10 Must-see Spots In Kyoto One Day Private Tour

I took a solo day trip to Kyoto, and picked this tour out of all because I wanted to maximize my time as much as possible. Naomi met me at the Kyoto station Shinkansen platform, and we went off from there. She explained our itinerary & modified it so we would end up back at the station. Naomi explained the history very clearly and had visual aids to help understand. She even recommended an alternative temples over a crowded one—it was the best decision. She also made sure to get me the best photo spots and even took pics of me when requested. It was overall a memorable experience. The only downside, which has nothing to do with Naomi (seriously, she’s amazing!) is the pricing for tours when traveling solo. The tour was already very expensive to begin with (~$300 USD), but you have to pay all the entrance fees, train fees, and taxi fair on top of that. If you’re on a budget & on your own, keep that in mind. This was the only tour I could find that would accept a solo traveler & maximized my day. I’d be hesitant if I was solo on a tight budget, but I highly recommend if you’re 2+ people. Ask for Naomi, and you won’t be disappointed! She’s an adorable grandma with the best attitude and beaming personality. 😄

We recently took a Kyoto tour with Hide, and we couldn’t be more impressed. From the very beginning, Hide was extremely accommodating, even when we got lost at the initial meeting point. He stayed helpful, easy to coordinate with, and made sure we felt comfortable right away. Throughout the tour, Hide did an excellent job showing us many of Kyoto’s highlights, while also sharing key histories and meaningful context behind each location. It wasn’t just sightseeing. Hide helped us understand the stories, culture, and significance of what we were seeing, which made the experience far more memorable. In addition, Hide provided great local recommendations for lunch and shopping. His suggestions were thoughtful and well-suited to what we were looking for, and we truly appreciated having insider tips that enhanced the day. Overall, we had a wonderful experience and would highly recommend Hide to anyone looking for a knowledgeable, friendly, and flexible Kyoto guide.

This tour is a must for Kyoto! We visited 10 attractions that were all wonderful, beautiful but also culturally important and educational. Yoshi was our guide and he was amazing. His English was great and he was extremely informative about the stops and Japan in general. He was funny, personable and bonded with each member of the family. Even though we went to some spots during busy times, he was able to show us the best photo spots and got great group photos. Yoshi also recommended additional stops for the rest of our trip that all turned out gray. He went above and beyond for the group and even called bookstores to hold a book for me that I wanted as a souvenir.

This tour was the highlight of my trip. Each location was beautiful and educational with plenty of photo opportunities. Yoshi was an absolutely amazing guide. He was funny, informative and bonded with each member of our group. He went above and beyond to recommend food places for future portions of our trip and even called bookstores to help me find a book I wanted in Japan. The lunch option he picked for us was delicious and everyone in the group loved it. I highly recommend this tour and especially Yoshi.

Kiyo was AMAZING! Knowledgeable and very well educated on the history of Japan!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We had such a great day with Taka. He really knew his stuff and took us all over Kyoto—an incredible place on Earth to visit anyway, but enhanced with Taka as your guide! ❤️

We had a wonderful day with Akemi! She took us all over Kyoto so that we got a little taste of everything. My son wasn't feeling well during the tour, and Akemi went above and beyond to help him find his way back to the cruise ship safely. We highly recommend Akemi as a caring and thorough guide...loved her!

Yoshi was an amazing guide and very knowledgeable. He was warm and friendly and showed us around several places during our limited time visiting the area. Highly recommend!

We travelled to Japan for the first time and an experience like this was totally worth it. We saw all the important sights and traveled in taxis, trams, subways and metro trains. It really gave us enough understanding to be confident to travel in Japan.

Our guide, Mutsumi, was fantastic! She was very friendly and knowledgable about all the sights we saw. We had a really wonderful day that taught us a lot about the history and traditions of Japan. It really brought each of the places we went to alive.

Akemi was the best guide! She was very knowledgeable and adjusted to our interests and preferences. I highly recommend her to anyone visiting Kyoto! 10/10

Taka was a great guide. Very personable. Make sure you have good shoes on because it’s a lot of great walking! And be prepared for crowds. Great way to see a lot in one day.

This tour was wonderful. Our guide, Mieko was outstanding! She was very knowledgeable on all of the sites and history of the region. She had suggestions on shops, food and took tons of pictures of us. She could be a photographer! A+ to her!

This tour was wonderful. Our guide, Mieko was outstanding! She was very knowledgeable on all of the sites and history of the region. She had suggestions on shops, food and took tons of pictures of us. She could be a photographer! A+ to her!

We had a wonderful day with Motoko. She was warm and enthusiastic and worked hard to ensure that we had a great day. Her knowledge was excellent and she made sure to give us time to take photos, go to the toilet and get a coffee and snack as needed. Although we had a lot to fit in she did not make us feel rushed. It was raining hard on the day of the tour so she gave us an option to change the itinerary if we were not comfortable in the rain. We especially enjoyed souvenir shopping and food tasting with Motoko where she gave us insight into the different foods on offer. Highly recommend.

We had an excellent guide and visited all the top spots in Kyoto. It was a long, busy and fulfilling day.

Akemi was a wonderful guide. She reached out before the tour to ensure we saw everything we wanted to see, plus suggest some more. She is an enthusiastic booster for her city and is full of good information. She has a fun personality. Importantly, she checked in a few times prior to the tour to make sure our meeting went smoothly.

Aya, was our guide. She was awesome. There is no way we could have seen all that without her help.

The tour itself was not worth the price. In addition to the high cost of the excursion, I still had to pay for transportation and entrance fees at the various destinations. The one bright spot was our tour guide, Mieko. She was knowledgeable, professional, and made the experience enjoyable despite the poor value of the tour.

The tour was excellent our guide Mie picked us up at our hotel and we went from there. She was very well versed in every sight we went to. She was also very nice and helpful with getting us around and finding good place to eat lunch. I would recommend this tour to anyone who wants to see the main sights of Kyoto.

Olive (aka Miwako) was our Kyoto Tour Guide. We traveled up from Osakq to meet her at the meeting point in Kyoto. We spent the whole day touring around Kyoto. We used trains & Ubers to get between various sites. Olive was very friendly & totally engaged in making sure we saw to all the sites & explaining the history & significance of each. She took us to a choice restaurant for lunch after we suggested we liked to eat sushi & udon noodles. That was a treat. Olive was very eager to answer all our questions. She gave us plenty of chances to take photos .. many of which she took of us. Olive knew where to avoid all the crowds where possible & use backstreets to get between sites. It was a great day in Kyoto. Highly recommend Olive. STEVEN & KYLIE

My husband and I went on a private tour of Kyoto. Our guide Yoshi was beyond amazing. He was extremely knowledgeable, organized, enthusiastic, super friendly and engaging. Yoshi made our experience one of our best adventures in the country of Japan. If you are able to request Yoshi it would be well worth your investment. You will not be disappointed! 5 ⭐️ tour. Kelly and Trent Canada

My wife & I went on a 8 hour private tour of Kyoto. Our guide Yoshi was beyond amazing. He was extremely knowledgeable, organized, super friendly and engaging. Yoshi made our Kyoto experience one of our best adventures in Kyoto and the country of Japan. If you are able.to request Yoshi it would be well worth your investment. You will not be disappointed. 5 STAR ⭐️ tour. Kelly & Trent from Canada

Great way to see top attractions in Kyoto! Great tour guide! Enjoyed lunch This tour offers time in Gion as compared to other tours

If you have limited time in Kyoto but want to see some of the most amazing places that are truly special, don’t hesitate to book this tour. Our tour guide Motoko was so friendly and knowledgeable on all of the locations and knew where to get the most amazing photos. It’s a great way to learn about the history & culture of Kyoto instead of it being diluted by a tour bus. This was so much more personal.

This was a great overview tour. Hiromi is a delightful guide. We saw a lot in a short time thanks to her knowledge and expertise.

KK took us on an incredible tour of Kyoto. She was well spoken and very knowledgeable. We have a great time and really learned a lot. I would highly recommend!

We only had 1 full day in Kyoto, so this was a good choice to see all the highlights. The way the tour is laid out is very efficient. We saw A LOT but it didn’t feel rushed. Our guide, KK, was amazing. She navigated the city and sites with a fluency that saved us time and allowed us to see some things that felt off the beaten path (not things I probably would have stumbled onto on my own—at least not easily). She had a great sense of humor and was full of energy. She knew the city well and the history and traditions. She was able to speak about the culture, past and present, so it felt very enriching. I also like how she took pictures for us so we could be present at the sites. She sent us the photos same day. We got to sample a bunch of little food and drinks from shops she took us to. Very good tour!

Yoshi came to meet us at our hotel and took us on a tour to discover Kyoto. I would like to recommend him as he was pleasant, knowledgeable and happy to help at any circumstances. We had an amazing day with him and learned a lot! Thank you!

Great day! Amazing places! Excellent guide!

We fit A LOT into 1 day which is good because we only had 2 days in Kyoto. KK was a great guide. She was so sweet and knowledgeable. The tour fit a lot in but didn’t feel rushed.

Very fast paced, 20,000 steps- but somehow we got to see 10 treasures of Kyoto. Chiro was very knowledgeable and funny. It was a long day but somehow did not seem very rushed. The only site we didn’t walk through completely were all the Tori gates, but that is a two hour hike.

Takuhide was a great guide, full of information and a sense of humour. We had a great day out and had plenty of time to see all the sites, eat and shop. We saw everything we wanted to in one day! I had an injury and Takuhide did not rush me and showed us easier routes so as not to aggravate my injury. Highly recommend.

Wow! This was our FAVORITE experience in Japan! Our guide Chihiro was an angel, and we had the best day with her! We saw all the spots at our own pace, but we also created memories with Chihiro that we will cherish forever. If you get a chance to do this tour with Chihiro, your trip will be complete. Add this tour to your itinerary. It’s worth it, and you get a lot accomplished!

This was an incredible way to see the Kyoto, great personal experience, we felt engaged with the sites, the culture and people. Our guide Naru was super easy to talk to, we felt like we knew him, he guided us with care as if we were his friends. Highly recomend this business.

The tour guide was amazing, very informative and knowledgeable. He was able to pivot and accommodate our desires and our time schedule.

Highly recommend you ask for Naru. Extremely efficient and knowledgeable. Very professional and accommodating to our requests.

We spent a terrific day with Yoshi. He navigated us to several sites with ease. What particularly stood out was his immense knowledge. He was very pleasant to spend the day with! I can’t say enough positive things

This was an amazing day. I couldn’t imagine seeing more and everything was incredible!! Most importantly, my guide Mieko was world-class. She was unbelievably knowledgeable, prepared and accommodating! Her English was perfect as was her attitude! Thank you for such a memorable experience!

Kathy & Jeff here from Oregon, USA. We had a guided tour today of Kyoto. Our guide was Yoshi. Both my wife and I feel Yoshi is the best tour guide we have ever had….and we have had a number of professional guides during our travels. Yoshi was so accommodating to our needs and questions. We give him a 10/10. He is smart, knowledgeable about the subjects we were discussing and flexible in how he leads the tour. We could not have been more pleased than we were with Yogi’s leadership. Kathy and I feel we have a more nuanced and accurate understanding of Japanese culture than we did prior to our time with Yogi. We HIGHLY recommend Yoshi for any tour he is leading. He even walked us back to our hotel!

Mieko was absolutely amazing! She was very informative with the history about every sight we visited and was kind enough to show us some local stops as well! She was extremely kind and we would love to book with her again when we come back! Thank you Mieko!

It's a full day with lots of short transfers between areas of Kyoto BUT you get exactly what it says on the tin! It was thoroughly enjoyable and having a private guide meant we could ask lots of questions and get to understand more about Japan. Our guide was Tammy who had excellent English and was happy to discuss many different aspects of the tour. Be prepared to jump on buses, into taxis and to board trains with the advantage that you spend more time at the destination and get to almost all of the major sights. But note that the client is required to pay the various fares (generally inexpensive, even taxis are cheap). Tammy was easy to find at the station for the start of the tour and we ended up in Gion which is a gentle walk back into the city centre. It was obvious that we had covered more in one day than most of the other tours, mainly because there was just 2 of us and our guide. We agreed that this was an excellent way to experience Kyoto.

This is a must due tour. Our tour guide Chihiro was outstanding and truly amazing. If I could give her 10 stars, I would the 10 sites that we saw were all very worthwhile visiting and our guides knowledge of the areas enhanced our visits. She spoke good English, had a good sense of humor and was very knowledgeable. She is an experienced Tour Guide and would request her unconditionally.

What a great adventure in Kyoto! Kaori was fabulous and so great. She met us once we stepped off the bullet train from Kobe in Kyoto Station and helped us navigate the train station. We started with the Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) - the brilliant gold temple reflecting over the water was even more beautiful in person. Next, Arashiyama where we wandered through the famous Bamboo Forest, visited the beautiful gardens of Tenryu-ji Temple, and crossed the Togetsukyo Bridge. We also saw Arashiyama’s colorful Kimono Forest - and somewhere along the way, Kaori helped us take the Japanese experience one step further and we bought an authentic kimono! Definitely one of my favorite souvenirs from this trip. Next was Fushimi Inari-taisha - walking beneath row after row of its famous torii gates was one of the experiences I had been most excited about in Kyoto. Kiyomizu-dera - perched on the hillside with sweeping views across Kyoto, it was another one of those places where photos simply don’t capture how impressive it is. We also explored the historic Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka streets, saw the Yasaka Pagoda, and made our way into Gion, Kyoto’s Geisha District. Kyoto was everything we hoped it would be and one of those days in Japan we’re going to remember for a very long time thanks to Kaori!

We had an absolutely wonderful day exploring Kyoto with our guide, Kaori. From the very beginning, she was warm, knowledgeable, and incredibly accommodating. She shared so much about Kyoto’s history, culture, temples, and traditions throughout the day, which made each place we visited far more meaningful than simply seeing the sights on our own. We had an ambitious itinerary and Kaori did a fantastic job helping us make the most of our time while never making the day feel rushed. One of the things we appreciated most was her flexibility. When I mentioned that I would love to purchase an authentic kimono, she happily adjusted our plans and added a spur-of-the-moment stop so I could find one. It ended up being such a special and memorable part of our day! Kaori was attentive to what interested us, answered all of our questions, and genuinely seemed to care that we had the best possible experience in Kyoto. By the end of the day, it felt less like we had simply taken a tour and more like we had experienced Kyoto with a knowledgeable local friend. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide. If you have the opportunity to tour Kyoto with Kaori, we highly recommend her! She helped make our day in Kyoto one of the highlights of our trip to Japan. 🇯🇵❤️

Our fabulous guide Hiromi organised our day so well they we were able to see everything we were hoping for and more. She shared her knowledge throughout each experience, allowing an insight in to the history and culture - we learnt so much! Our family had an amazing day that we will cherish forever thanks to Hiromi. We would not have been able to have such an incredible day in Kyoto without her.

Naru, our guide was amazing. Before our scheduled meeting, he clearly communicated where to meet and answered a couple of questions we had about the day. He navigated us through Kyoto by cab, train and on foot so we had a real feel for many areas of Kyoto and got to see major spots. Naru was very professional and very kind making sure we were comfortable and enjoying ourselves. We learned so much about Kyoto through our sight visits and through his great knowledge. I highly recommend this tour!

One of the best tours I’ve ever been on. Yoshi was an incredible guide, very knowledgable, kind and generous. This tour is quite an intense way to see Kyoto, as there is a lot in one day - but we had the time to learn, ask questions and take photos, and we feel like we really made the most of our short time there. Highly recommend

This is a wonderful tour. Taca did an outstanding job as our guide. He is very knowledgeable and speaks English well. He was very patient with us as we stopped to take pictures often. I can’t recommend this your high enough.