Kinkaku-ji, Arashiyama & Nijo Castle Day Trip

I'll start by saying that our tour guide Yuri was fantastic! She was friendly and funny, patient and knowledgeable. She mentioned that this was the first tour with this schedule and she handled it like a pro! The tour itself was jam packed and included 4 separate locations in and around Kyoto starting with an initial visit to the magnificent Nijo Castle, a first time for the tour agency. From there we continued on to the Golden Pavilion and the rest of the locations. It was a busy day, but to cover the major attractions it was well worth the time and money. My mother and I would highly recommend this itinerary.

So lucky today! We were the only family of four on this Kyoto tour, and the company sent a minibus to pick us up. We felt like we were enjoying a private car service, and the thoughtful Mr. Yasuo, our driver and guide, even came to pick us up at our hotel. He gave us a general introduction to the history of the scenic spots along the way. The biggest advantage is that it saved us the time of transportation and finding our way around, as it was our first time in Osaka. We were able to visit these four famous scenic spots in one day. In the vast Arashiyama Park, he also suggested a route for us to complete a tour. After seeing the four major scenic spots, we still had extra time, so he suggested and took us to Osaka Castle Park, allowing us to see one more attraction. It was really worth it! Thank you, Mr. Yasuo, for being like a local friend accompanying us for the day.

This was a wonderful day getting to 4 of the main places that were on our bucket list. Our driver/guide Mr.Kangfu made our day so amazing, he was kind, professional and really cared about our enjoyment of the day, we were grateful to have him. We couldn’t have done all of this on our own as it would have taken two full days. A really great tour.

It was great especially for the price paid. The driver only brings you from one location to the next. It is a self-guiided tour which might work perfectly for your group. It did for us as I had kids with me and could not expect to hear from a guide for the entire day. The stops were incredible. Signing up for the tour takes all the logistics to do it yourself out of your hand.

Nick was a great guide. He was informative and a very capable driver who knew where he was going. He kept everybody on track, and it was a wonderful day. I enjoyed everything, but my favorite part was walking through the bamboo forest and having lunch at that location.

there was no way with only one day to see Kyoto that we would be able to do all of this without booking this. it was convenient being able to get around and having some available to answer questions. we had 4 young children with us and it did make it challenging with the tight schedule to see everything. the only downside was not being able to see much of Arashiyama due to having to feed four children. so we pretty much missed out on that spot entirely. There was enough time at the other locations to get a general feel for it and to see everything. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this if you’re traveling with a bunch of kids unless they are a bit older and you don’t have to push a stroller around. otherwise, I would highly recommend the trip if you only have one day to see all of Kyoto.

Our driver was kind enough to pick us at the hotel and head to Kyoto to meet some other tourists. He is always ahead of time and reminds us of our schedule and next sight to see. Will recommend him to our friends in Manila.

Li was friendly and helpful when explaining the history of the various sites we visited. I thoroughly enjoyed each site we visited and recommend this tour as an easy and cheap way to explore much of what kyoto has to offer in a truncated amount of time.

Our family had the best day on this tour. Our guide was very informative and helped us to make the most of our time at the locations. I will recommend this tour to all of my friends and family.

Our guide Xusheng was very thoughtful. Unfortunately, the schedule was very strict and we couldn't see entirely some of the objectives like Mt. Inari or Nijo Castle ( the garden area).