Joined 2024
Yosshi S.
Available Areas
Kyoto, Nara, Osaka (Living)
Languages
English, Japanese (Native)
Availability Updated
5 days ago
Tour Categories
About Tour Guide 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.
Important
>I can work only during the day, from about 10:00 am to 7:00 pm.
> If you want a customized tour, please message me in advance. I will confirm facility availability in the itinerary dates: opening dates/hours, need a reservation or not.
>Please note that my tours are leisurely, on foot and by public transport
Tours
All tours can be customized for you. Send me a message with your requests!
Half-day Film Tour with Matcha in Cine City, Kyoto
Aesthetic Sense and Matcha at a garden villa designed by a SAMURAI star. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Uzumasa/Arashiyama area had about 10 film studios (2 and a theme park still alive), and outdoor filming took place on temple grounds and riverbanks. A star (Ohkouchi Denjirou) built a garden villa to represent the aesthetic sense that he had. This tour takes you on the tram that runs through the center of the area, tracing the history of film production in the glory days.
Half-day Spiritual Tour in Temple Town, Osaka
Visit an image of paradise in this world and the afterlife. Osaka began around the 7th century when the Imperial Palace and the Temple were built on the hill. In the Middle Ages, aristocrats believed that the paradise (Pure Land of Buddha) of the afterlife was beyond the setting sun, and built hermitages for Sunset Meditation. Time passed, and merchants enjoyed the performing arts in a paradise-like entertainment zone below the hill. Movie Palace was also built, and the slopes became locations.
Half-day Tour of a Mixed Scenery with Towns and Temples, Nara
Enjoy the beauty of the temples in rural scenery and old townscapes. Ikaruga is Japan's oldest temple town, dating back to the 7th century. Even today, the pagodas from that time rise and create a beautiful rural landscape surrounded by mountains. Naramachi is within the grounds of a temple built near the Imperial Palace in the 8th century. Commercial and industrial houses lined its grounds from the Middle Ages, and the temples blended into the traditional townscape.
Half-Day Tour of the Way of Thinking about Creative Person in Osaka
Visit the birthplace of Cup noodles and Manga and practice making them. An entrepreneur constructed the 25km-long new railway line with the Revue Hall and the Department Store at both ends over 100 years ago. North St. Terminal, a student nurtured his manga impulse. Intermediate Sta., an inventor struggled to produce the world’s first Instant Raman/Cup noodle. South Sta. Terminal, video game characters from Nintendo attract attention from international visitors.
Half-Day Hike to Enjoy Panoramic View in Kyoto
Walk from bottom to top and find the townscape from different angles. Kyoto has been the capital for 1000 years because of geographical advantages from the viewpoint of governance, defense, transport, and citizen’s lives: the center of Japan, 3 large rivers running, and mountains on 3 sides. Many temples and shrines were built on hillsides, creating attractive scenery each season. On this tour, we hike from the riverbank to the hillside while dropping in some historical spots on the road.
Half-Day Window Hopping at Old Artist Village in Kyoto
Trace the source of unique Japanese Painting and Zen Enlightenment amid the three peaks of Mt.Takagamine. A multi-talented artist built an artist village with his clan and artisans 400 years ago. He formed a painting technique with a gold foil and bold composition. The school was named Rinpa later. The tour goes around the former artist’s residence, and neighboring temples with different-shaped windows for becoming enlightenment: perfect round, incomplete round, and square.
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