Visit Nara and Osaka must-see sites in one day including Nara "deer" park, Great Buddha at Todaiji Temple, Osaka Castle, and Dotonbori for the evening. Tour itinerary is flexible so you can focus on one of the two areas. Good for those who have a limited time and start to feel you've seen too many shrines and temples in Kyoto.
JR Kyoto station, Osaka station (exact location to be sent by email), Kintetsu Nipponbashi/Namba station or at your hotel (extra fee)
Nara Park - dear deer!
Todaiji Temple - Great Buddha (500 yen or 600 yen from 2018)
Option: Kasuga Taisha Shrine (500 yen)
Naramachi - have a quick local lunch and visit the famous mochi maker
Osaka Castle (museum: 600 yen)
Dotonbori and Namba area - explore the area for the night!
Option: Umeda Sky Building for the night view
Namba area or Osaka/Umeda station
Nara is about 1 hour from Kyoto and 45 minutes from Namba (Osaka) by train which provides a rich history and a lot of greenery. You will visit Nara "deer" park, Todaiji Temple with Great Buddga, and Kasuga Shrine (as per your preference). Depending on how fast we can move and your preferred itinerary, you can also visit an old town called Naramachi for more strolling.
In Osaka, we will visit Osaka Castle and Namba area (pick a few places from Kuromon market, Nipponbashi, Doguyasuji, Shinsekai, Shinsaibashi, etc). The tour will be finished around Dotonbori area where you can continue to enjoy the night life of Osaka, or I can take you to the floating garden of Umeda Sky Building (one of the Top 20 Building around the World) for the night view.
This tour is particularly recommended if you're staying only in Kyoto but would like to take a side trip to Nara and Osaka in one day for a change.
Guide fee, hotel meet-up in Kyoto and Osaka
Transportation fee (you and guide), lunch/dinner (you and guide), entrance fee
Please note below before booking and contact me first for availability:
1. My schedule on GoWithGuide site is open for the next 3-month only.
2. All my listed tours include hotel pick-up fee and guide fee. Please ask for quote for custom tours.
3. For tours in the peak season, I am currently prioritizing mult-day tour requests (at least two "full-day" tours per group) and accept one-day request between the booked tours etc.
***Excursions ***
I can guide you in Okayama (including Naoshima and Kurashiki), Hiroshima (Onomichi, Shimanami islands cycling, Miyajima, etc.) and Shikoku (Iya valley etc.) if you pay for my transportation.
The above areas can be visited from Osaka/Kyoto in one or two days.
1. You will be walking a lot during the tour, so please wear comfortable walking shoes and clothes and bring an umbrella or poncho in case of rain.
2. Transportation fee and lunch/dinner for you and guide is not included. Even if you have a JR pass or IC card, you'll be asked to purchase tickets for the guide in cash. With the standard itinerary, the total transportation cost for this tour per person will be around 1,500- 2,200 yen per person from Kyoto station to Osaka via Nara without JR pass. With JR pass, it will be about 500-1,000 yen, but please note that you still have to cover guide's transportation fee which is 1,700-2,200 yen. It varies depending on your choice of using bus/subway or walking at certain points and tour-end point.
If we meet at Kintetsu Namba or Nipponbashi Station, additional transportation fee of 500 yen have to be covered for the guide's transportation fee.
3. If you'd like to enjoy the illuminated Dotonbori during April-October, I recommend starting the tour at 10:00 am
We had the pleasure of having Seiko as our tour guide for 2 full-day tours in Japan. Seiko was very patient and helpful in creating a customized tour that included all of the places we were interested in visiting in Kyoto and Osaka. We exchanged several messages in in order to create our itinerary and her recommendations were spot on. Seiko was very flexible and patient with our questions while finalizing our agenda and in the end, it was perfect for us! She even sent us some restaurant recommendations so we could make reservations in advance. We learned a lot about the history and culture of the places we went to. We had an extremely pleasurable experience and would highly recommend Seiko to anyone looking for an English-speaking guide!
Thanks for your review, Rick. Through the communications we had before the tour, I already felt that I finally met my friend from US when we met at the station. Your efforts and preperation must be the biggest contribution to your family having good time in Kyoto/Osaka. I especially enjoyed the day in Fushimi and Osaka with you all, thanks to your trust in my recommendations. Glad to be able to show you how and what the locals eat and drink, and enjoy their life in different ways. I appreciate this "Ichigo-Ichie" - once-in-a-lifetime chance of having you and your family for 2 days! Thanks again! Seiko
We had a pretty packed agenda for our day in Osaka and Seiko made it possible for us to enjoy the day without being rushed. She spoke good English, was knowledgeable and friendly, communicated well with our 19-yo children, and was generally fun to be around with. We got a good sense for the historical backdrop as well as a taste of modern life. Great guide - strongly recommended.
Thank you Ivan for your review. Lucky me to be a guide for your family for 2 days! Your children are very friendly, smart and always tried to learn about our everyday life, culture and history with many good questions, which made our tour more fun and meaningful. It was such a great day with wonderful family. Thank you! Seiko
We had an amazing time with Seiko San on the evening tour. I would have never visited all the places if it was not for her. My family and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. A fun person with a lot of knowledge.
Thank you Abraham! I especially loved talking to your daughters and appreciate you all showed me interests in different places and foods and gave me many questions! Wish I had more time with you guys! Seiko
A very enthusiastic person with a lot of knowledge. Fun to talk to and able to explain a lot of details.
Thank you Abraham! I had a great time with your family, too. Everything went smoothly and lots of fun thanks to all of you! Seiko