Joined 2018
Available Areas
Kyoto (Living), Nara, Osaka
Languages
English
Response Time
5 hours on average
Availability Updated
Today
Hi, I'm Hiroko. I was born in Kyoto and currently live in its suburb. My parents are also from the ancient capital city, so some of its historic places were like my playgrounds when I was a child. Now, as a national certified tour guide, I would like to show you around not only Kyoto but also Osaka and Nara enjoyably and time-effectively. For your reference, I lived in New York, U.S.A. for about 20 years and worked there for about 17 and a half years, so I believe that I will be able to communicate and speak well with you in English. My motto as a guide: If you are happy, I'm happy. Please don't hesitate to ask me to customize your tour. I'm looking forward to seeing you soon!
Please kindly note the following:
I basically conduct walking tours using public transportation.
Transportation, entrance fees and lunch for you and the guide are not included in the guide fee.
All tours can be customized for you. Send me a message with your requests!
Vikas A.
“Hit the right spots”
Thanks to Hiroko for cramming a lifetime of beautiful Kyoto into seven flat hours. From the bamboo hush of Arashiyama to the serene golden pavilion to the delicious okonomiyaki to the technicolor food crawl through Nishiki Market every stop felt like insider access. Highly recommended.
Hiroko D.
Dear Vikas, I am truly honored by your kind, generous and quick review. You and your wife are so nice and intelligent, and I really enjoyed being your guide in Kyoto. I hope you will visit here again sometime in near future as there are more to see. Please send my warmest regards to your wife for me. Sincerely, Hiroko
Nicholas D.
“Historical Enlightenment!”
Our tour with Hiroko was excellent! She was a wealth of information, enthusiastic, genuine, and kind. I was particularly surprised at how much she knew about samurai and warlord related history. I can also confirm her English was top notch, so detailed responses to complex questions were always readily available. Some of the highlights of our tour were Niko-Castle and the royal Imperial Palace, in which Hiroko shared many interesting facts and details that we would have otherwise never learnt about. Hiroko also gave excellent advice on where to get souvenirs for family members. Thanks to her help with this matter, we ended up completing a lot of our souvenir shopping during our tour with her unintentionally! This was actually a great relief for me because I secretly hate shopping… Finally, because our tour took place on a very hot Hiroko made sure we had lots of opportunities to stop for breaks and snacks in air-conditioned locations through the tour. Given our wonderful experience with Hiroko, I can strongly recommend her as a kind, competent, professional, and highly enthusiastic guide for the Kyoto area. Thank you for your efforts Hiroko!
Hiroko D.
Nick, I am extremely grateful for your kind, generous and quick review. You know a lot and are positively curious about the history as well as current social issues of Japan, which really impressed me during the tour. I really enjoyed your company as a guide in Kyoto. Please send my warmest regards to your beautiful daughter for me. All the best, Hiroko
Ian B.
“Enjoyable and Informative Day in Kyoto”
We had a very good day with Hiroko. The sites visited were a wonderful introduction to Kyoto. It was a very hot day but we took regular stops for drinks and lunch which is the advantage of having your own personal tour guide. It was lovely to get to chat to Hiroko. I highly recommend this tour.
Hiroko D.
Ian, I am truly honored by your kind, generous and quick review. All of you were so nice and intelligent, and I really enjoyed being your guide in Kyoto. Thank you very much for being patient with the heat of the day during the tour. I hope you will enjoy the rest of your stay here in Kyoto and will visit the city again sometime in near future. Please send my warmest regards to your family for me. Sincerely, Hiroko