The Way Of Tea: Kyoto Crafts, Hidden Temples & Wabi-sabi Walk

Very interesting tour! We've got a lot of information beside the whole tea story!

The experience was truly amazing. Our guide Kana is wonderful and knowledgeable. She gave us so much content to what we saw and explored. The temples visited were eye opening. Thank you for the great experience.

We had such a great time on this tour with Niko! Niko was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable and entertaining. We visited beautiful temples and learned much about Zen, Japanese culture, and the philosophy behind wabi-sabi. Creating and working on our own Zen garden was a really memorable experience. Niko’s explanations were fascinating. We also had many lovely and funny conversations along the way. The relaxed and personal atmosphere made the whole experience even more special. Highly recommended for anyone looking to discover a different and authentic side of Kyoto! Thank you Niko !

We had so much fun on this tour! Our guide was incredible—very knowledgeable, competent, and enthusiastic. Learning about the tea culture and hidden spots was an absolute pleasure. Highly recommended!

An unforgettable excursion with an exceptional guide! We had a fantastic excursion today with Hide as our guide, and we couldn't have asked for a better experience. From start to finish, the tour was wonderfully paced and filled with fascinating, in-depth insights into the historical sites and places we visited. Hide's extensive knowledge and engaging storytelling brought the history to life, making it both educational and deeply memorable. If you are looking for an informative, well-organized, and insightful tour, we wholeheartedly recommend booking with Hide

We had a great guide telling us about history, religion, art and tea ceremony. We walked aroud in Gion and visited many temples. Our guide was Hide. We had a great time.

We had an excellent time taking the tour through Kyotos Buddhist temples guided by our wonderful guide Hide! Not only was Hide a wealth of knowledge but was a genuine joy to have guide us through religious sites and tourism districts. Even at his age Hide was sharp, witty, and quite up to date on modern cultures and opinions held by locals and tourists. His presence through the temple was especially welcomed as he supplied us a seemingly exclusive view and walk through the various buildings and garden paths. Overall if one is looking for an English friendly guide that is a long time local and practitioner Hide is your best bet. 10/10 would book again

Great tour with Hide, he was very informative and really made us feel welcome. I would highly recommend the tour, we got to see parts of the Gion area we may have missed if we were on our own. We also had a wonderful experience at the tea ceremony, our host was so gracious, it finished our tour beautifully.

Hide was an excellent guide. We saw a lot in our time with him. He kept things moving, answered all our questions and was a delightful host. Thoroughly recommend this tour.

It was amazing trip! The guide Kana very educated and interesting! Wonderful

Our tour guide was very informative and spoke good English

Lovely experience walking through the streets of Gion with our knowledgeable tour guide Hide Nakanishi. He married the history behind the experience so well. We also met and really enjoyed the Belgium couple we toured with.

Masa was very friendly and easy going. A very relaxing tour with visits to less crowded temples that we wouldn’t have found on our own and we were very lucky to have Masa all to ourselves! Our tea ceremony with our graceful host was a perfect finish to our tour. We left with a greater appreciation for “wabi sabi”.

Nice tour with Hide and a super nice couple from Tobago-Trinidad, Kiera and Yuri

Our family really enjoyed the tour. It was very interesting and Ayaka was very friendly.

We had a great time learning and enjoying the streets and temples of Gion with our guide Hide. It was a peaceful experience. We loved the tea ceremony at the end very much.

We took the tour with Kana, and she was a wonderful guide. She is funny and shared very interesting facts about Japanese culture as well as about matcha. We really enjoyed her personality and the tour, and we will cherish these memories forever. We visited Kennin-ji and received valuable insights. The tea ceremony was also fascinating. We would be very happy to recommend a tour with Kana!

We had such a wonderful day. We learned so much about Japanese culture and saw beautiful temples. The tea ceremony to end it all was wonderful!

Got to see old quiet parts of Kyoto. Hide was very friendly and hospitable!

I recently took part in the Wabi-Sabi tour in Kyoto and it was truly a highlight of my trip. The entire experience was beautiful and very well organized. Even though it was raining, it actually made the experience even better—it added a relaxing and magical touch to the whole atmosphere. The absolute best part for me was the DIY Zen garden session. It was so calming and such a unique way to connect with Japanese culture and the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi. A special mention goes to our guide, Hide Nakanishi, who was super kind, patient, and incredibly knowledgeable. Hide really made us feel welcome and shared so many interesting insights. To top it all off, the tour concluded with a traditional tea ceremony, where we enjoyed some delicious matcha. It was the perfect, serene ending to an amazing day. If you are looking for a calm and meaningful experience in Kyoto, I highly recommend this tour and Hide as a guide!

Beautiful experience away from many of the crowds, with great information shared.

Louis was very welcoming and knowledgeable. He explained many things at each temple which enhanced our experience and helped with our next self tour. The tea ceremony was amazing and surprisingly my husband even enjoyed the matcha.

Hede gave us literally a magical tour of Kyoto’s traditional streets and shrines , followed by a perfect tea ceremony. Thank you so much!

We had Ayaka as our guide who was lovely and gave us a great walking tour, with some great information and answered all our youngest child's inquisitive questions. She made sure we were okay at the tea ceremony and were able to get back to the station We would recommend doing this tour.

Amazing experience. Hide san and Masa san were both great guides each added a little something to the tour! Overall great

Amazing walking tour. HIde was a fantastic and I think I got the feeling for wabi-sabi. Everything about this was magical.

Hide was amazing! This was our first time and first day in Kyoto! Hide taught us so much! He was kind, informative, and had a great sense of humor. We are so thankful that we booked this tour! We loved each of our stops! We were able to experience both wabi and sabi. We will be back and tell all our friends.

It was a wonderful experience with so many great details! The amount of people and the tour itself was perfect. The tea house was quiet and calming. Our tea teacher and tour guide were so polite and friendly. I was unsure about the cost at first, knowing there were cheaper options just for a tea ceremony but I was so glad we stayed committed to this tour. Of all the tours we had in our 10 days in Japan, this tea tour was well worth it! I would highly recommend this experience. Seeing the different tea houses, the reason the tea ceremony was created, and then finally learning how the ceremony was preformed. It is a tour we definitely would experience again.

Fine tour with a knowledgable guide, Mr. Hide. Saw new areas in Gion and had a very nice tea ceremony whipping our own matcha

Fun cultural dive, really enjoyed the pacing and attention to detail to each location throughout the tour. Very welcoming and inviting experience would definitely recommend!

Tour guide spoke very soft and was hard to understand her English. Did not seem to know about some of the places we visited. She tried to please though but difficulty hearing her and became frustrating to us.

Really fun! The tour guide Hide was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Gave us lots of information and helped us build memorable experiences. Couldn’t recommend him enough!

Hide was our tour guide. He was impressive and very knowledgeable. We had a great time throughout our tour and the team ceremony.

Very Nice guided tour of Gion temples with Josh, I learned a lot about Matcha tea and Zen bouddhism. Tea ceremony Was also very interesting. Arigato Kyoto 🙏🏼

Hide is a great tour guide. We have learned a lot about Japanese culture and traditions. Ending with a matcha tea experience. Takes about 3,5 h

Hikari is very kind and informative and helpful. She knowledgeable in the history of the place and gave us some great place to visit.

We wanted a tea ceramony experience, but got more than that. Our guide, Tsukito, was awesome and totally adopted to ur situation (2 small children). Everything ran smoothly and we had great time.

Hide was extremely knowledgeable, showing us many interesting and beautiful places in Kyoto. We would highly recommend him and his company for anyone looking for a tour.

Hide was so patient giving us answers for all our questions. Furthermore I can't imagine see everything what we have than in the tour without our guide. So cool Gio neighborhood

Josh was very enthusiastic about the tour and the Zen Buddhism. He explained the origins of the religion and highlighted how the traditions are incorporated into everyday life. We visited two temples, sampled some matcha and ended the tour with a lovely tea ceremony. Even on an extremely hot summer day, we enjoyed this tour tremendously. Highly recommend it for a quick yet informative tour and introduction to Kyoto.

There were two of us on the tour, both over 70. Our guide, Mari, was excellent. Her English was very good and she gave us a lot of background information and history when visiting the temples. The tea ceremony was very special and relaxing.

We had an amazing Gion walk with our tour Guide Hide who has a lot of knowledge and stories to tell about this area. The following authentic tea ceremony was as well a great experience !!!

Touring temple gardens in the spring rain was unexpectedly gorgeous - the green moss glowing ever greener. Our guide, Hikari, was super friendly, compassionate, eager to understand us and eager to share her extensive knowledge of the area. Time stopped during the Tea Ceremony - so many powerful memories.

The Tea Ceremony was great, we learned a lot. We will do it again. Hopefully the Wabi-Sabi tour takes a bit longer and more informative because i really love the wabi sabi interior.

The sites in Gion are amazing to see and the temples are great, especially the smaller less touristy temples. Our guide Tsukito was very friendly and felt like a friend. The tea ceremony itself was a great experience to have.

Hide was an outstanding guide through the charming streets of Gion in Kyoto, sharing insights with passion and kindness. The matcha tea experience was both enchanting and deeply relaxing—an unforgettable moment of calm.

We had a great experience with Tsukito on the Gion walking tour. We visited different styles of temples/shrines and shops, all very nice, before finishing with an educational and relaxing tea ceremony.

Hide gave us a fantastic tour! A great way to walk Kyoto and experience Wabi-Sabi and a tea tour. The old temples were amazing and we got to see a lot of cherry blossoms along the way while winding through old streets.

Hide was excellent as a tour guide and was super helpful. He answered all questions we had and was very helpful in translating. He was very knowledgeable about every place we visited and made our experience wonderful. We highly recommend.