Japan Private Tours

“Four Incredible Days with Hiro.”

We spent four wonderful days with Hiro as our guide in Japan - one day in Osaka and three days in Kyoto - and it was truly one of the highlights of our trip. Hiro's knowledge of the region, its culture, and its history is extraordinary. Having previously served as General Manager of the government's Cultural Heritage Division, he brought an incredible depth of expertise to every site we visited. Whether we were exploring temples, shrines, Zen gardens, or historic districts, Hiro's explanations brought everything to life. He even sketched diagrams to help us understand the different schools and lineages of Buddhism, which we found absolutely fascinating. We were fortunate to have beautiful weather for most of our tour, but even on a rainy day, Hiro created an unforgettable experience. We joined a traditional Japanese sweets-making class alongside a group of adorable local schoolchildren and visited the spectacular TeamLab exhibition in Kyoto. That rainy day ended up being one of our favorites. Hiro seemed to know everything - from the best photo locations and lunch spots to the most convenient restroom stops. One particularly memorable lunch was Japanese curry. Although Hiro admitted he doesn't enjoy spicy food, he cheerfully joined us and bravely sweated his way through the meal while we all laughed together! In addition to showing us Japan's famous sights. Hiro introduced us to peaceful Zen gardens and taught us about meditation, adding another meaningful dimension to our experience. Hiro is not only exceptionally knowledgeable but also kind, patient, and genuinely passionate about sharing Japan's culture and history. We cannot recommend him highly enough. The beautiful places he showed us and the insights he shared made our time in Kyoto and Osaka truly unforgettable

“The "K" in Kaneo stands for "Kind"”

Kaneo was such a thoughtful and kind guide. He messaged me before our flight from the U.S. to check on us because there was a typhoon expected in Tokyo as we would be flying. Our flight was delayed and that impacted our dinner reservation we had planned for our first evening. Because I couldn't contact the restaurant while we were flying, Kaneo was willing to call and adjust the reservation for us. Kaneo was very intentional about making sure we went to stores of interest to the kids when we walked around the Ginza area. He found a great stationary story for my daughter and golf store for my son. I was worried about navigating our first train ride in Japan the following day and Kaneo took us to the train station to show us around so we were ready the next morning. We are looking forward to another day with Kaneo when we return to Tokyo before heading home to the U.S.

Kaneo U.

(96 reviews)

Thank you for your kind and good review. I am glad the typhoon didn’t harm your trip too much. I am looking forward to seeing you again in Tokyo soon.

“Perfect day exploring Kyoto!”

My family loved our day with Yuka. Before we even met her, Yuka was great about messaging in advance to plan out our customized day. We went to the Saiho-Ji moss temple in the morning. Yuka had a printed handout of the history of the moss temple, so everyone understood the history of it. After Yuka saw how much our kids enjoyed the Nishiki Market, she recommended we visit the basement floor of the main department store. I had heard how neat the "food floor" of the department store was from friends who had visited Japan. My kids enjoyed that add-on to our day. Yuka was so friendly and easy to talk to. We would recommend Yuka to any family.

Yuka M.

(10 reviews)

Thank you so much for having me as your guide. It was a nice contrast of the quietness in the moss temple and the crowds in the downtown area, I guess. I'm glad that you could get to see the both side of Kyoto and I also love your family. You all are very respectful to the temple policy and our culture and history as well. I really appreciate it. Thank you very much for taking time to write this review and I'm honored to receive such a good recommendation. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in Japan and to see you again!