Private Custom Tour: Kyoto in One Day
Recommended by 92% of travelers
Kyoto, Japan
- 8 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Make the most of your time in Kyoto with a customized private tour. Create your own sightseeing itinerary, choosing from dozens of cultural and historic landmarks, including 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Kinkaku-ji (Golden Temple). Choose either a half-day or full-day itinerary and travel via public transport or a private vehicle, depending on the option selected. Lunch is also included on the full-day tour option.
- Receive personalized attention on a customizable private tour
- Learn more from your guide than you would going alone
- Enjoy lunch at a local Japanese restaurant (full-day tour)
- Ideal for first-time visitors to Kyoto wanting an overview
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Kyoto city
- Professional English speaking guide
- Transport by private vehicle (if by private vehicle)
- Gratuities
- Any additional activity fee
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
We do not pick up/ drop off at ourside of Kyoto city. Our guide will meet the guest within Kyoto city.
Itinerary
After hotel pickup, set off to discover Kyoto's many cultural and historical treasures with your knowledgeable guide, using the city’s efficient public transportation system to get around as needed, or taking private transport if that option is selected. The full-day tour includes lunch at a local Japanese restaurant.
This customized private tour allows you to build your itinerary around your interests. Perhaps begin with a visit to a few of Kyoto’s many temples and shrines. Reach Fushimi Inari Shrine by train, riding to a wooded mountain on the outskirts of the city. There, stroll past a multitude of bright red torii (sacred gates) that frame the pathways in the forest.
Nijo Castle, a 17th-century UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the residence of Tokugawa shoguns for nearly 300 years. Or tour the Golden Pavilion and exquisite Japanese garden at the enchanting Kinkaku-ji Temple.
If your interests veer more toward shopping or food, your guide can take you to Kyoto’s best spots, including a sake brewery tour and tasting. Let your guide know if you’d like to participate in any additional activities such as a tea ceremony, calligraphy workshop, or aikido class, or head off the beaten path with a bike ride through Kyoto’s back streets (each at additional expense).
After your private orientation to Kyoto, your guide accompanies you back to your hotel.
This customized private tour allows you to build your itinerary around your interests. Perhaps begin with a visit to a few of Kyoto’s many temples and shrines. Reach Fushimi Inari Shrine by train, riding to a wooded mountain on the outskirts of the city. There, stroll past a multitude of bright red torii (sacred gates) that frame the pathways in the forest.
Nijo Castle, a 17th-century UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the residence of Tokugawa shoguns for nearly 300 years. Or tour the Golden Pavilion and exquisite Japanese garden at the enchanting Kinkaku-ji Temple.
If your interests veer more toward shopping or food, your guide can take you to Kyoto’s best spots, including a sake brewery tour and tasting. Let your guide know if you’d like to participate in any additional activities such as a tea ceremony, calligraphy workshop, or aikido class, or head off the beaten path with a bike ride through Kyoto’s back streets (each at additional expense).
After your private orientation to Kyoto, your guide accompanies you back to your hotel.
1
Kinkakuji Temple
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
2
Nijo Castle
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
3
Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
4
Tenryu-ji Temple
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
5
Kiyomizu-dera
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Additional activities, such as a tea ceremony, aikido or calligraphy class, etc, can be included in the itinerary, but will be at your own expense
- Your guide will meet you at your centrally located hotel in Kyoto and leave for sightseeing via public transportation. Private car service is not included in this tour
- Not all admission fees are included.
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.7
based on 79 reviews
Kara_P, Jun 2025
We packed in Nijo Castle, The Golden Pavillion, and the Bamboo Forrest into a 4 hour tour. Miya-san was very efficient and knowledgeable. We spent a perfect amount of time in each place and got to see as much as possible.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you for your wonderful comment. Nobumasa is a very experienced guide, and it is hard to find anyone better in the Kansai area. We are very glad to hear that you enjoyed your stay in Japan. We also offer tours in Tokyo, so please take advantage of it if you have the opportunity.
Gary_B, Sep 2024
The guide was very knowledgeable and was a pleasure to spend the time with.it was titime well spent.we will have a lot of memories
Whitney_M, Jun 2024
Amazing! This tour is a must when visiting Kyoto. Oki exceeded all of our expectations. We did a full day and we were able to see 4 places that we chose. He took care of everything! We didn't need to worry about transportation, navigation, entrance fees, etc. He also picked us up and dropped us off, taking a lot stress off us so we could enjoy Kyoto. He also brought us to his favorite place for lunch, which was beyond delicious.
He was personable and he had so much knowledge about the places we visited. We learned so much from him. He was excited to teach us and made the tour interactive for us. We very much enjoyed his company. We will definitely have him as our tour guide again when we return. Best Kyoto Tour!
Response from Host, Jun 2024
Dear Whitney-san, I appreciate your good review on today's full-day tour in Kyoto.
I really enjoyed having guided you and your son because of all of your sincere attitudes to learn Japanese long histories and mixed cultures especially in Kyoto.
For example, even in Buddhism temples, there are many deities as protectors in one temple, or Shintoism Shrine in the other, as you saw today.
Please continue safe trips to Hakone and Tokyo before back home in Wisconsin.
And I hope that we will meet again in Kyoto or other area in Japan! Yours sincerely, OKI
Jan_R, May 2024
Our tour with Oki was nothing short of extraordinary—it left us feeling not just like tourists, but like cherished friends. Oki's deep knowledge of Japanese culture and history illuminated every step of our journey, enriching our understanding of Kyoto's treasures.
From the moment we set off, Oki's passion and expertise shone through. Our first stop was the breathtaking Kinkaku-ji Temple, a vision in gold that Oki aptly described as the epitome of beauty. His insights into the Zen temple's history, architecture, and serene gardens painted a vivid picture of its significance.
At Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Oki deepened our appreciation for Buddhist traditions, revealing the compassionate symbolism behind Kannon's eleven faces and forty-two arms. His recounting of the temple's resilience after fires underscored its enduring spiritual importance.
Oki's thoughtfulness extended to customizing our experience. Learning of my interest in genealogy, he led us to a local cemetery, explaining the cultural belief that connections with our ancestors persist beyond physical life.
The tour was peppered with delightful surprises, like Oki’s generous sharing of the most delectable green tea cookies in a beautiful and bustling local market. Oki's kindness and enthusiasm made these moments unforgettable.
The final high point of our day was Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, where Oki illuminated the shrine's role in Japanese prosperity and its symbolic significance. Walking through the iconic red Torii gates, we felt the magic of this sacred place.
Beyond his expertise, Oki's personal touches made the tour exceptional. Recommending a superb sushi restaurant and ensuring our safe return to the hotel demonstrated his genuine care for our experience.
Oki's warmth and friendship made our visit to Kyoto truly unforgettable. We cannot recommend him—and this tour—highly enough. If you're heading to Kyoto, make Oki's tour a priority.
Thank you, Oki, for an incredible afternoon filled with insights, kindness, and memories we'll cherish until we return to Japan.
Response from Host, May 2024
Dear Jan-san, I appreciate you and your family’s good review. What I have done are based on what I have learned through my business experiences in a private company as we discussed, three years’ intensive learning to get a license and a yearly practice. It means that a lot of masters and supporters have made me what I am now. So, it was a great honor to me that I had an opportunity of having guided all of you in Kyoto piled with precious cultural assets and long histories as the palace of Japan for more than 1K years. I hope that my information opened a gate for all of you to understand the very basis of them. If all of you have a chance to come back to Japan, please let me know as good friends! Yours sincerely, OKI
Anonymous, Apr 2024
Great private tour of Kyoto with Oki-San. He arranged and offered different options prior to starting the tour, including adding a trip to visit the Samurai museum for our son. He was adaptable, yet honest. Oki is very soft spoken,and wears a mask, so you must listen intently, but if you do, you learn so much from him. He also chose a great lunch spot. Overall, we would recommend this tour and Oki highly.
Response from Host, Apr 2024
Dear VS-san, Thank you very much for your great reviews and I believe that you finally enjoyed having walked on Kumano Kodo trails!
You are so smart to understand all what I tried to explain the invisible reasoning behind the visible scenes.
Overall, I really enjoyed guiding you and your family due to your sincere attitudes to learn Japanese histories and cultures as accurate as possible.
Yours sincerely,
OKI
jodi_m, Apr 2024
Awesome guide and fantastic information provided and at our pace. lunch at own cost later was so yummy.
Response from Host, Apr 2024
Dear Jodi-san, I appreciate your great reviews on the half-day tour in Kyoto.
You are so great Mother and Wife to enjoy returning to Japan 20 years later.
All of you expressed kindness and politeness to others, which impressed me well.
I hope you and your family to continue great journeys to Osaka, Hiroshima, and Imabari in Japan.
Yours sincerely,
OKI
joanne_k, Apr 2024
The rep got confused with meeting point so he was late, his english was ok but he spoke so low and with a mask so very difficult to understand. Was walking ahead on his own no explanations of local area or cultures. Gion are he gave zero info on the traditions very disappointed we continued alone and returned alone to our port.
Response from Host, Apr 2024
We are sorry to hear that you were not satisfied with the tour.
First of all, we do not offer pick-up and drop-off services outside of Kyoto City. Our guide was kind enough to pick you up at the location you specified when you made the booking, an hour away from Kyoto. The place you requested to be picked up was an accommodation named "PORT" and not the “Port of Osaka”. He confirmed from the address that it was a different address than the “Port of Osaka” and you did not mention the name of the cruise ship or the disembarkation time. It would be impossible for him to pick you up at the “Port of Osaka” with this information. Your tour was half a day, so taking 2 hours round trip for a 4 hour tour is a waste of time. Most of our guests who take half day tours leave on their own.
The guide who took you is an experienced guide and has received several excellent reviews from our guests. Unfortunately, you seemed to hold onto the fact that the meeting did not go well until the very end. We suggest you pay attention to the description of the meeting place the next time you sign up for another tour.
Donald_K, Apr 2024
Our guide was punctual, friendly and very responsive to our requests. We booked the tour as this was our first day in Kyoto and we wanted to understand the historical importance of each site we visited. We realized there was a challenge with her English because the answers were not understandable as she struggled to find words to complete a sentence. This left us uncomfortable but we were able to complete the tour and see the premier Kyōto sites
Response from Host, Apr 2024
We are sorry to hear that you were not satisfied with the tour.
I understand that you are interested in architecture and asked many technical questions at the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Originally, you were going to be briefed by an English-speaking guide who specializes in architecture, but since you arrived early, our guide translated the Japanese guide's explanation into English after obtaining your approval.
Although we study every day about the places we visit, it is difficult to give a professional explanation of all the places we visit, especially when it comes to specialized content. We will remind our guides to further improve themselves in the future.
We look forward to guiding you again next time.
Natalie_P, Mar 2024
This day will go in my memories forever. Our tour guide Katsuko was so lovely and kind. She went above and beyond to fit everything I wanted to see in our half day tour. This meant a lot of walking but we were up for the challenge. If I could give her 10 stars I would. I would go back to Japan just to spend more time with her. Absolutely wonderful to learn all of the history from her. She took the time to explain at each location what each marker meant and shrine. If we had questions, she answered them. I cannot say enough great things about her. Request her for your tour and you will not be disappointed! Kyoto as a city is probably my favorite out of Kyoto and Osaka. The temples and shrines we visited in Kyoto were beautiful and timeless. Please add this tour to your journey.
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Dear Natalie and Glen
Thank you so much for your wonderful review of the half day tour in Kyoto.
I’m very happy and proud of it.
Please come back to Japan someday. I’d like to walk with you in Kyoto and more!.
Katsuko
James_A, Sep 2023
Where very fortunate to have Yoko as our guide. She is very professional, caring, and so vibrant! She took us every where in the most efficient way. Took care of the tickets, transportation, and lunch. She provided fun facts, and insights on all the sites. We requested for her to add the Samurai-Ninja Museum, and she was able to make it happen for us without sacrificing any other sites. A truly enjoyable experience. Ask for Yoko.
Response from Host, Sep 2023
Thank you for your great recommendation and 5-star review, James! I also enjoyed guiding you around Kyoto. I was astonished by your knowledge about Japanese history. I am glad that we managed to visit every place you requested, including the Samurai-Ninja Museum which you invited me to join in the program. Please stay happy and healthy to visit Kyoto again soon in the future!
Yoko
From $200.96
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Private Custom Tour: Kyoto in One Day
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