Private tour

Kyoto: Private Tour with Local Licensed Guide

4.8 / 5

59 reviews

Activity provider: JGA Inc.
Private tour

Kyoto: Private Tour with Local Licensed Guide

Activity provider: JGA Inc.

From US$ 114.72 per person

Explore the best of Kyoto with a private guide on a 4 or 6-hour tour. Enjoy the full freedom and flexibility of customizing your own itinerary.

About this activity

Free cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
Reserve now & pay later
Keep your travel plans flexible — book your spot and pay nothing today.
Covid-19 precautions
Special health and safety measures are in place. Check your activity voucher once you book for full details.
Duration 4 - 6 hours
Check availability to see starting times.
Live tour guide
English, Japanese
Pickup included
Your guide will be waiting in your hotel lobby, outside the train station, or at your requested pickup address 10 minutes before your scheduled pickup time.
Wheelchair accessible
Private group

Experience

Highlights
  • Discover the best of Kyoto on a private guided walking tour
  • Enjoy a personal and professional experience with a licensed local guide
  • See some of Kyoto's most important and famous highlights
  • Customize to your route or let your guide take care of the itinerary planning
  • Learn fascinating insights about Japan’s history and culture
Full description
Discover Kyoto’s historical sites, favorite local spots, and hidden gems on a private walking tour with a nationally licensed guide. Choose from a 6 or 4-hour tour, whose itinerary can be customized to fit your interests. See both the modern and traditional sides of this dynamic and ancient city as well as some of the best sightseeing areas, restaurants, and shops. Visit places like the Fushimi Inari Shrine, famous for the Torii Gate Corridor. Explore the filming location for the film “Memoirs of a Geisha”, displaying a colorful crimson scenery with a mysterious atmosphere. Walk through the shrine’s corridors that were erected as a symbolic continuing gate from the current world to the world of the dead inhabited by the gods. Go to the Kinkaku-ji Temple (Temple of the Golden Pavilion), which was given its name from the golden color of its reliquary hall. Admire its simple yet bold structure that features beautiful mountain views in the background. Enter the ancient Kiyomizu-dera temple to get panoramic city views from its large veranda. Walk from the path from the temple to Gion, to find many Kyoto-esque shops filled with unique souvenirs. Grab a snack or enjoy a delicious dinner at one of the many fine restaurants in the Gion district. Your guide will give you dining recommendations that are sure to delight your palate.
Includes
  • Private and personalized walking tour
  • Licensed local guide
  • Pickup from your accommodation on foot (if within reasonable distance)
  • Food and drinks
  • Any entrance fees
  • Public/private transportation fee during the tour

Select participants and date

Participants

Date

Important information

Know before you go

  • This experience will take place rain or shine
  • This experience can be personalized to meet your requests and preferences
  • The local team will communicate with you prior to your tour taking place to confirm the logistics of your booking
  • All guides hold The Nationally-licensed Tour Guide-Interpreter certification which is issued by the Japanese government. This certification requires good knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and history
Customer reviews

Overall rating

4.8 /5

based on 59 reviews

Review summary

  • Guide
    4.7/5
  • Value for money
    4.6/5
  • Service
    5/5

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Star rating:

The tour guide (Kazz) was amazing made us laugh the whole time and recommended great Japaneses dishes to try out. We learned a lot about Japan and Kyoto by out constant interaction with Kazz. The guide provided a well organized and interactive tour for a one day visit to Kyoto. We managed to see all the attraction in the short time we spent there. We highly recommend him and we’ll be coming back for other tours It would have been nice to have a Private transportation added to the tour.

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March 25, 2023

I highly recommend this 4 hour Kyoto tour! I am a solo traveler so this worked with my schedule perfectly. My tour guide, Kay, was absolutely lovely and very accommodating. She went out of her way to ensure that I had the best experience. We had a great time together and were able to see most of the history and must-see sights in such a short period of time.

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March 25, 2023

Our family began our stay in Kyoto with a guided overview tour. It was the best decision we made - meeting our guide, Yuri-san, made the rest of our stay much more productive, due to the guidance and information she provided. Yuri-san is a delightful young lady whose vivacious personality made each member of our family feel like we had a close friend touring us around a city she loves. She is passionate about meeting new people from abroad, and helping them begin to learn the beauty of the great city of Kyoto. She took the time to learn about each of our interests (both via email and at the beginning of our time together), and expertly tailored our tour and her commentary to this. In addition, she helped us with learning the Kyoto public transportation system, assisted us with fixing a small problem we had with our Pasmo cards, and even mapped out how to get to places we planned to visit on our own over the following few days. This tour and Yuri-san are the best!

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March 25, 2023

Product ID: 393716