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One day Door to Door tour of Kyoto from Tokyo
Joined 2014
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)
Itinerary
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
at your hotel in Tokyo
- I will meet you near the reception. I will show your name on my iPad.
At your hotel
I will pick you up at your hotel near the reception.
9:00-11:30 From Tokyo to Kyoto station by the bullet train
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.
11:30-17:00 In Kyoto, you can choose one of the following three routes (1. Miyabi, 2. Golden, and 3. History).
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.
1. Miyabi: 11:30-12:30 Fushimi Shrine
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)
1. Miyabi: 12:30-13:00 Lunch
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.
1. Miyabi: 13:30-14:00 Sanjusangen-Do Temple
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)
1. Miyabi: 14:30-15:30 Kiyomizu-dera Temple
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)
1. Miyabi: 15:30-16:30 Nostalgic Kyoto walking
Nostalgic Kyoto walking: We will walk about 5,000 steps 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.
1. Miyabi: 16:30-17:00 Gion area
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.
1. Miyabi (optional) : 16:00-17:00 Tea ceremony and dance by Maiko
Tea ceremony and dance by Maiko: You can enjoy a tea ceremony and a Japanese dance performance by a Maiko. You can talk with a Miko and take photo with her.
This experience is available on only limited days, so please let me know if you want. I'll check whether it is available or not on your date.
(Admission 13,000 JPY per adult)
2. Golden: 11:30-12:30 Fushimi Shrine
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)
2. Golden: 13:30-14:30 Lunch
Lunch: We will have a Japanese lunch with Kyoto cuisines.
2. Golden:14:30-14:45 Arashiyam area
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.
2. Golden: 14:45-15:00 Tenryu-ji Temple
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)
2. Golden: 15:00-15:30 Bamboo forest in Sagano
Bamboo forest in Sagano; We will walk through the trail in the bamboo forest to enjoy its unique view.
2. Golden 15:30-16:00 Taxi
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.
2. Golden: 16:00-17:00 Kinkaku-ji Temple
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)
3. History: Taxi to Sanjysangen-do Temple
We will take a taxi to save time. It will cost about 1,000JPY
3. History: 12:00-12:30 Sanjusangen-do Temple
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)
3. History: 13:00-14:00 Lunch
Lunch: We will have lunch at my favorite restaurant in the gourmet area of Kyoto called Ponto-Cho,
3. History: 14:30-15:30 Nijo Castle
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)
3. History: Taxi to To-ji Temple
We will take a taxi to save time.
It will cost about 2500 JPY.
3. History: 16:00-17:00 To-ji Temple
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)
At Kyoto station
We will leave Kyoto station by the Shinkansen.
At your hotel
End of the tour
Ending Point
at your hotel in Tokyo
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
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
Tour Important Information
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.
Important message from the supplier
There is little restriction due to COVID 19 in Japan since 2023. I was vaccinated six times with the Pfizer one.
Cancellation Policy
- Free cancellation - 8 days prior to meeting time
- 50% Refund - 3 to 7 days prior to meeting time
- No Refund - Within 2 day(s) prior to meeting time
Joined 2014
About Tour Guide Yuki K.
I was born and grew up in Yokohama. I used to work in Tokyo for more than 20 years. I became the National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter in English in 2013. At first, I had attended a volunteer group which provided a tour of the Imperial Palace East Gardens until 2015. I guided more than fifty times in the garden as a volunteer and studied about Japanese history and culture. Based on this experience, I became a tour guide of this online site in 2015.
Since then, I have guided more than 500 tours in Tokyo as well as Yokohama, Kamakura, Hakone, Kyoto, Nikko, etc., while improving my tours. My tours are very flexible and I always do my best to customize them according to the interests of my guests. I studied about the places and will provide you knowledge to appreciate them more deeply than just visiting there by yourself or a member of group tours. I like foods and I know many restaurants which provide typical Japanese lunch with reasonable price without waiting too long. Therefore, I am sure that I can provide you the best tours customized to your interests. It will be my great pleasure to help you to enjoy your stay in Japan. So please be my guest!!
Reviews
Catherine T.
One day Door to Door tour of Kyoto from Tokyo
“Great overview of Kyoto!”
We had a great time on our one day tour to Kyoto! Everything was very well timed and we felt like we had plenty of time to view each site. The restaurant where we ate lunch was especially nice. Yuki was friendly and professional and even helped us purchase our train tickets to the airport for the next day. I would definitely recommend this tour!!
Yuki K.
(367 reviews)Dear Catherine Thank you for the review. We visited most popular places in Kyoto; Fushimi Shrine, Tenryu-ji Temple in Arashiyama, Bamboo forest, and Kinkaku-ji Temple. Everything went well except the rain but it was not so hard as anticipated. Thank you very much for taking my tour. Best regards to your friends; Kara and Rachel. Yuki
“Very expensive and Disappointed ”
We met Yuki at our hotel at 9:00. The weather was overcast. Yuki leant us his passes to travel to Kegon waterfall and Lake Chuzen . By the time we arrived it was impossible to see the falls or lake, we returned to Nikko. While a guide cannot determine the weather an experienced guide would have checked ahead, avoided wasting 2 hours on a bus and suggested an alternative itinerary…..that’s what a guide with local knowledge would have done. We suggested a stop at Nikko Botanical Gardens. Yuki had not visited them …surprising again lack of local knowledge. After lunch we toured the various temples and shrines. Yuki did not tell us anything that was not on the notice boards walking ahead with no attempt to add to our knowledge. We finished about4 returning to our hotel where Yuki was helpful ….we wanted to send some luggage ahead and he compiled the necessary forms In summary very expensive…40,000yen to GowithGuide and another 20,000 to Yuki for “travel and accommodation “ a total of 60,000yen Yuki added little to what we could have done by ourselves. Yuki is not a knowledgeable guide for Nikko and should not be marketed as such We look forward to your response.
Yuki K.
(367 reviews)Dear Ian Sorry for your disappointment. I usually take my guests from Tokyo fort one day tour. You should have known that from my offer. It was very unfortunate that it was so foggy to see anything near the lake on the upper part of Nikko mountains. I planned to take you to the waterfall and lake cruise but neither seemed to work well. So I followed your request to visit the Garden. Then, I took you to Tosho-gu shrine and Rinno-ji temple after Futabasan Shrine which I added as your wife asked me. Please enjoy your trip to Japan and give my best regards to your wife. Thank you for taking my tour. Yuki
“Overcast with gusty winds at Hakone ”
This was supposed to be an eye opening experience on the Shinkansen to Hakone. Not long after we transferred to the mountain train, all power shut down so we were stuck on the train for 2 hours before the authorities allowed all passengers to exit thru the train’s emergency exit in the first car, one by one down a narrow ladder. Of course we sat in the 1st train and were the last ones to exit. We never made it to Lake Ashi or the ropeway, but had a decent lunch before heading back to Tokyo. It was a much shorter trip than originally planned, and quite expensive. Our guide Yuki was attentive and tried his best to find alternative transportation. I only wished he had offered a partial refund.
Yuki K.
(367 reviews)Dear Nina Thank you for writing a review of my tour. It was so unfortunate not only the weather but also the loss of power of the train. I had been advising you not to visiting Hakone on the day based on the weather forecast. But you insisted Hakone so I took you there. Sorry not to think of refunding you. Best regards Yuki
$259/ per group
Reserve
