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 - Kobe Beef in Kyoto
Kobe Beef in Kyoto
Kyoto Private Tour - Mushroom Tempura
Mushroom Tempura
Kyoto Private Tour - Shrimp Tempura
Shrimp Tempura
Kyoto Private Tour - Autumn foliage
Autumn foliage
Kyoto Private Tour - Washoku, UNESCO intangible asset, Japanese lunch
Washoku, UNESCO intangible asset, Japanese lunch
Kyoto Private Tour - In Arashiyama
In Arashiyama
Kyoto Private Tour - null
Kyoto Private Tour - null
Kyoto Private Tour - null
Kyoto Private Tour - Even if it rains, I take fantastic pictures.
Even if it rains, I take fantastic pictures.
Kyoto Private Tour - null
Kyoto Private Tour - Afternoon tour is welcome because it's perfect for photoshoot.
Afternoon tour is welcome because it's perfect for photoshoot.
Kyoto Private Tour - Even if it rains, I take artistic pictures.
Even if it rains, I take artistic pictures.
Kyoto Private Tour - At Kodaiji Temple
At Kodaiji Temple
Kyoto Private Tour - At Arashiyama
At Arashiyama
Kyoto Private Tour - Even if it rains, I take wonderful pictures.
Even if it rains, I take wonderful pictures.
Kyoto Private Tour - Even if it rains, I take beautiful pictures.
Even if it rains, I take beautiful pictures.
Kyoto Private Tour - At Nijyo Casle(UNESCO World Heritage site)
At Nijyo Casle(UNESCO World Heritage site)
Kyoto Private Tour - Afternoon tour is welcome because it's perfect for photoshoot.
Afternoon tour is welcome because it's perfect for photoshoot.
Kyoto Private Tour - At Nijyo Casle(UNESCO World Heritage site)
At Nijyo Casle(UNESCO World Heritage site)
Kyoto Private Tour - My shot at Nanzenji Temple covered a University magazine which issues 50,000 copies.
My shot at Nanzenji Temple covered a University magazine which issues 50,000 copies.
Kyoto Private Tour - null

Luxury Kaleidoscopic Kyoto w/Guide Photographer+Private Taxi

Highlights
Kyoto Tour Guide - Ai A.

Joined 2015

Ai A.
4.78 / 5
(32 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, French
GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!6 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 Ai A.)
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

Ancient Artistic Kyoto Highlights Tour!

An award-winning/magazine-cover photographer & an MBA grad (tourism & hospitality management) at Kyoto U will guide you to the iconic places+off-the-beaten tracks by a private taxi to take fantastic pictures. Knowing the city as a local student, an Eng teacher, and an in-house interpreter at SHIMADZU Corp Group for more than fifteen yrs in total, made me a bonna-fide professional guide in my hometown. I take great pride in my guiding and photography.

Itinerary

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

10:00 AM

Meeting Point

At your hotel or Kyoto Station

10:30 AM

Kinkakuji Ji Temple (Golden Pavilion)

One of the UNESCO World Heritage sites

11:30 AM

Arashiyama

Bamboo groove+scenic Togetsu (moon over) Bridge and riverside walk

01:00 PM

Japanese lunch

Tempura, Kobe Beef etc. (Vegetarians/vegan, gulten-free requests are welcome)

03:00 PM

FUSHIMI Inari Shrine

The most popular destination of thousands vermillion Torii gates

04:00 PM

Kiyomizu Temple+Gion District

Enjoy sunset from one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites and traditional Kyotoite streets on east hills side

Ending Point

At your Hotel, Kyoto Station, or a dinner place

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

★Hotel pick-up & drop off

★entire tour with a private taxi (around 40,000~ 90,000 JPY/day+parking fees, depending on the number of guests and tour length)

★all entrance fees and transportations during the tour (from the meeting point to the ending point)

★My guiding, photography, meals, and transportations

(free & unlimited photo taking & sharing by an award-winnng+magazine-cover photographer)

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

★Your Lunch

(from 9,240~66,000 JPY/per, familiar with dietary restrictions, such as vegan, vegetarian, and celiac guests. I'll arrange the finest restaurant in town. )

(Small purchases, such as snacks, drinks, souvenirs, if any.)

Tour Important Information

1. Some potential guests have asked me that they don't need a photographer, therefore, they wanted to get some discount. However, since I am a professional guide and a photographer (only me and a Japanese-speaking private taxi driver will escort you), I am afraid that cannot be a reason for bargening the price.

2. I cannot accept bookings from the guests who stay at 【Ace Hotel Kyoto】 because their reception has ignored and left me for more than twenty minutes after I asked their receptionist to call my guests twenty minutes before the meeting time.

Besides, when I complained that they should have let me know that the guests had not replied their phone call, Mr. Makino called the police in Japanese, saying that I was a weirdo and just an unknown, ridiculous guide who screamed and behaved violently, which is a false claim as you can see in my reviews from my past guests.

In addition, while I was calling a taxi company on behalf of them, Mr. Makino talked to my guests in English to cancel my tours without my consent.

For those acts, I would never, ever accept guests who stay that hotel.

I take great pride with my vocation and promise to serve you high-end professional service.

Important message from the supplier

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

【Familiar towns】

My main areas are Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe, and Himeji.

Since I used to live in Tokyo and travel around Metropolitan area very often, if you could cover my transportations(+ accomodation if necessary), I can travel(+stay) with you.

【Anyone is welcome!】

If you or your family members/friends are:

Vegetarians/vegans,

LGBTQ,

physically challenged people,

senior citizens and/or babies,

don't hesitate to ask me special requests.

I'm willing to help these guests:)

【Insurance】

Please take out your travel insurance. My insurance will NOT cover your sickness, injury, and/or accident during the tour.

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 - Ai A.

Joined 2015

Ai A.
4.78 / 5
(32 reviews)
Identity Verified
Interview-Based Quality Checks

About Tour Guide Ai A.

Ai obtained her MBA from Kyoto U in 2020, major in tourism & hospitality management.

She is currently a graduate student at Columbia U, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences(GSAS), Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, goes back-and-forth between NYC and Osaka.


She passed a national license of English guide interpreter exam in 2015 and speaks French.


In her tour, she offers you free photo taking & sharing digital data by using her award-winning + magazine-cover photography skill.


<Awards & Publications>

-cited by Columbia's Official Instagrams four times during her fist summer at Columbia (2022)

-got interviewed by Nikkei WOMAN, June issue of 2021, a monthly magazine that publishes 150,000 copies nationwide, and two other magazine and book, published in the same year

-won a top prize in Photo Contest at Tourism Expo in Osaka, hosted by SriLanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (in 2019)

-received Gold Award in CONRAD OSAKA opening Art Photo Contest among 367 entries

-coverered "NU7(top 7 national universities)" magazine, 50,000 copies (in 2018 and 2020)

-2nd Prize in Festival Tower West Opening Photo Contest and her shot became a billboard advertisement

(both in 2017)


She was raised in Kobe, had attended schools and universities in Kyoto for twelve years.


Before enrolling to Columbia, since COVID19 forced her to suspend her vocation, she had served as a contract in-house interpreter at an IT department of SHIMADZU Corporation group(2020-2022), waiting her opportunity to fly to Manhattan.


She resides in her hometown Osaka now and lands on Upper West in May 2024.

Tours in Japan are available in Spring, early summer(May), Autumn, and Winter.

…………………………………………………………………

Feel free to contact me! Just inquiry is totally fine.

Let's have fun together☆★** Ai

Reviews

Tour feedback from a group of 46 people.

Hi Ai, I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to share some feedback from our recent tour. Overall, we appreciate your efforts in managing a group as large as ours — it's no small feat, and you handled it admirably. However, there are a couple of areas where we believe there's room for improvement. While your interactive approach of asking questions was engaging, we noticed that the responses given by participants weren't always repeated into the microphone. This made it challenging for those at the back of the bus to follow the conversation. Perhaps a slight adjustment in amplification or repeating crucial responses could enhance the overall experience for everyone. Another point is that we felt a bit underinformed about the places we visited, particularly Kinkaku-Ji and Arashiyama. It would have been beneficial to receive more detailed briefings before arriving at these locations. For instance, a pre-visit overview would have greatly assisted us in navigating Arashiyama, what to see, expect and look for. While we did receive information after the visits through a flyer, having you telling us a story, facts or experiences beforehand would have added to the experience. We understand the complexity of managing such a large group and acknowledge your overall great job. These suggestions are merely aimed at enhancing the experience for all participants. We look forward to future opportunities with improved logistics and communication. Thank you for your understanding and for your services accommodating our requests and managing our group. We appreciate your help. Best regards, Romina

AI - a great tour guide who fits in with young people

It was great to have a tour guide who was able to connect with my 16 and 14 year old kids. Initially the idea of using public transport / rail to go to our excursions seemed a bit too much but it was the best idea. We were after that able to use rail to move around which saved us time. Her tips for the rest of the travel were invaluable. And what an amazing photographer. We got very beautiful pictures taken with her camera.

Malose K.

Ai A.

Dear Malose, Thanks for having me and writing me a great review. It was a great place to have your family all the way from South Africa. I hope to meet you again when your children enter universities in NYC and/or study in Japan in the near future. Visiting your country has become my bucket list. Until then, please keep in touch. Thank you very much once again. your guide and new friend, Ai

100% Would Recommend and Use Again

The highlight of our trip. We had an amazing time working with Ai to create a custom trip for our group for 3 days. The photos she took were such high quality which was a great perk of booking with her. She showed us places and gave us the history, as well as helped us book private taxis to make it easier to keep the whole group together. We 100% recommend working with her!

Want to Personalize?

$1,456/ per group

Other Popular Highlights Tours in Kyoto

Premium tour of Kyoto (1) : Arashiyama, Nijo-jo Castle & Kinkakuji templecover image

Premium tour of Kyoto (1) : Arashiyama, Nijo-jo Castle & Kinkakuji temple

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Why not enjoy your holidays in Kyoto? You can certainly get in touch with many things Japanese that we are proud of. They are old temples and shrines, cultural assets and the beautiful natural surroundings. You can also enjoy dropping in at souvenir stores and buy exquisitely made products, such as folding fans, porcelain and traditional Japanese cakes. I would like to take you to the following places, which are the three representative tourist destinations in this city: (1) Arashiyama It is the place where all the traditional natural beauties of Japan are combined together. They are Togetsukyo bridge, bamboo grove and the old temples. If you go up to the observation spot, you can enjoy the magnificent view of the gorge below. You can also see rickshaws of the olden times drawn by young people with smiling passengers on board. There are souvenir shops selling variety of goods and products. (2) Nijo-jo Castle (World Cultural Heritage Site) This castle was built in the early 17th century by the Tokugawa Shogunate government for the purpose of protecting the Kyoto Imperial Palace and as the accommodations when Tokugawa Shogun was in Kyoto. It was subsequently enlarged by successive Shogun. It is the castle as well as the palace, where you can see the powerful structures and beautiful gardens. You can learn, in addition, how great the power of Tokugawa Shogun was. (3) Kinkakuji temple (the Golden Pavilion) (World Cultural Heritage Site) The history of this temple began when the third Shogun of the Muromachi period acquired a tract of land in this area from a powerful statesman in 1397 and built a villa of his own to entertain the Emperor and members of the nobility. The upper two levels of the temple are covered with pieces of gold foil and are shining brilliantly against the background of the rich greenery. The pond in the foreground reflects the golden structure. It looks like the materialization of Pure Land of Buddha in this world. In addition, on the top of the golden structure is the shining phoenix.

FROM$200/ per group
Japan Tour Guide - Tatsuhiro N.
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