Kiyomizu Temple And Backstreets Of Gion Half Day Group Tour

Miki was an excellent guide - very friendly and knowledgeable. the tour itself covers a number of very interesting locations

Just a wonderful morning with Miho in rain and shine. She is super knowledgeable and has excellent English. Learned so much about Kyoto. Lots of walking and lots of uphill and downhill but totally worth it. Can’t recommend this enough as an intro to Kyoto and temples and shrines.

Miho was a wonderful guide. We learned so much. Highly recommend.

A great tour to explore some of the back streets of Kyoto. Yuki was a very knowledgeable guide and gave us lots of information about the sights we were seeing. She explained the historic and cultural aspects very well. Plus she explained things about daily life in Kyoto. She was super helpful and even escorted me to the right subway station to catch my train at the end of the tour.

It was one of the best guided tour. Miki san has amazing knowledge about the city. She knew all the nook and corners and the history of every landmark. She altered her tour to our needs as well. Very clear English speaking guide. I would whole heartedly recommend her

Yuki was a great guide. Some of the sights were crowded, she got us through. Left more knowledgeable about the history and culture around kyoto.

Paul was very nice and informative! He gave us some background info and was knowledgeable! Would highly recommend him!

The guide was fantastic and full of information also easy to understand and helped me also understand how to walk to my hotel after the tea ceremony! She was just amazing!

It was a truly memorable tour with Takashi. So much interesting history and information was provided and delivered at a pace that really suited my family and I including our two children aged 12 and 14. I cannot recommend this tour highly enough. Not only does the tour provide a fascinating insight into Kyoto but there is also a wonderful insight provided into Japanese culture and history. We will be seeking out Takashi next time we are in Kyoto.

Kenji was so knowledgeable about all parts of Kyoto! He was so great at keeping us moving to cover all of the sites in our 4 hour tour. He was a great person to show us this city and we enjoyed our time with him!

It was a good morning tour of the Kiyomizu temple. We had already done a large bicycle tour of Kyoto the day before so it was nice to have a relaxing slow tour the next day. We visited other Zen Temples nearby like the Kennin-ji Temple. Our tour guide was engaging and friendly. She helped fill in the spots we didn’t see before and had a relaxing morning.

Very good experience and learning thanks to the guide Kenji-san. Recap email prior to the tour would be helpful especially that in our case the tea ceremony was not connected with the tour of Kyoto, so at the end of the tour we had no information about location for the tea ceremony.

Excellent experience. Yuki was very knowledgeable about Kyoto and its wonders, and extremely helpful.

A walking tour of the key temples in gion. Our guide was well versed in the history of Japanese temples and Zen Buddhism. Stopped at a few shops and got a nice coffee break.

Paul was amazing friendly and very informative

Yuki was so informative and so sweet

Wonderful walking tour guided by our expert local Akiko! We hit all the places in our itinerary; from kiyomizu-dera, to the backstreets of Gion. Akiko talked about the cultural , historical, religious and in some cases legendary significance of the places and artifacts as we walked through them. She was also our photographer, shopping and food guide. I highly recommend this tour and Akiko as a guide!

Mika was so helpful and informative. I really learned a lot and was appreciative of the pace we went.

Very good tour. Hide was a great guide who was very interactive, knowledgeable, and interested in us and our having a good informed time. Took pictures for all of us numerous times, even shared tea with us, and we learned a lot about Japan and the Gion area. Highly recommend him and the tour.

Miki was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. She has an incredible depth of knowledge and brought each location to life with thoughtful explanations and stories that made everything feel meaningful. The pace of the tour was perfect, never rushed, and we had time to truly take in each place. What really stood out was how she went above and beyond. She showed us hidden spots we never would have found on our own and made the experience feel very personal. She also took beautiful photos of us throughout the day, which we will treasure. On top of that, she helped us find and purchase souvenirs. Miki genuinely cares about creating a memorable experience and it shows in everything she does. We left with not just great memories, but a deeper appreciation for the places we visited. Highly recommend!

Chika was very kind, knowledgeable and charming. She was more than willing to answer questions, point out interesting facts and show us places we wouldn’t have found on our own. I would recommend both the tour guide and the tour itself.

Our tour guide was Chika, a local resident of Kyoto. She was very friendly and treated us like friends from the beginning! She took us on a casual but very informative tour of Kiyomizu, pausing to explain the history & purpose of the different structures at Kiyomizu. Chika also took time to take pictures of us and the surrounding scenery. Perhaps more importantly, she explained the culture of Kyoto & how their respect for people & nature made it so attractive on the global stage. Chika then took us on a walk around the backstreets of Gion & sharing with us their humble behind-the-scenes lifestyle. Lastly we made a stop at Kennin-Ji temple and walked through the different buildings & walkways. Throughout our tour we never felt rushed or on a tight schedule. On the contrary - we felt like we were taking a walk in Chika’s backyard; very casual & unstructured yet purposeful. If you are looking for a jam-packed checklist of things to see, this may not be the tour for you. But if you want to take a deep breath & really get a glimpse of life in Kyoto as a local, I highly recommend this tour.

Very knowledgeable guide and very patient with children. Great pace and lots of fun facts and interesting stories. Kids loved it!

While it turned out to be a rainy day, we still ended up having a fantastic day. Tour guide takami was very patient with the kids and helped them understand Japanese culture in a simple and interesting way. We visited multiple shrines and temples and also did shopping on the streets next to the temple. Overall it was a good way to start our Kyoto trip.

Our guide Miki was wonderful. She gave us a full explanation of each site visited. We were not rushed through but given the time to fully appreciate and take in the beauty and history and significance of the site. I wish all tour guides would take the time to share their stories with us like she did. We connected on a personal level and were able to share our feelings about the way travel enhances the human experience and connection between cultures. What a lovely experience she provided and what a great lady. Thank you Miki for creating such a beautiful memory.

We were very satisfied as a family with Miki. She was a great person and a guide. She was very friendly and brought us many places and most importantly she explained us the culture. We really enjoyed

Such an easy-going stroll learning about some of kyoto’s rich history & visiting some sites with Hide. Very lucky that the heavy rain held out until after the tour!

Highly recommend tour - our tour guide Takuma provided great information and knew all the best photo spots.

Wonderful experience with Chika. She was very knowledgeable of the history of the temples we visited and took us to various location We enjoyed the time learning about the culture and had great food tasting along the way. Definitely recommend. Thank you for the wonderful time

Kenji was an amazing and knowledgeable guide. He was also very friendly and accommodating to requests to stop. Overall it was great!

We had an amazing tour with Higashimori who took us around Kyoto for the day. It was great to customize our itinerary and he was very flexible especially since we were with our 4 month old baby

The guide was most friendly and informative.Noteable points about both temples were explained and enough time made to enjoy them. The walk through that part of Kyoto was interesting and I think greatly enhanced by the guide.The history of the area is fascinating. A short stop mid afternoon at a delightful cafe and chocolate shop for juice and a matcha latte was much appreciated. All in all a" must do" experience for a visitor in Kyoto.

Hidei is an outstanding guide. He offered us guidance, context, anecdotes and humor as we toured several treasured sites and the town of Gion. Without a guide, many of the important aspects of the temples, pagodas, etc , we would have missed. His English was excellent. I recommend this tour, but know that it is a lot of walking!

Our tour with Mitsuhiko was fantastic. Good information, well organised and a good pace. Would recommend and see him again, lovely guide!

This was such a blast! It turned out to just be my husband and I and it was truly such a fun experience. Takuma was an amazing guide! He taught us so much of the history, culture and significance of every spot along the tour and he took pictures for us too! Highly recommend this experience and loved every moment!

Can’t recommend this tour enough! Mika was such a knowledgeable guide and calmly led us through the heavily trafficked sites we toured. We learned so much about the temples & shrines we toured, the Buddhist and Shinto religions, and Kyoto history/culture. Thank you so much, Mika!

This was an excellent tour, a really great way to see Kyoto! And Mika was the best tour guide! We had many great tour guides during our visit to Japan - but she really stood out! Very knowledgable, able to answer all of our questions and very attentive to my elderly auntie who struggled with steps. Would highly recommend a tour with Mika!

I cannot recommend this walking tour highly enough! Our guide, Takuma, was not only incredibly knowledgeable about Kyoto’s rich temple history and cultural significance, but also brought a warm, enthusiastic and engaging energy that made the experience unforgettable. This was one of our all time favorite walking tours!

Yuichi made our first day in Japan very special. We saw a great mix of temples, shopping, food, and cherry blossoms. Also, his photography and sense of humor made the tour wonderful. I would definitely recommend the tour.

our tour guide was friendly and enthusiastic about sharing the history and culture! we were with our two children and he was very accommodating to their pace and interests.

Osamu was an amazing guide! He is very knowledgeable and so nice. Would definitely recommend! The stops were very interesting as well

I’ve had numerous guides across numerous countries, but Kiyoto was one of the kindest and most enthusiastic guides I’ve ever had. He tailored the tour based on my interests and went out of his way to provide recommendations and answer all of my Japan questions. Highly recommended this tour!

Our guide, Taka was very knowledgeable and explained very well what we were seeing, and gave so many interesting backstories!

Great afternoon spent with our guide Kiyoto! We learned so much from him about Japanese history and culture, while also having a great time sampling different Japanese snacks. A very fulfilling cultural experience that I'd recommend to anyone

This was truly an excellent tour. Our tourguide (Toshi?) was both knowledgeable and flexible. He navigated the massively crowded area with his local expertise - if we had gone to Kiyomizu-dera Temple ourselves we'd have been easily overwhelmed. In addition to the Kiyomizu-dera Temple, he also guided us through the area and showed us the famous Higashiyama District with the famous Yasaka Pagoda in the background. This is a MUST if you are visiting Kyoto for the first time!

Traveling solo on a day trip from Tokyo I booked this tour to ensure I saw all the main sights in one day and it did not disappoint. My tour guide Mika, was fabulous, she was so informative and really good fun, I had a great afternoon with her. The tour itself was stunning, so many beautiful temples and shrines with lots of interesting and cool shops, cafes, views and streets along the way. 10/10 recommend this tour to anyone traveling solo or in a group.

Views were great. Expert guide knowledge and. Osamu was excellent and provided a great tour that was the highlight of our trip to Japan.

We had a wonderful half-day tour of Gion with our guide, Osamu. His English was excellent, and he shared a wealth of knowledge about the history of the temples and neighborhoods we visited. He also gave us fascinating insights into the culture surrounding geishas, which made the experience even more enriching. Osamu expertly answered all of our many questions, not only about what we saw but also about Japan in general. His passion for the culture and history was evident, and his kindness and expertise made the tour truly memorable. We highly recommend Osamu for anyone looking to explore Kyoto’s Gion district. His deep knowledge and warm personality made our visit unforgettable!

Ellie was a fantastic guide for our half-day walking tour of Kiyomizu-dera temple complex and the backstreets of Gion. We highly recommend this tour!