Kyoto Private Car Tours

“DO NOT BOOK THIS GUIDE”

Tatsuya is a nice guy who is a terrible guide. He picked us up at our hotel in his comfortable Lexus. The music was on and we could not hear what little he whispered as we drove to Kiyomizu temple, even after he turned down the volume. Arriving at the temple he walked 20 paces ahead through the hordes of people, and explained nothing about where we were or what we saw. When finally caught up to ask about a site or artifact, he looked it up on his phone and showed us the translation. He had no knowledge at all about the history of Kyoto. The same trend continued throughout the day. He dropped us at a rickshaw office in Arashiyama where we had a respite from his incompetence. We cut it short after that and asked him to take us back to the hotel, rather than continue to the Nishiki market with him. We had booked a second tour with him in Osaka the next day. We decided to cancel. Go With Guide has been uncooperative in giving us a refund for the second tour because of the so called 48 hour policy. We didn’t even ask for a full refund for the Kyoto tour, but they refused to consider that Tatsuya is not a guide at all and they clearly hadn’t screened or vetted him for the purpose. We will be pursuing it with the Japan Office of Consumer affairs for tourists. The situation is unacceptable.

“Highly Recommended ”

We had an excellent experience with Fuji-san as our tour guide. He is highly knowledgeable and shared the history of each place in a very interesting and engaging way. His storytelling was well structured, creating a smooth flow throughout the tour and making every destination more meaningful. He also gave us wonderful food recommendations and is very fluent in both English and Chinese, which made communication easy and comfortable. Fuji-san was attentive, observant, punctual, and highly responsible. The entire itinerary was well planned, allowing us to enjoy the places without feeling rushed. As a licensed tour guide, he demonstrated great professionalism and expertise. We strongly recommend engaging Fuji-san if you are looking for a knowledgeable, thoughtful, and reliable guide.

“Excellent guide! Highly recommend. ”

Akira picked us up at our hotel and took us to Arashiyama's bamboo forest, Kinkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera and the Higashiyama streets, and Fushimi Inari. He's knowledgeable, but more than that, he's an excellent storyteller who seemed genuinely excited to share the history. The best part was how he connected each site to the others and wove the whole day into one story. He was friendly and personable, with excellent English, and he's an excellent driver. Early on he asked good questions about what we already knew, what we didn't, and what we like and don't like to eat. For lunch he took us to a great little neighborhood ramen spot in a residential area that tourists would never find on their own. Even if this is the same tour he gives everyone, it felt custom-made for us. Five stars, and highly recommended.