Jack was a perfect guide in Kyoto today we really reccomend the tour. Love and best regardsGeir and Denisa👍 from Norway.
About Activity
What's Included
Includes
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Guide
Excludes
- Lunch
- Nijo Castle & Ninomaru Goten Palace Ticket: 1,300 yen
- Kinkaku-ji Temple Ticket: 500 yen
Departure & Return
Departure Point
- To find your way, search for "Kyoto Station Hachijo Entrance Square Sunken Garden" on Google Maps. From the JR Tokai Kyoto Station Hachijo East Exit, go straight for 110 meters.
Return
- To find your way, search for "Kyoto Station Hachijo Entrance Square Sunken Garden" on Google Maps. From the JR Tokai Kyoto Station Hachijo East Exit, go straight for 110 meters.
Itinerary
Nijo-jo Castle was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo Period (1603-1868). It is one of the best-known castles in Japan, its palace buildings are arguably the best surviving examples of castle palace architecture of Japan's feudal era, and the castle was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Nijo-jo Castle can be divided into three areas: the Honmaru (main circle of defense), the Ninomaru (secondary circle of defense), and some gardens around them. The entire castle grounds and the Honmaru are surrounded by stone walls and moats. The admission ticket for Nijo Castle, which includes access to the Ninomaru-goten Palace, costs 1,300 yen. Please ensure you have the appropriate cash for entry. Thank you. ( During the days when Nijo Castle was closed, visit Heian Jingu Shrine instead. This Shinto shrine is located in Sakyō-ku, Kyoto, and is recognized as an important cultural property of Japan. )
There are around 30,000 Inari shrines in Japan, Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine, to worship the Shinto god of rice, Inari. The shrine is renowned for Senbon Torii, thousands of vermilion red torii gates, which create a stunning and immersive tunnel-like pathway up the sacred Mount Inari. In the 1300 years since its establishment in 711AD, people have gathered here to pray for bountiful harvests, business prosperity, the safety of their home and family, and the fulfillment of all other wishes.
The bamboo forests of Arashiyama are a must-see when visiting Kyoto, serving as a symbol of the city. This stunning and serene natural attraction is known for its towering bamboo stalks and tranquil ambiance. Walking along the peaceful paths surrounded by lush greenery will help put your mind at ease. You can truly feel time slow down as you take in the beauty of nature. The groves are especially captivating when a light breeze dances through, causing the tall bamboo stalks to sway gently back and forth.
Nonomiya Shrine is a Shinto shrine in the Arashiyama district on the west side of the city of Kyoto. Unlike most shrines that feature iconic vermilion torii gates, Nonomiya Shrine has a distinctive black torii gate known as a kuroki torii. Despite its small size, the shrine has a lengthy history, founded in antiquity as a purification shrine for imperial princesses who were appointed as priestesses for Ise Shrine. Nonomiya Shrine has a reputation for helping and interceding on behalf of women, and many parishioners are women who want to find love or wish for children and a safe childbirth. Many of the omamori on sale at the shrine reflect the theme of women’s happiness, and you can find a variety of amulets available at the shrine office.
The Kimono Forest is a distinctive textile art installation made up of 600 clear acrylic cylinders, each standing 2 meters tall. These pillars are adorned with vibrant kimono fabrics featuring a range of designs, from elegant floral patterns to geometric shapes and traditional Japanese symbols. The installation showcases 32 traditional Kyo-yuzen designs. The Kimono Forest is a must-see attraction that provides a unique and enchanting perspective on traditional Japanese textiles and craftsmanship.
The Togetsukyo Bridge is the most iconic landmark in Arashiyama. Originally built during the Heian Period (794-1185), it was reconstructed most recently in the 1930s. This famous bridge spans the Katsura River and provides picturesque views of the surrounding mountains and riverscape.
Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. A breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage site renowned for its dazzling golden exterior and serene gardens. The name Golden Pavilion is derived from the gold leaf that the pavilion is covered in. The gold employed was intended to mitigate and purify any pollution or negative thoughts and feelings toward death. The Golden Pavilion is a three-story building on the grounds of the Rokuon-ji temple complex. Each floor has a different architectural style. The pavilion successfully incorporates three distinct styles of architecture, which are shinden, samurai, and zen.
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Reviews
This tour was truly amazing and there is so many different places we got to experience. Our guide Jackson was very helpful in educating us on the different attractions. The tour was full day but there’s so much to see and do and also with free time for any breaks you made need
Excellent way to see Kyoto in one day, visiting the main tourist attractions . Plenty of time to spend at each stop with narrations from tour guide.
This tour was packed with attractions and information. Our tour guide Anson was so helpful and knowledgeable, he made this day very pleasurable leading us to these must see attractions.
Great experience! Thanks Chris!
Chris was awesome and my kids loved him. The last stop one of my kids needed to rest but the other wanted to go and Chris took him and stayed with him while I stayed with the other. It really made a difference and made my sons day. We all had a great day
Great tour especially if you have limited time to see the sights. Guide was fabulous!
Anson: Guide. Driver: retired police officer. The maneuvering through the tight corners of the Kyoto streets was performed by our skilled driver. Anson provided an upbeat and factual description of the four attractions visited on this tour. According to Anson, typically two attractions are offered, however, for this trip, four attractions will be visited. Anson did a good job of keeping the schedule, despite the ambitious itinerary. One of the highlights of the tour was the interior walk through of the Ninomaru Palace, and hearing the “nightingale floors” following our footsteps. Anson guided the group through the various meeting rooms through the palace. You are not allowed any photos inside the Palace. Apart from the Palace, we had some free time to roam around the Nijo Castle grounds. There were several other tour groups in the Palace progressing at different paces so there were times where congestion along the nightingale floor path was heavy. There is an additional cost of 1300Y for entry into the Nijo Castle grounds and Ninomaru Palace. The next attraction was the Kinkaku-ji, which is a temple covered with a gold leaf décor. You cannot go inside but just walk around the perimeter of the moat which served as protection. There was a school group tour during our visit so the area was pretty crowded. The gravel path was of average width so that it was quite congested. Most pictures were included strangers from other groups. This attraction required an additional 500Y. There are a handful of attractions in Arashiyama, each requiring minimal time to visit. The bamboo forest is the most time consuming since you have to walk into the forest to immerse yourself. A brisk 10 minute walk into to the area where there are less people for photo ops. There were some rickshaw services on a private path but I did not look into it. Walking through the kimono forest should take less than 5 minutes, but the trek across the bridge and back would take around 20 minutes. There is an additional 10 to 15 minute walk between these attractions. Anson recommended to eat at the food court to save time but I managed to sneak into one of the empty ramen shops for a bowl. Note that the local ramen shops only take cash. Despite the ambitious schedule we arrived back to the meeting point on schedule.
Excellent tour guide, Anson💕 He offered a comprehensive description and historical overview with added sense of humor creating a team spirit, and consistently engaged his audience. He delivered!
This tour was very comprehensive. We saw a lot. We learned a lot. The kids were also really excited about it.
The visit was well planned. Frederick was great at providing meeting times and providing suggestions on what to see at each location. I recommend this Kyoto tour to anybody who has limited time in Kyoto and who wants to see several sites in one day. Awesome job thanks so much
This was a great way to see some of the highlights of Kyoto while staying in Osaka. The tour guide was friendly.
Fun way to see Kyoto in a short period of time. Our guide Theodore Chan was great! He was super professional, organized and very knowledgeable. Highly recommend.
To be honest our flight was delayed due to the adverse weather conditions at Taiwan. We could not able to land after four attempts and our flights were diverted to Philippines after six hours we flew back again to Taiwan, the weather was slightly improved we managed to landed after second attempt, but unfortunately we missed our one day sightseeing tour, I was able contract our tour guide, he put me through online customer service with Emma, she was very helpful and understanding and she managed to booked our tour next day, our tour guide Laura was so good she organised very smoothly our tour,
A great day trip to see the many sights in Kyoto. Tour was well organised and efficient. Jay was such an amazing guide. He was very friendly and informative and kept things running smoothly. I would recommend this tour and guide.
We were really excited for this tour because we thought we would learn a lot about each specific location. As it turned out, this tour was mostly unguided. Our tour guide told us a little bit about each location while we were on the bus driving, but upon our arrival at each location, we were given a set amount of "free time" to explore on our own. We wandered around without direction, not really knowing what we were looking at. Additionally, we visited the sites in a different order & for different amounts of time than scheduled for the tour so it was a bit confusing. We were supposed to see the Kimono Forest because it looked interesting but our tour guide didn't plan to show it to us. When I asked about the Kimono Forest, our tour guide offered to take us but it was obvious he wasn't interested in it. In the end, it wasn't very exciting but I didn't know that until we saw it. Also, I don't think we ever saw the final destination on the tour (I think it was supposed to be a bridge), unless we saw it & didn't even know it. It was nice to be on a smaller tour (we had 21 people in our group) & our "tour guide" was pleasantly friendly but not overly personable. He really didn't give us much information about any of the sites so we didn't learn very much. Overall, this tour was very disappointing & our family would not recommend it.
Tour was amazing 👏 our guide Theodore was excellent very informative, lots of patience and a great sense of humor. I would definitely recommend this tour.
This was the best tour to give you a full overview of the highlights of Kyoto all by bus. It was so organized and detailed, I was super impressed, we even received a spreadsheet with our bus seat numbers in advance. our guide gave us some history about each location before we arrived and then walked us to the entrance, showed us the wall map at the locations, gave us tips on the best spot for photos or where to spend the best time. You had the option at each stop to have the guide buy you tickets to enter so he got them in advance upon arrival. Once we were at the location, he also sent us a map and all the details of what to see on whats app every time we arrived at a landmark so you didn’t have to remember everything he shared on the bus. This was so helpful as some spots had multiple temples, or forests etc to see. He kept us strict on time but always enough time to walk around on your own. This was a perfect tour to see all the major highlights in Kyoto and I highly recommend ! At the last stop, you had the option of staying longer and getting back to the train station on your own or taking the bus to the original stop. Best Tour guide and organization!
Hectic but good 👍. Covered lots of places. Comfortable bus. Guide could have been much more organized.
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