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Experience Japan's Traditional Culture Night Tour in Kyoto

Kyoto, Japan
  • 4 hours (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

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Overview

    What's Included

    • Admission fees included in the tour
    • Japanese-style dinner
    • National Government Licensed English Guide Interpreter fee
    • Dinner time drink charges
    • Gratuities

    Meeting and Pickup

    Meeting point

    • Good Nature Hotel Kyoto
      Japan, 600-8022 Kyoto, Shimogyo Ward, Inarichō, 2丁目318番6

      Meet your guide holding a JTB Sunrise Tours sign at GOOD NATURE HOTEL 1F in front of the hotel entrance. The hotel is a 2 minute walk from Hankyu Kyoto Line Kyoto Kawaramachi Station, Exit 4.

    End point

    • Ryokan Yoshi Ima
      229 Nishinochō, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0088, Japan

      After dinner, the tour ends at the location. Gion Yoshi-Ima is situated in a convenient location in central Gion district, making it ideal for an evening stroll around Gion after dinner.

    Operating hours
    .5:05 pm

    Itinerary

    1

    Gion Corner

    50 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

    2

    Hanamikoji Street

    30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

    3

    Ryokan Yoshi Ima

    1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

    Additional Info

    • Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
    • No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
    • Near public transportation
    • Not wheelchair accessible
    • Most travelers can participate
    • Gion Corner Programs: Regular Performance (Mar. 15 - Nov. 30), watch a traditional Kyoto dance, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, koto music, bugaku (court dance and music), kyogen (traditional Japanese comic theater), and bunraku (Japanese puppet theatre) or a noh play. Either bunraku or noh will be performed depending on the season. Winter Performance (Dec. 1 - Mar. 14), watch a traditional Kyoto dance, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, koto music, bugaku (court dance and music), and kyogen (traditional Japanese comic theater). Customers can take a commemorative photo with the maiko. *Please note that the content is subject to change
    • Children under 7 years of age (0-6 years old) may not participate
    • Buddhist vegetarian cuisine is served for dinner, so we welcome vegetarian participants. However, bonito stock is used in the tempura dipping sauce. Salt can be used instead of the tempura dipping sauce. The ingredients of tempura are tofu, namafu wheat gluten, yuba tofu skin, and vegetables in season, such as eggplants, lotusroot, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms. Miso soup and rice are also served. *Requests for Muslim-friendly meals, Indian thali meals, and allergy-friendly meals are not accepted
    • Tour's total duration is 4 hours, thouogh, the total duration listed in the itinerary is 2 hours and 50 minutes. The remaining hours are allotted for the travel time and the waiting time for performance of Gion Corner
    • Parental permission in writing is necessary for all tour participants under the age of eighteen. Any participant under the age of fifteen or not yet enrolled in middle school must be joined by a parent or guardian on the tour
    • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travelers
    Supplied by

    Cancellation Policy

    You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

    Traveler Photos

    Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)
    Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)
    Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)
    Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)
    Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

    Reviews

    4.1
    based on 8 reviews
    Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
    We perform checks on reviews

    Half fun

    Adam_P, Apr 2024
    This was an interesting tour. First, the guide met us at a hotel quite far away from the venue itself. I wish we could've just met at the first venue as we had to take a taxi ride across town during rush hour and meet at 4:45 when the first program started at 6. We then took another taxi to the program which was super close to our hotel which we came from. So it would've been nice to have the option to just meet them at the venue or at the meeting place. We got to the program which was of traditional art/programs of Japan. The guide got us the tickets and ushered us to our seats but we got there so early we just sat in the auditorium for 35 minutes. The tradtional japaneses program was very strange and quite boring. I'm glad that it was short snipits of each otherwise we would've fallen asleep. It was nice to see a little bit of these but I looked around and it didn't appear anyone in the audience was enjoying it. It was all in Japanese and the crowd was full of tourists so during the comedy part no one laughed because no one understood it. I don't think it was a complete waste of time but it wasn't enjoyable either. Then the guide walked us to the next stop which is where we were to have dinner. I think that he was supposed to give us a little bit of informaiton about the surroundings but his english was quite limited so if you asked him questions he was not able to answer. We arrived at the "restaurant", I put that in parentheses because I don't think it was an actual restaurant, it was attached to a guest house and they served us food. The staff was very nice, they served us tempura all vegetarian, the food was fine but really rushed. They all stood and stared at the 6 of us while we ate. After dinner they took us to a tea room and gave us information on the tea and how it was served. The tea expert was an older woman and she served us matcha tea while the staff member explained the traditions to us. It was enjoyable, the matcha was good they gave us some sweet bean jelly to go with it which helps with the tea taste. Overall the tour was ok, I think it was overpriced especially since we really didn't receive an english guide and he was bascially just an usher around. If you can source tickets yourself, you are better off.

    Response from Host, Aug 2024

    Thank you very much for joining our tour and providing valuable feedback. Based on your advice, we will change the mode of transportation from the meeting point to Gion Corner from taxi to walking, starting from the tours in December 2024. Best Regards,
    Likely to Sell Out

    From $170.72

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    up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

    Book ahead!
    On average, this is booked 56 days in advance.

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