Treasures Of Kyoto: Geishas & Traditions Private Tour

Lovely, informative tour though the neighborhood and key points of interest. Very enjoyable, personable guide.

Guia was such a great guide. Her ability to show and teach us about the history and culture of the geisha and religious customs was amazing! I was impressed with the many things to see all within a very short walking distance.

It was great learning about the Geisha district and the traditions! Our guide was knowledgeable and fun!

Looked at the main sights in and near Gion. We had good discussions about Japanese culture and traditions with Ahmed. The tour was nice!

Our tour guide was very nice but not great at engaging the group. We were advised to change the schedule to tour later in the day to appreciate night life but we didn’t really talk about night life. It was just cold and dark. Also, the guide thought it was a 2 hour tour when in fact we paid for 2.5 hours. So, while it was fine, it didn’t match the 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor.

Excellent experienced guide with terrific local knowledge. Saw many unique sites, not just one mentioned in every tour book and instagram post!

We had a grate time in down town Kyoto. Our tour guide was amazing! He showed us all the highlights in the goin area. We leaned a lot

We learned so much from Ted on this fascinating private tour of the Geisha district. We also really enjoyed Ted’s company. So grateful for how much he educated us about the history and culture and respect in this very unique place. We will be back to tour with him again. Highly recommend!

Had a lovely, intelligent, knowledgeable guide with whom we walked around the area where there were geisha houses, saw some women dressed in geisha outfits. Learned a good deal about the life and education of the women and the history of geishas. Recommend the tour. A fun excursion into an area that we would not have known about without Viator.

Yoshihiro is very knowledgeable and has taught us a great deal about Japanese history and traditions. Very interesting tour, highly recommend!

We had a great experience with our tour guide, Ted-san! He was an amazing guide who had so much passion and knowledge of Kyoto. He really went above and beyond to make our experience the best possible. Would 10/10 recommend him to anyone traveling to Kyoto!!

Lovely afternoon spent with Ted, our guide, in Gion. Learned a whole lot about the geiko traditions and differences between Buddhism and Shinto. Highly recommend!!

Ted was a wonderful tour guide with extensive knowledge and respect for Kyoto and the Geisha community. We learned a lot. He was fantastic with our children (age 10 and 14) who asked many questions. He had a detailed answer for every inquiry. We would explore with him again in the future.

Ted was a lovely guide and we had a lot of fun with him on this tour. He’s very knowledgeable and we learned a lot about the history and tradition of Kyoto, and you could tell he was passionate about passing on Japanese culture to us. He even gave us a ton of suggestions for more places to visit and restaurants to try for the rest of our time in Kyoto, based on our interests and how much time we had left on our trip.

We saw a beautiful temple and grounds we would not have found on our own. Our tour guide steered us away from the crowds which we appreciated. She was kind and informative and we enjoyed our time with her.

Kako was very knowledgeable and interesting! We loved all three stops and Kako made them fun in spite of the rain. Our first stop at The Shinto Shrine was our favorite, the Second one was the Buddhist Temple (wow, we couldn’t believe how many hundreds of Buddhas there were)! Shogun palace was educational and we were fascinated by the nightingale floor in particular and understanding the role of the Shogun.

Had a great time with Ted. He was funny, flexible, and informative. His English is great as he has lived in the states previously for some time. High marks. Would book again.

Ted was an informative and knowledgeable guide to Gion and the Geisha life. He had a good understanding of the history and conveyed that during the tour. Highly recommend!

This was a wonderful experience. Ted was very knowledgeable, friendly, and informative. He took us to some very lovely and historical locations in Kyoto, explained what we were seeing, and gave us great historical context. It was perfect for our family. I cannot recommend this tour highly enough.

Guia was a sensational guide. She had so much knowledge and her stories really brought the tour to life for us.

It was a great experience! Shohei is really knowledgeable and funny. He brought us to wonderful places and explained to us the meaning and history behind them all. I would totally recommend this to anyone who is interested in visiting and learning about the Gion district.

We had a wonderful tour with Shohei. So much fun, we enjoyed ourselves so much that we regretted not booking a longer tour.

Ted was an amazing guide, he was very informative, provided a great cultural background to the sites we visited, was engaging and given the fact that I was with my 12 year old son, he adapted the script to include my son into the conversations...great tour!

Wonderful tour and very informative. Highly recommend for anyone that wants a better understanding of the history and the Geisha traditions.

Shohei was very warm and friendly, which characterised our tour: it felt like being lead around Gion by a very knowledgeable local friend! Our meeting spot was easy to find, the pace of the tour was very relaxed, and we had plenty of time to stop and take photos, ask questions, and just generally meander and get to know more about Japanese culture, customs and history through conversation as we walked and explored the neighbourhood.

We really enjoyed our time with Yoshihiro. He was a knowledgeable, patient, and kind guide who taught us so much about geisha culture, religion in Kyoto, and so much more. He would make a great pick for any Of true available tours in Kyoto!

From the moment Yoshi greeting us, we knew we were in for a great day of touring Kyoto. She was warm, bubbly, polite and enthusiastic. She shared stories about the history and current traditions of Kyoto. Her knowledge, personality, and conversations made for an interesting time. We highly recommend Yoshi as your 'Withlocals' tour guide. Ursula and John Mobilio

We did the Life of a Geisha Evening Tour. Our guide Yoshie was great - she was warm, humorous, engaged and was able to answer every question we had.

We are 2 families travelling with 5 kids aged between 9 and 15 and we thank you Yoshie for being a amazing host. We chose to do this tour on our 1st morning which then made it so easy to understand Kyoto as a city, life and training of a Maiko and we actually saw a Geiko on her morning walk. We thank you Yoshie for your knowledge of your beautiful city and hope to come back again one day. We highly recommend this tour.

Our family of four had the privilege of visiting Kyoto and to have Yoshie as our guide! She was so welcoming and really knew her way around. Very knowledgeable and quite fluent in English. She also spoke Italian! Highly recommended! Thank you Yoshie!

I would give Yoshie 12/10 stars if I could. Kyoto, especially the Gion district, is a very interesting place and we saw ancient temples as well as the houses in which Maiko (apprentice geiko) love and train. What made this tour so special was our guide Yoshie. A world traveler herself, she provided a very comprehensive explanation of the internal and external factors that influenced the development of Kyoto's culture. My daughters (24 and 19) and husband also enjoyed talking with her. I HIGHLY recommend this tour.

A great experience all around. Friendly, great English launguage skills, and very easy to understand. She was very knowledgeable and patient as we stopped many times to take photos. Yoshie took us on a lovely evening walk around the Gion district. It was so much more interesting with her commentary and direction. We even saw 7 proper Geisha (Geiko) as she timed the tour to coincide for the time they are likely spotted. Would definitely do another tour with her. Highly recommended!

It was an absolute pleasure to have Yoshie as our tour guide and I can't think of a better way to be introduced to Kyoto. She was very welcoming, engaging and knowledgeable about the history of Kyoto and Japan overall. She also gave us great recommendations for restaurants, bars and Onsens. I highly recommend her to anyone visiting Kyoto.

No, he is not Japanese but he really knows the area and its history. The tour was really interesting and we got to see places we probably would never have found on our own. He gave enough information to make the place come alive but not too much, kept the tour lively and fun. Highly recommend this!

Yoshie was an excellent guide; not only did we cover everything mentioned on the tour, but she took the time to answer all of my questions, and recommend places that are more for locals, which have all been excellent. She even took time to write down a list of things I should add to my itinerary! It was the best tour I have taken on my many international trips, and would be more than happy to join her again in the future. Thank you, Yoshie!