Nori was an amazing guide and helped us efficiently explore beautiful Kyoto. He had great recommendations on sweets, photo spots and a lunch spot for yummy curry at a smaller mom and pop restaurant. He had us visit less a couple of less busy Zen temples off of the beaten track which was a nice break from the more famous ones. We were able to see Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Nishiki Market and Gion area in our 8 hour tour. We would have only gotten through half of that on our own. We learned a lot from Nori. He was a wealth of knowledge on the customs, history and local restaurants/foods to try. We hope to try his home city tour on our next trip to Japan.
Dai was great. His passion for seeing the world and sharing his love for Japan is quite evident. He was able to help us better navigate the subway and understand the Japanese culture and etiquette. He helped us order yummy food from Tsukujii market. For first timers, he was a godsend in acclimating us to both the beauty and chaos of Tokyo.
Kazu was a terrific guide for our excursion on June 18. He allowed us (7 adults) to customize our tour for whatever we wanted to do that day. He arrived promptly at our hotel at 8:30 am. Our first stop was the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Next we went to the Arashiyama area to see the bamboo forest. After a stroll through the forest, we stopped for lunch at a local ramen restaurant which was delicious. From there, we proceeded across the Togetsukyo Bridge to the Monkey park. The Monkey park was so fun!! Keep in mind, the hike up the hill is a bit more than I anticipated, it took us more than the 20 minutes suggested (for the hike) so allow yourself plenty of time to do this activity. From the monkey park we took a taxi to the Golden Pavillion. Great photo opps at this beautiful temple. Kazu was so friendly with all of us, especially our kids (not really kids, aged 18,21,24) but they talked anime and Pokemon a lot. Kazu also carried a camera and took photos of us all day. He also bought us some mochi candy from a street stand. Please do not hesitate to hire Kazu as your guide!
Dan was fantastic! He communicated often with me to customize a great night through Tokyo. He is knowledgeable and friendly- he even brought a bag of treats for our son of popular Japanese snacks. I wish we had booked more time with Dan!
Thank you very much Jennifer. I had such a blast with your husband. I hope you had a wonderful time in Japan.
With a real local of your choice
Just contact your favorite local
So no group tours with strangers