longer. I hope that the tour could have become another step to explore Kyoto deeper and wider than used to. Please enjoy skiing at Niseko, Hokkaido and have a safe trip back to Australia! Yours sincerely, OKI
