This tour is meant for those who are interested in trekking in mountains and visiting popular tourist attractions plus lesser-known places of historic interest in Fushimi and Higashiyama Areas. You will visit Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine, Kiyomizu and
Inari Station of JR Nara Line (Two stops from JR Kyoto Station. Rapid trains do not stop at Inari.)
Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine ( You will climb halfway to the top of Mt. Inari, go to Mt. Otowa and get down to Kiyomizu Temple.)
Kiyomizu Temple ( You can see the temple from a different angle than usual.)
Maruyama Park for lunch ( You can get an obento or boxed lunch at Kyoto Station or a convenience store near your hotel.)
Walking through Gion Area ( A location of the movie “The Memoir of a Geisha – Sayuri” is included)
Ken-ninji Temple near Gion ( You will be amazed at the artistic works that the temple houses.)
Gion Shijo Station of Keihan Line
This tour is designed for those who like trekking in mountains and visiting lesser-known places of historic interest as well as famous tourist attractions. The itinerary includes Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine, Kiyomizu Temple, Maruyama Park, Gion strolling and Ken-ninji Temple. At Maruyama Park, you will have lunch in the open air. You can get an obento or boxed lunch at JR Kyoto Station or a convenience store near your hotel. At Ken-ninji temple near Gion, you will be amazed at the artistic splendors of folding screen, paper sliding door and ceiling paintings including Fujin-Raijin zu Byobu by Tawaraya Sotatsu, a renowned painter of Edo period. In case of rain, instead of trekking in the mountains you will visit Sanju-sangendo Temple by train. From there you will visit Kiyomizu Temple by bus. And you will have lunch at a restaurant near Kiyomizu Temple.
guide fee
Lunch and entrance fee for Kiyomizu and Ken-ninji Temple (￥900) in case of rain, plus entrance fee (￥600) for Sanju-sangendo Temple and transportation fare (￥370)
It is desirable to carry overseas travel insurance because the guide is not liable for any damage or loss incurred during the tour. It is also requested to bring enough Japanese yen with you because some restaurants and taxis do not accept credit cards.
It is desirable that you wear sneakers or trekking shoes and take a bottle of water with you. You will walk along a part of Kyoto Trail hiking course for about two hours.
The roof of the main hall with a large veranda of Kiyomizu-dera Temple is now under repair, although you can enter the temple.
We loved our tour with Yoshi! He was very informative about the places we visited and was very fun to be around. He has made us want to come back to Japan just to take the silver route tour with him next time! We would say this is a must-do tour if you would like to see Kyoto with a guide. We would recommend him to everyone. Once the tour was finished he even took us to an izakaya for dinner that we would not have been able to do on our own because it was 100% Japanese with no English menu. It was an incredibly cool experience that we will always treasure.
Hi Alex. Thank you so much for your wonderful review for my tour. I am awfully pleased to learn that you and Amy enjoyed spending the day with me. When you visit Kyoto again, I will be very glad to guide you on My Favorite Silver Tour. I will tell the chef of the izakaya that you were delighted with the food and the communication with him and his customers. I wish you health and best of luck. Yoshie
We thoroughly enjoyed our day tour with Yoshie! The route was expertly planned out and fast paced which we loved. Yoshie clearly is passionate and knowledgeable about the history of the temples and various sites. We also had the fortune of joining him at his favorite izakaya restaurant after the tour. We fully recommend this tour 100%!
Hi Brian. I appreciate your supreme comment on my tour in Kyoto. I enjoyed myself guiding and talking with you and Kate. You two were very friendly and thoughtful, too. I hope you will return home with lots of nice memories of your trip in Japan. Be sure to get in touch if you have another chance of visiting Kansai area. I wish you good health and big happiness! Yoshie
I got a hold of Yoshi-san a few months before our trip and asked if he could do a 2-day tour for us. He immediately replied with a solid yes. I booked our time with him and we were set. A week before our tour he contacted me again to check in. We kept in contact until we met in the lobby of our hotel. What an amazing 2 days we had! The weather was awful the first day and he routed us through taxi rides and quickly to the venue avoiding lines. Yoshie has a very scheduled itinerary which we appreciated. He was excellent at timing our trains so that we spent very little time waiting and he infused the day with interesting and informative background of all the sites we visited. He is connected to the people along the way and made our stops for lunch on each day very fun and memorable. There were 3 of us in our group which included our mom. Yoshie made sure she was taken care of and comfortable. I have to say that one of the best memories of our trip was having dinner with him and his friends at the end of the day. It was a very quaint Itzakaya. We enjoyed the food, drink and company. With lots of laughter! If you decide this is the tour you want to do, you will not be disappointed. Have fun! and Kanpai!
Hi Kym-san. I appreciate your heart-warming comment on my two-day tours in Kyoto. I also had a lot of fun with you, your sister and mother, guiding, talking, eating and drinking together. I was surprised that your mother was very active, energetic and curious. If you have another chance of visiting Kansai area, be sure to get in touch, please. I wish you and your family good health and happiness. Kampai! Yoshie
Yoshie-San is an amazing guide - friendly, informative, inspiring with his knowledge and wisdom of Japanese culture. This has been our first trip to Japan - and Yoshie went out of his way to put my daughter and I at ease and help us operate independently. Loved each of the sites we went to in the tour - and Yoshie was kind enough to recommend and then join us for dinner at an excellent spot. Very grateful for an amazing day!
Hi Fareed-san. I really appreciate your kind words for my two-day tour in Kyoto and Nara. I hope you had a fruitful tour today, too. It was nice meeting and talking with you and your daughter. I was pleased that you had a deep curiosity about Buddhist temples and statues as well as Shinto shrines. When you visit Kansai area again, be sure to get in touch, please. With best wishes, Yoshie