Treasures of Kyoto: Geishas & Traditions Private Tour
Description
To truly experience a city, you must deep dive into its culture, and there's no better cultural tradition to explore in Kyoto than through geishas and their traditions. On this private tour, get a cultural awakening as you learn more about geishas and the traditions and why this is such a unique part of the city's character. Learn from its history to the present influence that still lingers in Kyoto as you visit the Minamiza Theatre, Maruyama park and more. Thanks to this cultural experience, you'll be able to see Kyoto from a different perspective - the way the locals live it every day! Withlocals Treasures of Kyoto Tour™ is one of Withlocals' signature tours available in major cities worldwide. We work with passionate local guides who earn a fair fee. We support local economies by only offering local products and preventing over-tourism with only small non-intrusive groups. Our tours are carbon-neutral and away from the standard tourist routes.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Okuni was the originator of kabuki theater
The roots of Minamiza go back to the early Edo period (1596-1615).
The area of Gion Shinbashi is designated as a traditional business preservation area and the area south of Shijo Street as a historical scenery preservation area.
Hear more about Japanese religion here, it is a mixture of Shinto and Buddhism.
Stand outside the traditional banquet buildings where the geisha would have entertained customers and learn more in-depth about the geisha and the culture.
Walk up the steps to get a better view of the temple and see the garden area.
Walk from the temple towards the park area.
According to the legend of the shrine, its history may go back as far as 150 years before the Heian era, AC656 (the second year of the reign of Emperor Seimei).
Walk on the Shijō Street, that literally means Fourth Avenue of Heian-kyō, the ancient capital
Kodaiji Temple was built in 1605 at the behest of Nene, for whom the street was later named
Picturesque 5-story Buddhist pagoda temple, offering sweeping views from the top. Finish the tour in a local cafe nearby.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(36)
Lovely, informative tour though the neighborhood and key points of interest. Very enjoyable, personable guide.
Guia was such a great guide. Her ability to show and teach us about the history and culture of the geisha and religious customs was amazing! I was impressed with the many things to see all within a very short walking distance.
It was great learning about the Geisha district and the traditions! Our guide was knowledgeable and fun!
Looked at the main sights in and near Gion. We had good discussions about Japanese culture and traditions with Ahmed. The tour was nice!
Our tour guide was very nice but not great at engaging the group. We were advised to change the schedule to tour later in the day to appreciate night life but we didn’t really talk about night life. It was just cold and dark. Also, the guide thought it was a 2 hour tour when in fact we paid for 2.5 hours. So, while it was fine, it didn’t match the 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor.
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that the experience didn’t fully meet your expectations. While we’re glad to know the guide was nice, we understand how important it is for the tour to be engaging and aligned with what was promised. We also apologize for the scheduling misunderstanding and that the adjustment didn’t highlight the nightlife as expected. Your feedback is valuable, and we’ll work with the guide to address these points to ensure a better experience for future guests. Thank you for bringing this to our attention!
Excellent experienced guide with terrific local knowledge. Saw many unique sites, not just one mentioned in every tour book and instagram post!
We had a grate time in down town Kyoto. Our tour guide was amazing! He showed us all the highlights in the goin area. We leaned a lot
We learned so much from Ted on this fascinating private tour of the Geisha district. We also really enjoyed Ted’s company. So grateful for how much he educated us about the history and culture and respect in this very unique place. We will be back to tour with him again. Highly recommend!
Had a lovely, intelligent, knowledgeable guide with whom we walked around the area where there were geisha houses, saw some women dressed in geisha outfits. Learned a good deal about the life and education of the women and the history of geishas. Recommend the tour. A fun excursion into an area that we would not have known about without Viator.
Yoshihiro is very knowledgeable and has taught us a great deal about Japanese history and traditions. Very interesting tour, highly recommend!
