Experience the best of
Kyoto with Withlocals

"Ren was amazing from our very first communication. It felt like she committed 100% of her energy—just for us—ensuring our experience was not only memorable but also heartfelt. Her attentiveness, care and personal touch can not be overstated. A gem of a human who we are now very happy to call our friend. "

"Tour with Naoki was the best possible way to experience Kyoto! He is kind and open-hearted, witty and speaks excellent English. As soon as we met, we knew we want to book another tour with him :) he went above and beyond to take care of everyone in our mixed age group. Naoki took us to many amazing places with few or almost no tourists. Authentical Kyoto, magical, interesting, quiet…without the crowds we heard so much about. We appreciated the opportunity to spend some time with a local and talk about everyday life, too. Naoki lived abroad for a while, so he’s very open-minded and easy to connect with. We really enjoyed his company! Don’t think twice, just book any tour with Naoki, he will do his best to tailor it according to your wishes ❤️"

"My husband and I loved our tour to the Gino district with Yoshihiro. We met at a spot close by and spent about two hours with him. We learned a lot about the world of the Maiko and Geiko (something I found fascinating) plus got to see a wonderful spot in Kyoto, and even made an offering and prayer to a shrine. Loved the experience."

"Simone was very kind speaking in English and Italian as well. He showed us a lot of knowledge about the history of the visited places and very kind in answering our doubts. In case I return to Kyoto I will definitely book with him again. I recomend 100%"

"We loved both yours with Gia!! Very friendly and helpful. Highly recommend Gia!!"

"Ryuki was amazing. He’s personable, funny, and planned a really fun day for our family and friends. He was great with both the adults and kids! We felt like we were just spending a day with a very knowledgeable friend. Highly recommend! "

"I’m a repeat customer. This time came back with my family and Shohei was fantastic. Even though he’s probably done this tour multiple times, he made it feel new and relatable. He’s awesome!"

"Although the rain was pouring down the day of our tour with Shohei, he did a great job of showing us all around Kyoto. He told us all about Kyoto’s history, showed us some beautiful temples and areas around Kyoto, and kept us relatively dry. He was willing to answer any questions we had, took us to a great matcha stop, and recommended a delicious sushi place to us for lunch. The rain may have put a small damper on the tour, but it also kept the crowds away!"

"Ryuki took us to Fushimi Inari Taisha. Our friends had been there the day before, but Ryuki took us to a completely different part they'd not been. We saw a hidden bamboo forest, a shrine stone garden (which was absolutely fascinating), and finished up with some amazing dining recommendations, both in Kyoto and beyond. It was a fantastic experience and we really appreciate Ryuki's knowledge and time helping us to understand his city a bit better. Thank you so much, Ryuki!!"

"My husband and I booked a private 3-hour tour with Tiro recently while we were in Kyoto. We weren’t sure what we wanted to see, but we knew we wanted to learn some things about the culture and spend some time in nature and Tiro delivered! He listened to our likes/dislikes and quickly came up with an agenda that ticked all the boxes, from a leisurely stroll through the outskirts of a geisha district—we were lucky enough to encounter a couple geisha walking down the street with no one else in sight!—to a Buddhist Temple and, our favorite, a visit to a beautiful Shinto Shrine in a forest. Tiro isn’t native but he’s lived in Japan a long time and is fluent in Japanese. It was perfect as he knows the culture but also pointed out things that he knew would be especially interesting to us being from another country. Really glad we chose Tiro; it was a great way to spend a few hours. And now I know that tatami mats are a standard size and they sometimes measure rooms as such: i.e. 3 tatami mats wide by 5 tatami mats long. Little fun facts like this make me super happy! LOL"