Osaka: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Katsuo-ji Temple, Nara Park Tour

It's a full day of tour. Wish we had more time in each stop, but understand that in order to go to all the spots, it has to be done this way. Alex, our tour guide was awesome. Very attentive, helpful, friendly, and also humorous. Tour bus was big and roomy. If you do not like to hike steep roads, don't go to the waterfall, it was a 10 minute viewing allotment and it's ju alright in terms of bei spectacular. Overall I enjoyed the tour.

Was a great day out, the highlight is definitely Nara park and seeing all the amazing deer. Our tour guide Marco was fantastic, he was very informative and made everyone had a good time and was looked after

This was our first choice of tour which we were notified was cancelled due to insufficient numbers - we got offered an alternative which still included Arashiyama Forest and Nara (for which this is the review). Our party was very small in only being 6 people. Both Arashiyam and Nara are both worth the visit and we found that we were given plenty of time to explore both. Four of the group got the time wrong to return to the bus and were left behind after 20min with our tour guide making lots of effort to contact them (they later re-joined at Nara), so for part of the day it was a private tour. Our tour guide Nancy provided lots of information and was very friendly. The tour we took also included Yasaka shine and it was a very enjoyable day.

We had a small minibus instead of a coach which was full and cramped. We had a flat tyre on the way and spent an hour waiting for a replacement. The tour guide just slept through it! Waterfall was a bit underwhelming but Nara park was great, the deer were adorable.

They basically just provided a transportation to several places. The “tour guide” did not describe the background of any of these places; she just told us where we are going and what time we should meet.

The guide did not go with us. Nancy our tour guide just tell us a little bit about the place and sit in the car. I feel like we just pay for transit which is expensive. Not recommended

Very nice day spent. Arashiyama bamboo forest, Yasaka jinja Shrine, Nara deers... Lovely experience. But we were blown away by the Todaji Buddha... A must for every Indian or any Buddhist. What an impressive place. So heavenly. The trip hosts, the bus and the drivers were very helpful and understanding. If we come back here, will go to Todaji again 5 stars from us.

This was more a drop you off and you figure yourself type of tour. The van they rented was probably the most uncomfortable thing ever for the 6+ hours sitting in there.

This is a great tour if you like to explore by yourself. You get dropped off at the sites advertised and are given between 1 - 2 hours to roam freely. It’s best to research the sites beforehand so you know exactly what to look for, otherwise you’ll waste time figuring out where to go or what to do. You could spend hours exploring at some of the sites, so having good time management is essential. If you’re looking for a guided tour, this is not the tour for you.

it s an average lef tour not too much information provided about the places visited. Can recommend only if general style is more to visit independently than with a guide.

Beautiful bamboo forest and walking trail though it was short and easy. Public transport can be easily found nearby. Highly recommended for part of Kyoto tour.

Nancy and her friend were very helpful not only throughout the tour. They took time after the tour to help me get some medication because I was unwell. Thank you so much to Nancy and friend ( sorry.. I did not get your name) .

It was a wonderful trip, with enough time to enjoy every place we stopped at. We enjoyed the bamboo forest and temple and also Nara Park - Deer land. Nancy our tour guide was excellent and our driver too. We highly recommend this tour.

This is the best tour ive been so far. I like that you have freedom to roam and not follow a tour guide. They drop you off to the spots and give you time to roam around and come back after certain time. It was the best. Nancy was great. Thank you.

Kyoto is always a wonderful place, and this tour gave us the opportunity to explore different areas. Nara is beautiful, and the deer are very well respected and comfortable with tourists

The bamboo trees are incredible. The excursion are very nice. Nara it's especial and funy. The bus is a litle small, but comfortable.

It was a perfect way to see the sites around Osaka. We had ample time on each place to explore and even have a snack. Our guide gave us enough information about each place and even gave us some recommendations on where to eat.

This would have been a 5 Star review as the tour itself and the tour guide were amazing HOWEVER Be very careful when booking this tour as there appears to be a mandatory kimono experience if you pick the wrong option when booking… which is 5000 yen per person… I had no idea I had booked this option and was forced to pay 2000 per person cancellation not to do an experience that I had no idea I had booked in the first place!!!! Very very misleading and almost did but didn’t spoil our day Check and double check what you are booking!

Firstly, the meeting spot was difficult to find. This tour was not a tour - just a shuttle bus service. The guide drops you off at the arrival point and tells you what time to meet back at the bus. Very disappointing as we expected a guide to tell us facts about the places visited and show us around when it was self guided. We would have been better off taking the trains and doing it ourselves. I do not recommend.

One of the best trips on our visit to Japan. Our tour guide Nancy was very knowledgeable and helpful, 5* for the whole trip, highly recommend.

Warning! Be very careful when booking this tour via Viator. There is no mention of an extra cost for a ‘kimono experience’, however according to the tour guide we had to pay 5000 yen each (in cash) for a pre booked kimono experience during the tour. When we said we knew nothing about it we were told the cost to cancel is 2000 yen. We booked for four people so we had to pay minimum 8000 yen in cash to the tour company on the day. This is clearly illegal but Viator told us it’s between us and the local tour company. They would not help us at all.

We loved our tour! Our guide Nancy was very kind and knowledgeable. We loved that there was a lot of freedom to do as you wanted, but still be part of a group and the ease of getting to each location. Thank you for a wonderful tour!!

Great tour. Every thing went according to trip plan. The guide was friendly and nice. We highly recommended

Our guide Nancy was amazing! Good trip, we got loads of free time to explore by our selves Really enjoyed it The views are stunning

Very Upset! We left our Kyoto hotel at 5 am. It was raining so hard. Got to Osaka by 7:15. Lost in the Osaka train station. Wish the tour Company said which platform to use, the Number of the column to get to, which elevator number and levels, how to get through in and out of the Osaka train station. Even with the Google phone translator, we were being pointed to different areas. By the time we got a taxi to get to the meeting point, we were 15 minutes late. I am walking with a cane since I had 2 knee replacement and 66 years old. My husband is 87 years old and need to be cautious. People were just zooming past us. The people that worked at the Train Station were not informative enough. We want a Refund back since that was supposed to be the only day for that tour and going back to the US. We do not use Viper since it drives our phones crazy. We have 1,200 numbers and it drives us batty every time a notification comes. Just not well laid out for English speaking travelers. Poor communication!!!!!

There would have been no way to possibly visit and experience these many places without a tour like this one. Our guide was great and made the day more fun with her knowledge and spirit. Each location had plenty to offer and the schedule of the day was just right.

Poey was wonderful! She was patient and gave us lots of information about the areas we’re we in. We got to see the best of Kyoto (bamboo forest), before getting all dressed up as Geishas. It really made me appreciate them, as they wear a lot of layers! Nara was beautiful, but the deer can get aggressive, so he confident, and walk away briskly if they get too fresh with you. The does will bite your clothes for attention, but don’t reward them! It just makes them more bold. Poey and her driver got us back to Osaka in one piece, even offering to help us find items we’re looking for. She was absolutely fantastic. This is a great tour.

It was a little disappointing. It was more like shuttle service taking us to places rather than a tour. Tour guide did not talk about anything whole trip, just busy chatting with driver or napping while driving to places. I wanted to learn about places we visit, history and culture, but did not happen. But beautiful places…

We enjoyed it a lot ! Our guide Pohey was so kind explaining everything and switching English to Chinese language to accommodate everyone ! Highly recommended

The guide, Alice, provided great maps to show each tour stop details. No one got lost so the tours was well organized. Visiting times per stop were a reasonable duration.

Unfortunately we didn’t have the best tour/ day out. Our group was mixed languages so half our tour was in a different language. We found this was tricky as we didn’t get as much knowledge out of the tour that we may have had with one English tour guide. We also found that the ‘tour’ was more of a bus dropping us off at locations for independent exploring time rather than a guided tour. Our tour guide tried to take us around but didn’t have much knowledge and unfortunately we came away from the tour not learning anything about the history or culture. We loved being able to see different locations but found we were at the locations for too long and our time was spent waiting for our pick up times.

Enjoyed the tour together with my son. Bus left a bit late but was still able to catch up with schedule. Tor guide spoke English and Chinese. She made sure to keep everyone comfortable. Highly recommended at best price!

Poey tried very hard to speak in 3 different languages in limited time allowed during the trip. Very attended to everyone.

Our guide, Poey, contacted us through WhatsApp the day before to reconfirm the pick up time and place. The time spent on each area are just right, not too long and not too short. She also recommended us the kimono experience. Overall all me and my friends had a great time. Thanks for the great day!

It was a nice day and good experience. We had fun. The tour guide was nice, polite and able to speak 4 languages. We enjoy the day

Este tour está perfecto cuando no tienes tiempo y quieres abarcar varios lugares :). No lo recomiendo si quieres conocer en profundidad cada zona.