Joined 2014
Toshiyo O.
Available Areas
Kyoto (Living), Nara, Osaka, Shiga
Languages
English, Japanese
Response Time
18 hours on average
Availability Updated
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About Tour Guide Toshiyo O.
I was born and raised in Kyoto.Kyoto has a lot of things to see and experience. Kyoto is an ancient city with a lot of world heritage.
I am happy to show you both traditonal aspects of Japan and modern things.
I use public transportation and I am good at walking.
Also I am very flexible.
Important
I can guide in Kyoto,Nara Osaka and Shiga.
I live in Kyoto city so my transportation fee is needed if I guide in Nara Osaka and Shiga.
Tours
All tours can be customized for you. Send me a message with your requests!
Categories
1 day special customized tour in Kyoto
Kyoto has many beautiful places to visit. I especially would like to take you to the most exciting spots in Kyoto in 1 day. Please pick a few of the options from the following sightseeing places and I will take you as many places as possible at a reasonable price.
６hour Kyoto exciting private tour
概要 You can experience both temples and shrines as well as visit beautiful Japanese bamboo grove and gardens. With my help, you will be able to understand Japanese culture and food. I will take you to these places by public transportation. Such transportation costs about 1000yen for 1 day. It is your own tour. You can stay in the place you like as long as you want to, taking pictures and enjoying
Half day special customized tour in Kyoto
This is a half-day tour for the people who would like to visit Kyoto in a limited time. Please pick one or two sightseeing places from the following list and I will take you there at a reasonable price.
One day tour From Gion to the Nishiki Market
Kyoto is an ancient city, which used to like be the capital of Japan for 1000 years. There are about 1600 temples and 400 shrines and beautiful gardens. It also has a lot of traditional crafts,such as kimono, fans, Japanese artistic sweets. There are a lot of things to do and experience. First of all I will take you to Gion area.I will take you to Yasaka Shrine and Kenninji Temple. Then let's move to the Nishiki market. and have sushi lunch in the market. Gion is the area of entertainment, where there are many bars and taverns. Some important business and political talks have been conducted. You may run across Maiko and Geiko, Japanese entertainers in kimono. If you want to wear Japanese costume in Gion, I can arrange with extra charge. NIshiki market is the kitchen of the Kyoro, where local people buy their everyday food. Fish stores, vegetable stores, pickles stores and so on. A friend of mine owns a Yuba shop in the market. Yuba is vegan, dairy-free ,gluten free,preserve-free, additive-free and protein rich. You can see the yuba making process.
Katsura Imperial Villa and Fushimi Inari
Katsura Imperial Villa is too beautiful to express! In the early Edo period, Prince Toshihito, who excelled in both literature and the martial art from childhood, built the Villa. That is both tasteful and simple. We need to apply for the Imperial Household Agency to get in. I will apply for you by postcard. It takes an hour to see the villa by the special guide of the villa. The fee is free.
Experiencing Japanese calligraphy and tea ceremony
You can experience real traditional Japanese tea ceremony privately. I will pick you up at Otsu jr station or Hamaotsu Krishna station. Please feel relaxed to contact me.
Reviews
Arianna B.
“Amazing Tour of Kyoto!”
As a first-timer to Kyoto, I really wanted to book a tour to learn and see the landmarks. Toshiyo was absolutely fantastic! She had so much knowledge about the history of each shrine, temple, area, etc. and made sure to explain each one. I highly recommend this tour to anyone! Toshiyo’s English was great as well. She was so flexible in what we wanted to accomplish for the day and had so many suggestions when we had time to tour more sights. She also took some great photos of my mom and I to document our trip!
Toshiyo O.
Thank you for having me as your guide. I am very happy you enjoyed my home town, Kyoto and I could help you understand your grandmother’s country. I wish you will accomplish happy successful future for you. Thank you. Toshiyo
Cristopher Z.
“Kyoto Special”
Hi Toshiyo, Thank you so much for helping us during our tour in Kyoto. We're very grateful for the patience and for being accommodating on our request. The tour was once in a lifetime experience for all of us. Cristopher Z.
Toshiyo O.
Thank you for having me as your guide. I am very happy you enjoyed my home town, Kyoto. It was the best time to see cherry blossoms and see the traditional sights. Please come back again. Toshiyo
Brooke C.
“Very knowledgeable and very accommodating!”
We had such a wonderful day with Toshi! We had requested to start a bit earlier than her listed time when booking, which she agreed to. My daughter and I only had 1 day in Kyoto so I wanted to see and learn as much as possible without trying to navigate ourselves. The city is beautiful, and even on a rainy, cold day we saw so many places thanks to Toshi! She was understanding and patient when my 8 year old needed some more breaks than expected. She recommended a delicious lunch spot, lead us through some great side streets and old markets en route to subways and between destinations. There is so much symbolism in all shrines, temples, and castle we visited I was grateful to have her explain the many things I definitely would have overlooked! Overall I was so pleased with the tour and my decision to leave Kyoto planning to an expert!
Toshiyo O.
Thank you very much for having me as your guide on one precious day in Kyoto. Despite the unexpected cold day we could visit pretty places here with less people. I am so glad to hear you had good time. Thank you very much. Toshiyo
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I have worked in the multi-national organizations including UN agency for around 30 years and stationed at various cities including Rome, Bangkok and Hanoi. Although I have retired from those international carriers, I wish to keep the international cooperation and develop the friendship with people who visits our country. As I like history and am practicing Noh song and wood curving of Buddha images, I have decided to live in Nara where is surrounded by many historical places and traditional cultures, when I returned back to Japan in 2017. I wish to offer you custom made trip ideas to be able to enjoy the atmosphere of old city, Nara. I am also planning to develop trip plans to enjoy the local cultures. Please call me Yasu.
Koichi W.
Hi! I'm Koichi. I was born in Osaka, I studied in Kyoto when I was a university student. Now I live in Shiga next to Kyoto. I am a national government licensed tour guide. I have been guiding about 160 groups over the past twelve months. I usually guide my customers mainly in Kansai region including Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe and Shiga by public transportation systems. Well, I am curious about Japanese history, especially the history of Japan's ancient times since I was raised next to the world biggest mausoleum of the ancient Emperor called "Nintoku" in Sakai city Osaka which has just become one of the world cultural heritage sites. I dug out some ancient earthen ware vessels around there when I was a primary school student like the adventure archaeologist “Indiana Jones" (It’s our secret!!). That was my hobby. Now, one of my hobbies is outdoor activities such as mountaineering, kayaking, skiing and others. So I would like to take you to some good places where you can enjoy Japanese unique nature. I love to guide foreign visitors from all over the world. I think it is my calling or heavenly given job. Let's go and enjoy together! I hope to see you soon.
Yosshi S.
Thank you for visiting my page. I will guide you to the ancient capital cities with 1000 years of urban development and 100 years of filming and screening history. I grew up in Osaka, studied in Kyoto, and worked for 20 years as an urban planning expert for the national and local governments. During this time, I surveyed many community development sites throughout Japan. I welcomed business leaders to encourage investment in the cities. After quitting my career, I became a film-loving professional engineer. I visited unique cities in foreign countries to see urban planning and locations that appeared in picturesque film scenes and posted photos on social media (90 cities in 30 countries up to now). The more I saw foreign cities, the more I loved my hometown. I wanted to know about the travel industry and got a national license as a Guide-Interpreter and Travel Service Manager. I have started guiding based in the old capital cities. The entire area of old Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara has been a Metropolitan area centered on the Imperial Palace, and the actual location of the Palace has changed 15 times since the 7th century. This area has many historical spots and hidden attractions in different times and places: the townscape, temples, shrines, landscaped gardens, and historical drama locations (SAMURAI drama). I will create your favorite tour using my list, and guide you leisurely. I look forward to hearing from you.
