Kyoto Gion & Higashiyama Historical Walking Tour

Very informative walking tour. Michael was very kind, helpful, and knowledgeable. Highly recommended the tour.

Micheal gave us a great informative tour.

Our guide was Miki, she was amazing - she explained everything very nicely and answered all our questions. Got enough time to eat and drink and appreciated the little details she was giving us.

Many thanks to our guide Ayumi! She made our guided tour of Kyoto truly special with interesting historical facts, wit, and charm. We were able to ask lots of questions and gained valuable insights. Ayumi made sure everyone felt comfortable and even took photos of us along the way. The three hours flew by far too quickly. We had a wonderful time and can highly recommend this tour.

Michael was The best guide!! We give him a 5 ⭐️ rate!! Good English, well explained, good stories and examples. Nice guy!! Michael Lam

Ayumi is an incredible tour guide. She is relational,smart, interesting and funny. Catherine and I did not really care much about the Geusha Gaiko culture. We just wanted a night walk in Gion. Nevertheless, we learned a lot and were totally engaged because of the quality of our guide! She is 5 Stars!

We took this walking tour on our first day, and it was a great way to be introduced to this beautiful city. Ayumi was one of the best tour guides we have ever had on a walking tour and we have done many. This is well worth the 3 hrs!

The tour was made by the fantastic host, Shin, who was both knowledgeable and charming.

Excellent tour , highly recommend it, Shin was an amazing tour guide !

Ayumi was an amazing guide. She taught us so much in such an enthusiastic and engaging way. The three hours flew by! She also gave us excellent suggestions and tips. We have done many walking tours and this one was top notch!!

Ayumi, our guide was fabulous! Great English, great fun and VERY knowledgeable. Couldn’t recommend more highly!

We really enjoyed our walking tour with Ay. She was passionate about Japanese culture and was able to answer so many of our questions throughout the tour. We especially enjoyed learning about the kabuki tradition and getting a better understanding of Kyoto beyond simply seeing the sights. Ay even had her iPad with her and would pull up specific information when we wanted to learn more about something. She also gave us lots of recommendations and helpful guidance for the rest of our time in Kyoto. A great introduction to the city with a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide!

Jay is an amazing guide! Thank you so much for this tour 🙏 Jay walked us through lots of great places, told us lots of interesting and fun to listen stories and answered all the additional questions.

Jay was a fantastic tour guide. He was very knowledgeable about Japanese history and culture and was very engaging. Even though it was raining on and off during the tour we still had a great time!

We were only in Kyoto for a few days, so we wanted to see the major sites. Ayumi did a fantastic job of explaining the cultural significance of many key sites in a succinct, engaging and simple to follow way. I’ve done walking tours like these in many other countries and this is the best I’ve experienced so far.

Great way to learn about the history of kyoto but also to get a feel for the layout and geography of the city.

We had the best time exploring Gion and Higashiyama with Ayumi. She was super knowledgeable and made the whole walk so easy and fun. Definitely wouldn't have had the same experience without her!

Excellent tour! Deborah was really nice and patient. She told us about the history of the city, the buildings, the temples and so on. A really good experience!

Great tour! Miki was amazing. We really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it. This was our second time doing the tour. We did it a year ago with Michael, when it was just my husband and me, and we enjoyed it so much that we came back this year with my whole family. This time we had Miki, and she was also fantastic — so knowledgeable, engaging, and dynamic. We had a great time!

This tour was very informative and full of interesting cultural and historical information about Kyoto generally and Gion specifically. I enjoyed the learning experience and it happened on a day when things were happening for the Gion festival.

A great way to experience the Gion district. Shin knew a lot about the cultural history of the area. He was a knowledgeable and friendly guide.

We recently completed the Kyoto free walking tour. Hana was our tour guide and she was fabulous, she was full of information and recommendations. We highly recommend.

It was amazing, Deborah was an incredible guide!!

Shin did a great job on the Geisha tour. The history was explained well and the 2 tours flew by. Highly recommended

Shin was a great tour guide!! Super knowledgeable of the Geisha culture and Kyoto area. I would definitely recommend getting this tour!!

As a solo traveler with only one night in Kyoto I found this tour to be very helpful in learning the history of the city and seeing some of it’s significant landmarks.

Our guide Michael was very friendly and knowledgeable, answering everyone’s questions—which ranged from animals we saw to societal things like politics and educational structure…😳😀. The walk covered great parts of town and only had 9 people, so it was small enough not to get lost.

Ayumi was a terrific tour guide, great with kids and adults alike. She was engaging and knowledgeable. We learned so much about Kyoto and Japan’s history. Three hours went by in a flash. I definitely recommend!

We would like to thank our guide from the bottom of our hearts. He was professional, kind, and extremely knowledgeable. Exploring Kyoto with him was essential for gaining a deeper understanding of the city’s history and traditions (also thanks to his academic background in history). He speaks English perfectly, which made it easy to understand all the information he shared. He is also a very friendly and pleasant person—we absolutely loved spending time with him and truly enjoyed his company!

Hana guided us so well around Kyoto. Shared a lot of knowledge and is super sweet.

Ayumi was absolutely wonderful. She was funny, energetic, thoughtful, and super knowledgeable about the history and the area. Beyond her great storytelling, she was fantastic at managing the group, keeping us on schedule, and making sure we actually had enough time to sit back and observe the Buddhist temple instead of just rushing through. I am five and a half months pregnant, and she was incredibly attentive, constantly checking in on me and always finding spots with shade for us to stop in. I handled the whole tour incredibly well thanks to her thoughtfulness. I highly recommend taking a tour with her.

Very enlightening walking tour through historic highlights of Kyoto. Beautiful architecture and monuments that provides background to Japanese history and culture.

It was great and very informative. Hana was very good.

Had a great time at this free walking tour with our Guide Ayumi last week! She was super knowledgeable about the history of Japan and the Edo period. I loved how she connected the places we visited with Stories of people to explain the history. Such a fun way to learn about Japans past! It was planned for 3h but we ended a bit early. I don’t think it was too much walking as we took some breaks in between and were also able to sit or get a couple minutes of free time to roam around on our own. Definitely recommend this your, thanks again Ayumi!! Extra bonus: she even offered taking Pictures for us as solo travelers which I found especially considerate.

Very knowledgeable and entertaining guide. Only dissatisfaction was that it was advertised as a small group tour but we ended up with a large group so it was sometimes hard to hear.

Great insights into geisha culture. Shin was 10/10.

We learned a ton about Kyoto’s history on this tour! We love AYUMI, she is fantastic! We couldn’t ask for a better tour guide! Will recommend Kyoto Localized to all.

Shin did an incredible job. He was an excellent tour guide. Please continue to send business his way. The tour was educational and very, very good. Thank you Shin.

Was informative and enjoyed it. Shin was great.

Was a very good experience Shin made it an incredible experience

Very comprehensive overview

Excelent expirience. Miki gave us information and context about the city. Recommended as tour first tour here. Thanks!

Great tour, informative and funny :)

I really enjoyed this walking tour. Ayumi was an excellent guide—her English was perfect and she shared a lot of history, more than I’ve experienced on other tours so far. It added depth and context to everything we saw. The pacing was good, and the group was small, which made it easy to hear and engage without feeling rushed. A thoughtful, well-run tour with a knowledgeable guide. I would definitely recommend it, especially if you enjoy history and context alongside the sights.

We had an excellent experience on today’s walking tour, led by our guide Jay. His knowledge of Japanese history—especially Kyoto—was truly impressive. He provided deep insights into the city’s history, culture, religion, and overall character, making the experience both informative and engaging. Jay did a great job adjusting the pace to suit our group, which included two senior couples, ensuring everyone was comfortable while still keeping the tour moving efficiently. His ability to explain complex historical context in a clear and engaging way made it feel like we were walking alongside a living encyclopedia. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Kyoto.

We loved jay!!! He was very knowledgeable, excellent English, accoaccommodating, fascinating stories!

This is one of our best tours so far on our travels through Japan. Our guide Jay was easy to understand, provided relevant interesting information. He took the time to personalize our tour. Highly recommend this tour and mostly this guide!

Jay was a knowledgeable guide and great storyteller. He lived in the US for some years so his English is excellent. His knowledge of history, Japanese culture, Japanese religion, and all things Kyoto was impressive -- there were no questions he couldn't answer at whatever depth we were willing to take him. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of Kyoto.

This was by far the best tour we have done in Japan. The tour guide was super friendly, super knowledgeable, and very enjoyable to talk to. We learned a lot about Japanese history and saw sides of Kyoto we wouldn’t have seen without the tour.