This tour is for those who want to visit Kyoto and return to Tokyo within a day. We will use the fastest bullet train "Nozomi" for our round trip between Tokyo and Kyoto station, which costs about 30,000 JPY per adult (you and the guide), in addition to my guiding fee. You can't use the JR Pass for this tour. You can choose one route from the list bellow. 1. Miyabi route (Most popular places) 2. Golden route (Most scenic places) 3. History route (Most quiet and historical places)
at your hotel in Tokyo
- I will meet you near the reception. I will show your name on my iPad.
I will pick you up at your hotel near the reception.
We will take the bullet train from Tokyo about 9:00AM to Kyoto. I will book our train with the seats on the Mt. Fuji view side so please pay me about 30,000 JPY per adult, including our return trip (you and the guide) in cash. If you want to buy our tickets at the ticket office with your credit card, we won't get good seats together as the bullet trains are busy with business trips in the morning. Moreover, I can get the tickets for the green seats (1st class) with 20-25% discount for you if you book me more than three days in advance.
1. Miyabi:This route covers my favorite places and shopping area, but a lot of walking.
I modified the Miyabi route in Nov. 2022 to include newly renovated Kiyomizu-Dera Temple.
2. Golden: The most popular route of mine covering No.1 stops in Kyoto. Suitable to those who come to Japan for the first time.
3. History: This route is suitable to those who are interested in Japanese history. They are not so popular abroad so not so busy and relatively quiet.
Please take a look at the photos of these routes from the following link.
Fushimi Shrine; The most popular place in Kyoto according to Trip Adviser. This shrine was established in 8th century by Hata family. It is good for the harvest and business. Many companies made donations and get Torii gates in return. There are more than 10,000 Torii gates now. We will visit its main shrine and walk through the 1000 red Torii Gates area. (Admission free)
Lunch: We will have a quick lunch near Fushimi Shrine. Inari Sushi is the speciality of the area which is a piece of vinegared rice wrapped with a fried tofu cooked with sweet soy but they have simple Japanese food such as noodles, as well.
Sanjusangen-do Temple; This temple was established in the 12th century by Kiyomori Taira under the order of Emperor Emeritus Goshirakawa to save people from suffering. There are 1001 statues of golden Buddha in the building. They are Kannon Bosatsu with 11 heads and 40 extra arms. Note: Taking photos are not permitted in the worship hall.
(Admission: 600 JPY per adult)
Kiyomizu-dera Temple; This temple was the oldest temple in Kyoto established in 778 and was very influential during the Heian period.
Current building was constructed in 1633 during the Edo period. It is famous for its large balcony to overview Kyoto city. The renovation of the balcony was completed in 2020.
(Admission: 400 JPY per adult)
Nostalgic Kyoto walking: We will walk down the nostalgic streets of Kyoto from Kiyomizu-dera Temple to Gion via Yasaka Pagoda. There are many souvenir shops and traditional houses along the streets.
Gion area; Traditional Kyoto street, good for shopping. There are many Miko houses in this area but it will be difficult to see them. Note: Taking photos are not permitted in the area but I can take you the other area where you can photo.
Fushimi Shrine; The most popular place in Kyoto according to Trip Adviser. This shrine was established in 8th century by Hata family. It is good for the harvest and business. Many companies made donations and get the Torii gates in return. There are more than 10,000 Torii gates now. We will visit its main shrine and walk through the 1000 red Torii Gates area. (Admission free)
Lunch: We will have a Japanese lunch with Kyoto cuisines.
Arashiyama area; It is a scenic area with the Katsura River and Arashiyama mountains. We will walk the popular traditional Togetsukyo bridge to enjoy the view.
Tenryu-ji Temple; This temple is the World Heritage and has been to be the rank No. 1, Zen temple in Kyoto. It was first established in the 14th century by Takauji Ashikaga who started the Samurai period of Muromachi. We will walk through the temple including the popular Japanese garden Sogenchi pond. (Admission: 500 JPY per adult)
Bamboo forest in Sagano; We will walk through the trail in the bamboo forest to enjoy its unique view.
Taxi: We will have a taxi for 30 min. to move to Kinkaku-ji Temple to save time. The fare will be about 3,000 JPY per a taxi.
Kinkaku-ji Temple; The World Heritage, first built in the 14th century by Yoshimitsu Ashikaga who was the leader of the Samurai who governed Japan. It is popular for its golden three story pagoda and Japanese garden with a mirror pond. We will visit the Temple in late afternoon when it looks the most beautiful with a reflection of the golden pagoda on the pond by a lowering sun. (Admission: 400 JPY per adult)
We will take a taxi to save time. It will cost about 1,000JPY
Sanjusangen-do Temple; This temple was established in the 12th century by Kiyomori Taira under the order of Emperor Emeritus Go-shirakawa to save people from suffering. There are 1001 statues of golden Buddha in the building. They are Kannon Bosatsu with 11 heads and 40 extra arms. Note: Taking photos are not permitted in the worship hall.
(Admission: 600 JPY per adult)
Lunch: We will have lunch at my favorite restaurant in the gourmet area of Kyoto called Ponto-Cho,
Nijo Castle; This castle is the World Heritage which consists of traditional buildings with many Japanese paintings as well as beautiful Japanese gardens.This castle was built in early Edo period as the residence of Shogun in Kyoto. It was renovated to invite the Emperor in 1626 and famous for the announcement of termination of the Tokugawa shogunate at the end of Edo period. (Admission: 1300 JPY per adult)
We will take a taxi to save time.
It will cost about 2500 JPY.
To-ji Temple; This temple is the World Heritage which was established about 1,200 years ago. This temple practices the esoteric Buddhism (Shingon sect), which was brought by monk Kukai (Kobodaishi) from China. We will see the 3D Mandara, which is the organization chart of Buddhism with numerous statues of Buddha. (Admission: 500/400/300 JPY per adult)
We will leave Kyoto station by the Shinkansen.
End of the tour
at your hotel in Tokyo
Guide fee
Hotel pick-up (no charge)
Transportation cost of you and the guide (about 30,000 JPY per person, including that of the Shinkansen)
Lunch (from 2,000 JPY per person for you and guide)
Entrance fee of you (unit JPY, no charge for the guide)
-Kinkaku-Ji Temple: adult 500, junior high 300, elementary 300, child free
-Sanjusangen-do Temple: adult 600, high 400, junior high & elementary 300, child free
-Kiyomizu-dera Temple: adult 400, junior high 200, elementary 200, child free
-Tenryu-Ji Temple: adult 500, junior high 300, elementary 300, child free
-Nijojo Caste: adult 1300, junior high 400, elementary 300, child free
-To-Ji Temple: adult 800, junior high 500, elementary 500, child 500
This tour uses public transportation and we have to depend on trains and buses in Kyoto.
This tour is for those who stay in Tokyo area.
I will book your seats of the bullet train if you agree to pay me about 30,000 JPY per adult for you and the guide in cash at our tour.
We might have to use a taxi to save time.
The tour guide is not available on Mondays and Fridays.
We can't use JR pass because of the following reasons.
-We can't take Nozomi by JR Pass, which is 30 min faster than Hikari available by JR Pass.
-We need previous reservation of our seats, but I can't reserve yours if you use JR Pass.
Not available on Mondays.
There is little restriction due to COVID 19 in 2023. I was vaccinated six times with the Pfizer one.
“Yuki was the best guide for our trip to Kyoto”
I can’t say enough about Yuki! He was so organized from the beginning conversation to the end of the tour. He was knowledgeable and kept us on schedule. He showed us his Miyabi Tour of Kyoto that we chose. His I knowledge on the history, customs and Japanese culture was outstanding. You cant make a better decision than to hire Yuki for your tour. We loved Yuki and we are so happy we met him and were able to spend the day with him.
Yuki K.
(361 reviews)Dear Kimberly Thank you for writing the review of my tour. We visited Fushimi Shrine, Sanjusangen-do Temple, Kiyomizu Temple and Gion area. It was the day before the main festival of Gion and we enjoyed to see Yasaka Shrine and Yomahoko float for the main festival. Thank you for taking my tour. Yuki
“ A Rainy Day Made Better”
If you're interesting in visiting historical sites and learning about Japanese culture, Yuki is the guide for you! While it rained must of our day in Tokyo, it did not make it any less exciting, fun, and interesting. Yuki added color to every place that we went to. He taught us how to use the subway, how to read our fortunes, and how to properly enter and exit shrines. This you cannot learn just by reading signs. This is what I believe is important in respecting and appreciating the Japanese culture. He has an iPad with information on each location which provided an additional knowledge and fun facts. He is very kind, friendly, and welcoming. He only provides tours around 3 times a week, so do not wait to book him! We cannot recommend him enough. Thank you Yuki for sharing your day with us. We are so grateful and can only hope our paths cross again. - Alisa
Yuki K.
(361 reviews)Dear Alisa Thank you for your review. It was a rainy day but we took the advantage by visiting less crowded quiet gardens. There are lotus and Iris flowers blooming even better under the rainy weather. Thank you for taking my Tokyo tour. Yuki
“Yuki was wonderful!”
We had such a great trip today with Yuki. He was knowledgeable and so helpful getting us around. He was patient with our two kids (ages 9 and 12) and set up a perfect day. He was on time and the day was perfectly planned. Thank you!!
Yuki K.
(361 reviews)Dear Meghan Thank you very much for wring the review of my Hakone tour on the same day. It was cloudy but Mt. Fuji appeared at the last minutes. It was unfortunate that the Shinkansen had a big trouble on our return trip to Tokyo so that we changed our plan to take a local train instead. Thank you again for taking my tour. Yuki