Kyoto Private Car Tour – Full Day With Local Guide & Nara Option

It was a really fun day. Had a really easy going tour guide who even adapted the itinerary to find sites he knew I’d find especially interesting. Great tour!

Guide, Riku, was on time and brought us to show several iconic sites in Nara and Kyoto. His English was enough for good explanations of all the tourists sites we wanted to see. Could not have visited all the sites in one day without him. Thank you

Thank you so much for the wonderful tour! Our guide, Housei, was excellent—always punctual, polite, and highly cooperative in coordinating everything for us. His friendly, cordial, and patient attitude made us feel incredibly welcome and relaxed throughout the day. His English was excellent and made it so smooth to communicate. We truly appreciate the outstanding service!

Housei was a great guide. He was on time and his English was perfect. He’s very upbeat and a good driver. He was knowledgeable and professional. He had a fun personality and took us to a yummy ramen shop for lunch. I wouldn’t hesitate to book with him again.

It covers all the main sights of Kyoto. Riku was a great guide with a warm friendly nature……..……!!!!

We had an absolutely fantastic day exploring Kyoto! Our guide was wonderful, incredibly accommodating, and flexible with all of our timing requests, making the entire experience feel relaxed and tailored to us. He went above and beyond to make sure we got the most out of our day, was knowledgeable and thoughtful throughout, and even took us to an incredible local ramen spot for lunch that ended up being one of the highlights of the day! Everything was seamless from start to finish. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience and would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Kyoto. Thank you for such a memorable day!

Had an amazing experience visiting Temples and Shrines in Kyoto with our guide Shunsuke. It’s an all day trip where we were picked up at the cruise port in Osaka. We also had some time for shopping and had an amazing lunch at a local sushi restaurant. Loved Shunsuke’s knowledge of the history and culture for each site we visited. So far the best trip we’ve had on our cruise. It was also great having an English speaking driver and tour guide that was able to assist our every need while in Kyoto! We were so blessed to have Shunsuke as our guide today!

Riku was wonderful. He picked us up from the train station and then began our private tour. It was a rainy day but still spectacular. We saw the Golden Temple, Bamboo Gardens from a rickshaw, enjoyed a delicious ramen lunch and drove to Nara to see Todai-ji and the angelic wild deer. We learned so much about these sites and really enjoyed Riku’s knowledge and company. I highly recommend!

Good experience to visit Kyoto. Customized to suit our interests. Comfortable car, good guide and competent driver. Difficult to cover all the desirable sites in 8 hours. Some adjustments and prioritization were necessary.

My husband and I were extremely satisfied with Riku-san’s service! We had a wonderful time exploring Nara and Kyoto, and he made our experience even more enjoyable. Riku-san was an excellent driver, and his car was clean, comfortable, and well maintained. He was very attentive and always made sure we stayed together and didn’t get lost while visiting the different attractions. He was also knowledgeable about the places we visited and helped make our trip smooth, comfortable, and stress-free. We truly appreciated his professionalism, thoughtfulness, and excellent service. We highly recommend Riku-san to anyone looking for a reliable and knowledgeable driver when visiting Nara and Kyoto!

Shinsuke was a wonderful guide! So friendly and fun! The day was filled with beautiful sights and he took us to an awesome ramen place for lunch! Highly recommend!

Yes. When you 1st time in Japan, Learning the culture deeply.

This was the best way to see Kyoto with a local guide. Riku was a great guide with a lot of knowledge and personality; he was like having a personal friend show you around town. He even helped us get a phone charger when our battery died! I normally don’t book tours when we travel as I generally don't think they’re worth the money, but I would say if it’s your 1st time visiting Kyoto, this is the way to go! Thank you so much Riku for a great day!

Great day sightseeing in Kyoto with Shunsuke. We would not have found all these amazing sites. Shunsake was an excellent driver/guide, his English is good and he’s very personable. We would recommend this tour to everyone!

Great tour and great Guide! What a place

We had an amazing day exploring Kyoto! From the beautiful temples and shrines to the incredible scenery and rich history, every stop was memorable. Our guide, Hosei, was absolutely fantastic! He was friendly, knowledgeable, and made the entire experience enjoyable and effortless. He really helped make our day in Kyoto special. Highly recommend this tour, especially with Hosei as your guide!

We had such a wonderful day with Housei. He picked us up directly at our cruise on time. We spent the day touring Kyoto’s famous Temples, the bamboo forest where he arranged a rickshaw ride for us. He was professional, knowledgeable and very courteous.

We had a great time! Riku, our guide, has lots of energy, knowledge, and humor. A memorable highlight to our visit in Japan.

A full day with lots to see. Amazing Japan sites. Excellent guide with Riku. Very satisfying day. Ended the day with the amazing golden temple.

JOSE is outstanding, historically knowledgeable, caring, respectful towards older travelers. Fluent in American English. Very safe driver.

We had a lovely day being driven in an air conditioned car. Riku was a very pleasant guide who was knowledgable about the sites we visited. Lunch was good! We saw many sites in a day which is great if you have limited time. A fun day.

We had a great day with Riku! We were able to see all the sights of Kyoto in an easy and relaxing manner. Riku was friendly, answered all our questions and took a lot of photos for us.

This was a very educational tour and Kyoto is a beautiful place. Our guide Riku was excellent. We especially loved the bamboo forest.

We couldn’t have asked for a better guide for our private tour of Kyoto! Housei was absolutely wonderful from start to finish. He was friendly, knowledgeable, accommodating, and genuinely passionate about sharing the beauty and culture of Kyoto with us. One of the highlights was when he took us to a local spot for lunch that we never would have discovered on our own. The food was absolutely delicious! He also went above and beyond by recommending a Samurai and Ninja Museum, knowing how much my husband would love it. Such a thoughtful, personal touch! Housei made our day feel less like a typical sightseeing tour and more like exploring Kyoto with a knowledgeable local friend. His warmth, enthusiasm, and attention to detail made the experience truly special. If you’re visiting Kyoto, I can’t recommend Housei highly enough. He was fantastic, and we’re so grateful to have spent the day with him! 🇯🇵❤️

Housei is an excellent tour guide, this experience was exactly what I wanted. I would use him again. He had the perfect timing and recommendations making our trip amazing. Personalized adventure with the pictures to prove it.

Loved this private tour! Our guide Hosei was very attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. He was also super flexible with our schedule as we only had a day in Kyoto, and even helped us choose gift shops and a great restaurant for lunch! It was such a pleasurable experience for my mother and me.

what a perfect dayin kyoto! Jose. we had a lot to accomplish today. My husband and I had only one full day to see the main sites and Jose did it with efficiency warmth and fun! he was an excellent driver and tour guide getting everything in but feeling relaxed at the same time. He is a bright lovely fine young man and highly recommend!

Riku was a great guide and adjusted the itinerary to fit our needs!

My experience with Housei in Osaka, Japan went off with a blast. I enjoyed every bit of the tour. The admission fees was not bad and Housei was accommodating to everybody needs such as souvenirs, and Restrooms. Housei was friendly and outgoing. I felt comfortable. The atmosphere for the whole tour was easygoing and relaxing. I loved every bit of the tour. It was my first-time in Osaka, Japan. Each spot on the itinerary we had time to take photos and the walking part of my tour was not bad at all. My feet was not sore. By the end of the tour my feet felt fine. There were crowds, but not to the point of overwhelming. I recommend this tour. Prepared to be amazed!!

Hosei was a fantastic tour guide! He picked us up from the cruise terminal. He drove a clean, comfortable mini van that can comfortably hold 6 people (Four people if two are “healthier” wink wink). He had bottle water waiting for us which was nice considering the heat. Our tour took us to Kyoto and the Golden Temple, Arashiyama and the bamboo forest, the Samauri Museum, and finally the Fushimi shrine. It was a fantastic day! He recommended we take the rickshaw to see the bamboo forest and he was spot on. Taking the rickshaw for one hour is the way to go to save your legs from all the walking. The rickshaw carriers will make sure you get the most amazing pictures. It’s worth every penny. He also chose out lunch spot, which had great options and a clean bathroom. Overall, it was a fabulous day. We returned to the ship on time. I highly recommend the tour. Be sure to ask for Hosei!

It was special. Riku was very informative and took great care of us. He's a great host, good driver and has a fantastic sense of humor. We got to see and do so much. Ride in the rickshaw if you get the chance to see the bamboo trees. Don't miss out on the strawberries on a stick. The temples was so great to see.

Riku was the best tour guide. We had a lot of fun and Riku was extremely knowledgeable and had lots of fun facts. He was extremely kind and considerate of us during the tour. He also introduced us to a great family owned okonomiyaki restaurant!

Riku was very informative and made the tour so fun. His knowledge and fun personality made the trip special and so fun! He showed us very cool spots and helped us out so much!

Absolutely incredible experience - what a fantastic tour!! We took this tour in lieu of a cruise-provided excursion and it so far exceeded our expectations (and at less than half the price per person of a cruise-sponsored excursion). Even though we had very limited time, we saw all the major highlights of Kyoto. Housei was the best guide and he did an incredible job educating us about what we were seeing, not only at the landmark sites, but as we drove around. We relied on Housei’s recommendations for snacks, lunch and the best way to enjoy the sites. Housei came up HUGE on his suggestion of how best to see Arashiyama on a hot and very crowded day. Truly a magnificent experience and made our visit to Kyoto special.

Housei is an amazing tour guide! He drove us to see all the sights we really wanted to see while we were visiting Kyoto. We had our first ride on rickshaws and enjoyed a traditional Japanese lunch both when we visited Arashiyama (both recommended by Housei). Amazing tour! I highly recommend taking a tour with Housei! Note: His English is excellent too.

Perfect day start with Hosei. Really took care of me despite my knee cap hurting from the last 2 days. The sights and history is amazing. The bamboo forest rickshaw ride is just awesome and a sight to behold :) highly recommended!!! Patient and thoughtful guide !

Our guide Rinku was very good He is an asset to the company

It was lovely , fun and informative. Tailored to our needs . Gave us some handy tips . We all enjoyed the day

A very fun and engaging tour of Kyoto with Riku. We learnt a lot and had a lot of fun. Would definitely recommend this tour for anyone wanting to see and learn more about Kyoto

We had very good day in Kyoto with Riku. He was very friendly and very helpful. Considering our limited time Riku was able to show us a lot. Bamboo forest with rickshaw was excellent. Thank you Riku for the amazing day. Paul_H October 2026

We had a lovely experience with a knowledgeable guide. We had a 5 year old and 2 year old and the right car seats were provided. The guide was so kind to our two kids and held their hand in a crowd. We had to cut it short as our 2 year old was loosing patience. But a great time had by all and was able to be flexible for two kids.

This was an amazing tour! We thoroughly enjoyed it, as it covered multiple incredibly beautiful areas, and our guide, Riku, provided in-depth explanations of the shrines, temples and buildings. He was very engaging, with jokes and anecdotes that made the tour all the more interesting! He had great recommendations for where to eat, and took amazing photos of our family which will serve as reminders of this fantastic time! The places themselves were beautiful, and provided insight into traditional Japanese culture. They were accessible even in the rain, which dampened neither our enthusiasm nor the vibrancy of the environment. We would highly recommend this tour, it was fantastic and a perfect glimpse into Kyoto

We had a great day with Hosei. This was a wonderful first day in Kyoto and we got to see so much in both Kyoto and Nara.

This was such a great way to see Kyoto. Riku was friendly and welcoming and showed us all the great sights and even changed the itinerary for us to accommodate the wet weather. Also took us for delicious ramen lunch. We learned so much about Japan’s history and culture. Highly recommend!!!

Excellent day with a friendly good Rikuwho adjusted the renter to suit the weather and our tastes

Amazing day. Our tour guide was so entertaining and we learnt so much. The itinerary was spectacular and we wouldn’t change one thing. Hats off to Hosei. Would definitely book again.

Amazing experience! Great full day. Nara a real highlight. Thanks for a great day!

If you have limited time to hit the tourist spots in Kyoto., this tour may be for you. We splurged on this fully private tour for our family of 4 (2A 2teens). It included pick up and drop off from our hotel in Osaka. The private tour allowed us to cover a lot of ground in one day. It also saved our feet from the usual 20k steps a day we had experienced all week walking from public transport to destinations. It had rained all week so it was an extra blessing to stay a little drier. Our guide was.... ok. I thought he might share some more interesting facts about the areas we visited. It felt like we had to prompt him to tell us things. Perhaps it was his first tour? The suggested tour itinerary listed a pass through Gion. If we did pass through it, we were none the wiser. The guide took us to restaurant where we ate like locals, we wouldn't have had that experience without him. The "what's included" stated that lunch was included, but we were asked to pay. It felt too awkward and uncomfortable to question, so we just paid it. The guide was very kind when my son became sick on the tour, and checked in on him frequently. I'm grateful for the day we had and have no regrets.... part of me wonders if we would have enjoyed the day just as much, if we took the train to Kyoto, explored slowly, took taxis where needed, and saw a bit less. It was certainly a convenient way to hit the sights. There were many positives, but I'm actually not sure I would take this tour if I could do it all again. That's my personal take on it. Only you can make the decision if this kind of tour is right for you.

We had the most amazing tour with Riku our guide. Beautiful temples, an amazing ride through the bamboo forests, feeding deer and the most delicious ramen lunch we have ever tasted. Riku was so friendly, informative and a great host. Highly recommend this tour - Such a beautiful easy way to see Kyoto