Welcome to Kyoto! This is a private tour to cover the most popular sights in eastern and central Kyoto. Please also see "Western Kyoto" page if you wish to book highlight tour in two days. Longer tour request is welcome. Please contact me and I will customize the itinerary.
**Hello! My name is Lisa **
I am a government licensed tour guide offering tours in Kyoto, Osaka and Nara.
If you are looking for a guide who can take you to must-see sights in Kyoto, this tour will be perfect for you.
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
Meet up at your hotel in Kyoto city
Kiyomizudera temple
( Admission fee 500yen/person )
-Buddhist temple that belongs to "Kita-Hosso sect" which is derived from one of the oldest sects in Japan.
-UNESCO site
-Beautiful landscape of architecture and nature
-400 year-old wooden hall standing on a cliff with traditional architectural method called Kake-zukuri.
-Buddha statue of Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva
Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine
-Headquarters of all Inari shrines in Japan.
-Shintoism which is Japan's two biggest religions along with Buddhism.
-Famous for vermilion Torii gates lining up along the path on the mountain.
-Fox statues
Lunch
Udon noodle, Soba noodle, Yakitori chicken skewers, Yakiniku beef BBQ, Ramen, Tsuke-men ( dipping ramen ), and more!
Please let me know your request.
*If you have any special dietary request please let me know in advance and I will propose delicious lunch recommendations accordingly.
Nijo castle Ninomaru palace
( Admission fee 1,300yen/person )
-Shogun's palace from the 17th century
-UNESCO site
-Ultimate meeting rooms with traditional architectural style called Shoin-zukuri.
-Screen paintings of auspicious animals, birds, plants, and seasonal flowers drawn by legendary painters from Kano art school. ( High quality reproductions )
-A Japanese garden designated as a nation's special scenic site, designed by a legendary garden designer from 400 years ago.
Note :
-We will take off our shoes to enter.
-No photo allowed inside of the palace.
-Honmaru-palace is NOT included in the tour. Please let me know if you are interested in visiting both two palaces in Nijo castle.
Ending Point
4PM : Tour ends at your hotel in Kyoto city
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
-Guiding Service
-Guide's local transportation fee
-Traveler's admission fees for temples and a castle : Please see the price in the itinerary. *Please have some cash available with you.
-Traveler's transportation fee : About 1,500yen-2,000yen/person each day depending on your hotel location.
-Taxi fare if used.
-Food and drinks
-Transportation
The primary mode of transportation is subways and trains, but I will recommend using taxis in some locations when it saves a lot of time or if you prefer to take a taxi over public transportations.
-Walkability
The tour includes a lot of walking. Please wear comfortable shoes. If you would like to avoid a lot of walking , slope and stairs, please contact me and I will propose a less-walking itinerary!
-Lunch
Your lunch request is welcome. If you have any special dietary request please let me know in advance and I will propose delicious lunch recommendations accordingly.
Please feel free to contact me if you have special requests on the days my profile calendars are off.
Hi everyone! My name is Lisa.
Thank you very much for checking out my profile.
I am originally from Osaka, Japan, and completed my Bachelor’s Degree from Kyoto Prefecture University in architecture. During my stay in Kyoto I volunteered as a tour guide for foreign visitors.
After graduation I moved to Tokyo and worked in the marketing and promotions field. On weekends I continued to work as a tour guide volunteer in Tokyo.
I have also studied at the University of California, Irvine and worked for a tech company in Anaheim California. It was great oppotuniay for me to see Japan from foreigner's perspective.
My happiness for meeting new people and learning my own culture through guiding foreign visitors kept increasing and that made me decide to become a professional tour guide.
I offer tailor-made tours for individuals or groups. I have met a lot of wonderful people through tour guiding and look forward to the many more friends I will make.
My strength is the stock of Japan's historical and architectural knowledge, which I believe makes your Japan experience fun and interesting especially when you are visiting Japan's old capitals.
During my tour I will share with you historical contents of places or structures you are visiting so that you can understand the reason why you meet present Japan. I have friendly and mindful nature which will make your Japan experience greater!
Please feel free to message me if you have any question about your Japan trip!
Hope to see you soon in my tour.
Best,
Lisa
John B.
“A Great day with Lisa”
We spent a great day with Lisa in Osaka. Lisa is very knowledgeable and took us to all of the best places in Osaka. We visited the Osaka castle and she told us the history of the samurai and shogun. We highly recommend her.
Martinefacile1950 T.
“could not have been better”
Lisa W was a delight - enjoyable, caring, informative, and fun. We had a long one-day trip to Kyoto that was beautifully planned and executed. She gave us everything we wanted and saw to our comfort from the beginning to seeing us off on the train back to Tokyo. Jim and I highly recommend her. Janet
Stephen S.
“Excellent top notch guiding”
Really good 2 day private tour. Good engagement, excellent English language skills, well organised and punctual. Lisa really helped us to understand Japanese culture and religions. We gave her a list of things we would like to see and she prioritised and ordered them into 2 days of quite intense sightseeing. We were lucky to see some really unique things and it was nice to also get a grounding in everyday Japanese life such eating different foods and general etiquette. As it was our own private tour we had the ability to slow down or speed up each attraction as we wished
$496/ per group