Things to do in Minoh

Waited in front of Osaka Vip lounge at 8:20am on Wednesday, November 4th, 2026 for our bus meet up/pick up. At 8:20am, our tour guide : Nick was awesome, energetic and very funny! He was very entertaining to listen to his stories about the history of Osaka, sharing about his personal experiences, teaching us how to speak basic Japanese and whisk matcha and speaking both in English & mandarin nonstop to us. At 9:30am, we arrived to Katsuoji temple & stayed until 11am. We ate lunch at restaurant:京都わさび 嵐山店 & did matcha whisking and explored Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. I enjoyed exploring Hōkan-ji Temple (Yasaka Pagoda) It was very nice to end the day and go shopping around the stores. We got dropped off to Osaka VIP Villa Namba at 7pm and had a eventful day & ate at the restaurant for dinner that Nick recommended and was so tasty! Thank you so much Nick for hosting us and thank you so much to the driver for driving us safely and timely to our destinations.

Tour Guide: Xiao Song is a very thoughtful tour guide and driver. He notified us of the meeting place in advance the day before, and during the trip, he would also send the meeting time and location, making it very easy to find. He would also wait for everyone near the drop-off and pick-up points, and his memory is truly excellent! Itinerary: The three attractions (Katsuo-ji Temple, Minoo Park + Minoo Waterfall, and Expo '70 Commemorative Park) were all very good. However, you walk a lot all day, so it is recommended to wear comfortable walking shoes and bring water. Group Size: Today, the van was fully booked with 12 people. Attractions Along the Way: Among them, I liked the cuteness of Katsuo-ji Temple and the natural scenery of Mt. Minoo the most. The Expo Commemorative Park grounds are too large; if you cannot walk anymore, you can go straight to the Japanese Garden to drink tea, eat sweets, and rest! Breaks: The time allocated for each location was more than sufficient. We even left early, departing at 8:00 AM and returning to the meeting point by 4:30 PM.

I had an amazing experience on this trip! ❤️ Everything was well organized, the places were beautiful, and I enjoyed every moment. A special shoutout to our guide, Apple 🍎, who was incredibly sweet, friendly, and helpful throughout the journey. She made the whole experience even more enjoyable with her lovely personality and positive energy. 🥰 Highly recommend this trip to anyone visiting Japan. Definitely one of the highlights of my trip! 🇯🇵✨

Huahua was the absolute best tour guide! After two other tours had canceled on us because of the typhoon we were lucky to have been able to book this tour. It was actually a blessing because this was one of the best tours we’ve been on! HuaHua was an excellent tour guide and made sure we knew details and history about every stop we made. He even let us to know where we could get the best matcha in Uji! The tour included Uji , Byodo , Kiffune Shrine , and Katsuo-ji Temple. We were able to go to every stop with an ample amount of time to roam around and shop! Thank you to HuaHua and his beautiful singing voice for giving us the best tour in Osaka!

The tour had three main parts. Katsuo ji was beautiful despite the wet weather. it was not too busy, the staff there were great and the post card stamp was clearly laid out on the path. Miyama was a beautiful little village in the mountains. Interesting to see how well maintained it is and people still live there. The little shops are good with variety of food, drink and souvenirs on offer. kyoto we saw Arashiyama with the temple, gardens bambu forest and the bridge. was getting quite busy but was a beautiful location. the tour guide spoke English and Chinese and provided information about each area and the driver was good and kept up with the schedule.

Great trip to see Himeji and the temple which we would otherwise not have been able to do on own, be prepared for a few long bus trips as these areas are not close by but worth it to see the views of country side. Had some real nice Kobe beef stew at Umie stop over in Kobe, enjoyed the Himeji Castle inside and Katsuoji stamp was fun to do.

our tour guide CC was superb! I was the only english speaking participant in our group, the rest were Chinese and she never made me feel left out. she would give a history and some quick guides to the group first and then would check with me after separately! it was rainy on that day but still managed to go through the itinerary. we had enough time to go around each place and the pickup and drop off place is very convenient especially if you are staying at the dotonbori area. would recommend especially for solo travellers to save time getting lost and to know a bit of history to the places as well :)

One of the best day trips you can take from Osaka. An unforgettable experience surrounded by countless Daruma dolls, each with its own unique charm. The best part is that you can even get a complimentary postcard to bring home as a lovely souvenir to remember this special experience!

fantastic package and good value for money. walked straight pass all those queuing to get ticket. that was a very long queue that I skipped using the QR ticket. definitely a must!