Kyoto Customizable Tour With Local English Guide (Amanohashidate)

Yama was very thoughtful to our needs. For a young person, he was very respectful and knowledgeable about the UNESCO sights he took us to. He was fun.

Our guide, Yama, was right on time and ready to take us on a beautiful and relaxing drive to a part of Japan we otherwise would have missed. The Ine fishing village is stunning and feels like a moment captured in time. Yama took us to an amazing lunch spot where we had a flawless meal, and then a boat ride around the harbor in which we fed seagulls by hand, which is even more fun than it might sound. Yama even took us to the Golden Temple on the drive back, which we would not have been able to do without him. We highly, highly recommend this tour and Yama as well.

Our guide, Yama, was right on time and ready to take us on a beautiful and relaxing drive to a part of Japan we otherwise would have missed. The Ine fishing village is stunning and feels like a moment captured in time. Yama took us to an amazing lunch spot where we had a flawless meal, and then a boat ride around the harbor in which we fed seagulls by hand, which is even more fun than it might sound. Yama even took us to the Golden Temple on the drive back, which we would not have been able to do without him. We highly, highly recommend this tour and Yama as well.

Yama was extremely friendly and accommodating. He spoke perfect English. He was an excellent tour guide. He took us to the places we asked to see, but he also had some recommendations for other, less well known places that were pretty amazing.

Yama was an excellent tour guide. He was intelligent, knowledgeable, flexible, and personable. He also is an excellent driver! My visit to Kyoto was definitely enhanced by touring with Yama. I highly recommend him.

Yama was an excellent guide. He was intelligent, knowledgeable, flexible, and personable. He also is an excellent driver! My trip to Kyoto has definitely been enhanced by using Yama as a guide, and I highly recommend him.

Our tour was exceptional! We could visit all the places in Nara and Kyoto we wanted, all in one day! We had a great time together as a family! And Yama is the best driver and guide ever, very nice, kind and helpful. We felt like having fun with an old friend. Fitting the highlights of Nara and Kyoto into a single day is no small feat, and having a dedicated, friendly guide like Yama makes all the difference in making a trip truly unforgettable. We’re planning to go back to Japan as soon as possible, and another trip with Yama is definitely in our plans! We really recommend it!

We had a 2- days tour with Yama. We are all full excited about Yama!! The Japanese Alps are amazing as well as Takayama. Our driver/guide Yama was amazing too!

Our guide, Yama, picked us up in Hakone and accompanied us on a two day tour through the Japanese Alps, all the way to Kyoto as our final destination. The places we visited were breathtaking (narai juku, shirawago and takayama), but what truly made the experience special was Yama, our guide, impeccable, kind, and always attentive, making us feel completely relaxed and truly on vacation.

We engaged Yamato to take us around Kyoto and Nara after our friends recommended him and had so much fun. He has great English and was very accomodating and helpful. Our 10 and 9 year old children absolutely loved him and we highly recommend him. We also engaged Yamato to take us around Osaka which was another fun day. We will definitely be using him again next time we come to Japan!!

It has been a great experience touring around Kyoto. We were given a decent amount of time to take pictures and explore. Yama, our tour guide and driver, is very friendly. Yama, our tour guide and driver, is very friendly and professional. He made sure everyone was comfortable throughout the trip and shared helpful information about the places we visited. He is well-versed in speaking English and Nihongo, which made communication smooth and easy.

Yama was our guide awesome person very accommodating and good for this business, the vehicle was very comfortable loved it

Kiyoto and Nara area guided Tour with Yama. Yama picked us up at reception area of our Hotel and our adventure began. Breathtaking views of the popular Temple's and Shrine’s. We were able to stop and do food sampling and purchase from the Local Vendors . Every place Yama took us to was amazing ! These are only some of the places that I am listing but we did 10 on our day trip. Kinkaku-ji, Arashiyama, Kiyomizudera, Fushiminaru, Kasuga , Todai-ji. Also Nara Park to feed the Deer( buy more than a pack of Crackers ) so cute that the Deer actually bow , it’s a nice walk and we learned some history of this area . There were some places that had entry fees , but fees were minimal (200 yen) but most were free to enter. 10/10 recommend We had 4 in our group but they can accommodate more than 4 .

The trip was very easy with the help of our tour person Yama. He was able to communicate in English with us and help us to translate every time that we need help. He was friendly, profesional and very polite. He made us feel like part of his family.

I booked this tour for my family and received a confirmation. Then, they reached out via WhatsApp asking if I could change the date of my trip. I said it wasn't possible, since we were only planning to be in Kyoto for a few days. They then explained that another family needed A SECOND English speaker tour guide, so they would not have one for my family. Not sure how it makes sense that another family would have two guides even though they started with ONE booking, then MY booking was the one they were trying to change so that we had ZERO guides. They offered me just the driver. I said no thanks and that was not acceptable to me. To which they said no worries, they would work it out with the other family. I thought that was it, but then I get another message saying that it didn't work out and they can offer me a discount for the driver only but no tour guide. I promptly cancelled the tour bc this is the worst type of planning and communication that I've ever seen from a tour company. Facts: I booked a tour with an english speaking tour guide/driver. They tried to give my guide to another family who needed A SECOND guide. Something is not adding up here. Shame on you. You should honor the reservation that came through first and that you confirmed with me and not change it to make someone else happy.

We really wanted to visit Amanohashidate and Ine Bay, but since it was our first time traveling to Japan, we felt nervous about using the trains. When we looked it up, we realized it would take about 3–4 hours one way by public transportation. For tourists, it can be quite difficult to transfer between multiple local trains to reach Amanohashidate and Ine Bay, so I strongly recommend using a private car tour instead. Overall, it was a fantastic experience. Thank you again!

When we booked the Kyoto & Nara tour, we mentioned that we also wanted to visit Shirakawa-go, and they kindly agreed to accommodate our request. Thanks to their flexibility, we were able to go exactly where we wanted. After that, we also booked the Amanohashidate tour, and in total we did three tours with this company. If you’re visiting the Kansai area, I highly recommend doing the Kyoto & Nara tour and the Kyoto (Amanohashidate) tour over two days. By doing this, you can cover all the must-see spots in Kyoto and Nara in just two days. Since I split the cost among my family of four, the price per person was very reasonable. For a comfortable experience with a private car and guide, this is the only company I would recommend.

We had an outstanding experience with our private car tour with Yama in Kyoto using a green-plated vehicle. The trip to Nara and Uji was smooth, comfortable, and perfectly paced for our group. Our tour-guide was professional, punctual, and very knowledgeable, sharing interesting insights about Kyoto, Nara Park, and the cultural highlights of Uji along the way. Having a licensed green-plated car made us feel safe and well taken care of, especially when traveling as a family of 9. The flexibility of the itinerary allowed us to enjoy the deer in Nara, stroll around Uji Bridge, and explore at our own pace without any stress. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a reliable, comfortable, and high-quality private tour experience in Kyoto. We would definitely book again with Yama and his team.