GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!
GoWithGuide
GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!
Kyoto Private Tour - Kiyomizudera Temple
Kiyomizudera Temple
Kyoto Private Tour - Kiyomizudera Temple
Kiyomizudera Temple
Kyoto Private Tour - Fushimi Inari Shrine
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Kyoto Private Tour - Japanese garden in Nijo Castle
Japanese garden in Nijo Castle
Kyoto Private Tour - (Lunch)Yakitori Chicken Skewers
(Lunch)Yakitori Chicken Skewers
Kyoto Private Tour - (Lunch)Yakiniku Beef BBQ
(Lunch)Yakiniku Beef BBQ
Kyoto Private Tour -
Kyoto Private Tour - Yasaka Pagoda
Yasaka Pagoda
Kyoto Private Tour - Nijo Castle
Nijo Castle

[Kyoto Highlights] Eastern and Central Kyoto

Highlights
Kyoto Tour Guide - Lisa W.

Joined 2016

Lisa W.
5.00 / 5
(85 reviews)
Identity Verified
Interview-Based Quality Checks
GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!Kyoto
GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!Japanese (Native), English
GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!7 hours
GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!Private tour (only you and Lisa W.)
GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!Up to 8 people

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.

Itinerary

This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!

09:00 AM

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

Want to personalize this tour?

This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.

Inclusions & Exclusions

GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!
What‘s included

-Guiding Service

-Guide's local transportation fee

GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!
What‘s not included

-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

Tour Important Information

-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.

Cancellation Policy

  • GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!
    Free cancellation - 8 days prior to meeting time
  • GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!
    50% Refund - 3 to 7 days prior to meeting time
  • GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!
    No Refund - Within 2 day(s) prior to meeting time
Kyoto Tour Guide - Lisa W.

Joined 2016

Lisa W.
5.00 / 5
(85 reviews)
Identity Verified
Interview-Based Quality Checks

About Tour Guide Lisa W.

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


Reviews

Totally enjoyable and deserving beyond 5 stars with Lisa W.

My family of 3 visited Kyoto during peak cherry blossom season in early April, 2025 and spent 4 wonderful days with Lisa. It's our first time vacationing in Kyoto so we spent a lot of time contacting tour guides for more information starting in October, 2024. After a few email exchanges with all of them, we decided to go with Lisa with complete confidence. She was very responsive, patient, flexible, and informative during our search for a tour guide. She helped us build a totally customized and very active itinerary for each of the 4 days and advised us with changes to optimize travel time and accommodate operating hours and open/close days of the attractions. She also recommended some off-the-beaten-path attractions away from the usual crowd of tourists and they were very charming and enjoyable that we would have missed if not for her recommendations. After we decided to go with her and finished building the itinerary, we continued to email her with additional questions and changes and she always replied quickly to acknowledge our questions. If she was busy, she would let us know that she could not answer our questions right now because she was guiding a long tour currently but promised to get back to us later and she always did and kept her promises. She managed to keep us to the very active itinerary we built each day without the feeling of being rushed and the amount of time we spent at each site was just perfect. She also recommended a car company whom we hired and she coordinated with the driver perfectly throughout the day to optimize drop off and pick up locations at each site to save time and minimize walking to and from the car. On our last day, she went out of her way to accompany us to the airport and all the way to the security checkpoint and waved us good-bye. We were very touched and appreciative of her extra effort and her caring up to the last step. Don't look any further and book with Lisa W. now before it's too late!

Seamless Arrival for 17—Lisa-san Made It Effortless!

Lisa-san went above and beyond for our group of 17. She met us at KIX with a warm smile, helped us buy our train tickets, guided us through the station, traveled with us to Kyoto, and personally checked us into our hotel. What truly amazed us—she remembered all 17 names! Her kindness, calm energy, and attention to detail made us feel so welcomed and cared for from the moment we landed. A perfect start to our Japan journey. Thank you, Lisa-san!

Highly Recommended Japanese Guide

Lisa Watanabe is the best Japanese guide I have ever met--and one on the best guides I have ever encountered anywhere in the world. And I routinely travel with guides all over the world. Lisa has traveled and worked internationally, so she is familiar with many different travelers' cultures and needs. Having been born and university-educated in Japan, Lisa is extraordinarily knowledgeable about all aspects of Japanese history and culture and genuinely enjoys sharing Japan with her clients--as well as seeking to understand her clients' own cultures. Lisa is extraordinarily kind, patient, and flexible and takes pride in fulfilling her clients' special requests. She takes a genuine and sincere interest in her clients' personal experiences and interests, and is a wonderful conversationalist and a very calming presence. If you are looking for that very special Japanese guide who will work with you to create your own personal dream trip in Japan, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Lisa Watanabe. She has certainly arranged and guided my ideal 3-day tour of Kyoto, Japan's beautiful traditional cultural capital.

Want to Personalize?

$493/ per group

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