Kyoto Private Tours & Local Tour Guides

“ATIF!!! Kyoto Fantistique”

In Kyoto for the first time, we booked Atif, last minute. 5 stars is low - he deserves 10 Stars. We were in the 3rd week of a 4 week Pacific Rim trip. We had many different tours and guides along the way. By far, Atif was the best in all respects. Pace - over 7 hours, we achieved 17k steps in and yet found ourselves exhilarated and only slightly tired at the end of our day. Atif paced the tour to our needs combining trains, walking and (at our insistence) taxis. We hit all of the spots that we wanted to see and had time at the end of our tour for my wife to do some shopping. Atif was knowledgeable on each of the stops - Fushimi Inari Taisha, Gion, Ginkaku-ji, Sanjusangendo, Nishiki Market as well as the shopping district along the way from Gion to our hotel. He speaks English very well, which was important to us as we wanted to really understand what we were seeing and doing - many of our earlier tours involved wonderful sites and things to do but lacked clear and concise communication due to various levels of English language comprehension. Atif is an easy going guide and was attuned to our energy as well as need for nourishment - with stops at Nishiki market (where he insisted I try the baby octopus stuffed with a quilt egg and then a place to sit and eat grilled chicken skewers) to a ramen restaurant off the beaten path. Always a willing photographer - even though my better half was not as willing a subject - we have many great memories in our photos. As a result of Atif's excellent tour, we have a much deeper understanding of Kyoto and the Japanese Culture than we had after three days in tokyo. My only negative was that we could not spend more time in the region and have Atif take us to Osaka - the positive to this is that we now have a goal of bring our children and their spouses to Japan and work with Atif on a multi day, multi city Kyoto Prefecture Tour. We recommend him without reservation!

Syed atif Y.

(15 reviews)

Dear David, Thank you so much for your amazing review—I truly appreciate your kind words. It was a pleasure spending the day with you and your wife and I’m really glad you enjoyed the pace, the sights, and the food along the way. I’d love to welcome you again in the future—especially for a longer trip with your family! hope to see you again in Japan.

“Full day in Kyoto”

Thank you to Hiroko for such a lovely day! If you want a stress free, information filled day to see all the high spots in Kyoto, book Hiroko now! The entire day was well planned and spent in delightful company. She is extremely knowledgeable regarding every shrine, palace and neighborhood. Hiroko speaks perfect English and listens to your requests as well as offering her own suggestions. I cannot say enough positives regarding my experience.

Hiroko D.

(104 reviews)

Karen, I am truly honored by your kind, generous and quick review. You are positive, friendly and intelligent, and I really enjoyed being your guide in Kyoto as well as having good conversation with you. I also appreciate your kindness and generosity to me throughout the tour. Hope you will have a great time for the rest of your stay here in Japan. All the best, Hiroko

“Great day in Kyoto”

We had Hiroshi son for a day in Kyoto. He was punctual and pleasant. Took us around to four different places and provided explanations and background on the sites. A very pleasant day for us. His English is good but it took me a little bit to get used to him.