Uncover the best of Nijo Castle the local Way

"Eiji was a fantastic guide!! We toured on a rainy day and he planned a great itinerary that hit all the needed high points, adjusted for things we had already seen, and pivoted to other options for the rain, while still seeing amazing things. He’s funny, kind and very personable. Very nice and understanding of children. Very educational to talk to a local about Kyoto life and Japanese culture. Kyoto has great sites and a LOT of them. For us, this tour helped us see way more than we could have alone. Lastly, and this was AMAZING, he took lots of great pictures of our group, in all the right stops, avoiding crowds as much as possible. It was an incredible gift to have all these well shot photos of our family all together. All in all, a great experience and many thanks to Eiji!!"

"If you’re expecting a tour guide, Shohei will pleasantly surprise you — because spending the day with him feels nothing like a tour. It feels like exploring Kyoto with a brilliant, hilarious friend who knows everything about it. Shohei took us through Nijo Castle, the Golden Pavilion, and Kiyomizudera with the kind of depth and storytelling that made each site come alive rather than blur together. His knowledge is impressive, but it’s his warmth and humor that set this experience apart. We laughed the entire day. The highlight we didn’t expect: lunch in his local neighborhood. No tourist traps — just great food. This was the best day of our trip to Japan. Book with Shohei, you won't be disappointed. "

"My family and I had an amazing experience with Naoki. He was thoughtful, knowledgeable, and created a perfectly paced day that never felt rushed. We saw the Kawazu-zakura cherry blossoms, enjoyed matcha and sakura mochi, and visited Uji to see Byodoin Temple. Our time at Fushimi Inari was peaceful, and we ended in Gion learning about the geisha houses and visiting Kennin-ji Temple. He made us feel relaxed the entire time while sharing great insight into each location. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a well rounded and memorable Kyoto experience. Honto ni arigatou gozaimasu, Naoki 🙏🏻"

"We spent a full day with Simone walking around Kyoto. We saw a lot of what the city had to offer and for the most part avoided crowded places (at our request), which was nice. Simone was also flexible on the day, due to patches of rain. I feel the best quality of a guide is to match the vibe and energy of the people he is guiding and Simone delivered on that perfectly. He has a friendly and relaxed demeanor but also is very knowledgable about the history of Japan. It was a calm, un-rushed tour, exactly what we wanted and with the limited time we had in Kyoto it was really an excellent idea to get Simone to guide us. Highly recommended."

"Ryuki planned an amazing day in Kyoto for our family. He loves history and his home city and shares many interesting facts and stories throughout the day. His enthusiasm for all things Kyoto was infectious. My teenagers both agreed (imagine that!) that it was the best day during our Japan vacation. We loved the little details of why statues were arranged in certain ways to amazing local bites. "

"What a magical day we enjoyed in Kyoto with our guide, Sebastian. He collected us off our ship in Kobe and drove us to Kyoto. We visited four of the most impressive sights and enjoyed the best sushi experience possible. Sebastian is patient, kind and helpful, knowledgable, flexible and informative. I would highly recommend him as a tour guide. "

"Simone was simply wonderful. We communicated quite a bit before the trip which was so helpful. He kept our group of 11 engaged with so much history of Kyoto (which we requested) and made it easy to understand. He took us to a lovely restaurant for lunch which was an experience we would not have had. The pace was great. He truly made our day a pleasure. I would highly recommend him as a guide."