Kyoto Highlights: Arashiyama & Fushimi Inari by Private Car
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Osaka, Japan
- 8 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
This private tour makes it easy to visit Kyoto from Osaka for the day. The tour will focus on the beautiful Arashiyama area of Kyoto, with its bamboo groves, ancient temples and shrines, and the impressive Togetsukyo Bridge. You’ll also visit another Kyoto highlight, the Fushimi Inari Shrine, lined with thousands of red torii gates. Save time and hassle by getting around in a comfortable private vehicle.
- Ideal for travelers short on time in Osaka
- This private tour can be customized to suit your needs
- Includes hotel or port transfers in Osaka, or drop off in Kyoto
- Admission fees and lunch cost extra
What's Included
- Hotel or port pickup and drop-off (Osaka, Kyoto, or Kobe)
- English-, Spanish-, or French-speaking driver-guide
- Private, air-conditioned vehicle
- Customizable itinerary
- Bottled water
- Entrance fees (¥1,600–¥2,100 per person)
- Lunch
- Child seat (payable on the day)¥1,000.00 per person
- Gratuities (optional)
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
Pick up at any hotel in central Osaka, Kyoto or Kobe, is included at no extra charge. Additional charges for other location are as follows (Japanese yen, each way): Osaka port or Hyatt Regency Osaka, 3,250 Yen; Universal Studios area, 3,250 Yen; For Kansai Airport pickups, due to the distance and associated highway tolls, an extra 15,000 yen is asked.
Start time.8:30 am
Itinerary
1
Arashiyama
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
2
Tenryu-ji Temple
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
3
Bamboo Forest Street
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Okochi Sanso Garden
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
5
Gion
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6
Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Infant seats available
- Near public transportation
- Stroller accessible
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Tour is priced per group. If you are 7 to 9 passengers, the price increase covers the larger vehicle. Even if you are less than 7, you can choose the 7 passengers and ride in the 9 passenger vehicle for extra space.
- If you have to bring your luggage with you to the tour, you can leave it in the trunk during the tour, subject to space constraints.
- The duration of transfers are approximate, the exact duration will depend on the time of day, traffic conditions and your preferable drop-off location.
- A moderate amount of walking is involved; comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
- According to Japanese law, children under 6 years old or less than 140cm MUST use car seats. Be sure to request one in advance from us if required.
- Enjoy all the exciting stops described above and more on this private vehicle tour! The plan described is a model course, and there is the possibility for change based on our guests' interests. Timing and external factors (such as traffic conditions) may force deviations from this model course.
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
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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
4.8
based on 38 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
KimberlyMcClintic, May 2026
The tour was very nice and Hugo was very informative of all the sights we visited. He thought we had more time, but was able to adjust the pace and still get us back to the ship on time.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for sharing your experience. We’re glad to hear that Hugo’s explanations helped make the sights more meaningful. Although the pace may have felt a little rushed toward the end, we’re happy he was able to adjust the schedule smoothly and ensure you returned to the ship on time. We truly appreciate your kind feedback.
Jeff_J, Feb 2026
We visited the key highlights even within our short stay. Our guide did a great job explaining the interesting history and also with tailoring each stop for us.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thank you for exploring Kyoto with us during your short stay. We’re so pleased you were able to see the key highlights while also gaining meaningful historical context along the way. It’s wonderful to hear the guide adapted each stop to suit your interests — creating a personalized experience is something we truly value.😊
Tracy_F, Jul 2025
It was a great time for all! Thomas, our guide was amazing! He arrived on time ( actually a bit early) so we got an early start which was great due to the heat. Saw some amazing things in Kyoto, ate a delicious lunch at a restraint he recommended. All was great, highly recommend
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Thank you for sharing your experience! We're glad to hear you enjoyed your day exploring Kyoto with us. In the heat of summer, a private vehicle really does make a big difference — especially when visiting spots like Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari. Thanks again for joining!
Brad_M, Jun 2025
We had an absolutely fantastic time with Thomas on our Kyoto tour. The shrine and zen garden were absolutely beautiful. Had a nice lunch in town and could explore the interesting shops. Explored Gion which was really beautiful and then loved the walk through the Torii gates. Thomas was a fantastic guide. So thoughtful and knowledgeable, he explained everything and made it very interesting for the kids. We really loved it and would highly recommend this tour (as well as Thomas) to anyone.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you very much for sharing your wonderful experience. Your Kyoto tour sounds like a truly enriching journey from strolling through tranquil shrines and zen gardens, exploring the charming streets of Gion, to walking beneath the iconic Torii gates. It’s a beautiful reflection of Kyoto’s cultural depth and natural elegance.
We’re so glad the day provided both a peaceful escape and meaningful exploration for your whole family. These kinds of immersive experiences are what we love to offer where every stop adds a new layer of appreciation for Japan’s heritage.
We truly appreciate your recommendation and look forward to helping you create more memorable adventures across Japan.
Ricardo_F, Mar 2025
Excellent tour of Kyoto. Lots of walking but worth it. Brian was a great tour guide. Would recommend this tour anytime!!!
Response from Host, Mar 2025
Thank you for your review, Ricardo. We're happy that you enjoyed our Kyoto tour with Bryan. It sounds like all the walking was worth it! We really appreciate your recommendation and hope to see you again.
John_H, Mar 2025
We had such a wonderful time on this tour! Our guide Tomas (sp?) was friendly and spoke perfect English. He showed us several of the main tourist sites in Kyoto and shared stories about the city as we traveled between them. He was quick to jump in to offer to take our pictures throughout the day. He was very flexible and compassionate about dealing with our various mobility challenges and did his best to minimize the amount of walking we needed to do. We started the day a bit concerned since it was cold and rainy, plus we knew there would be large crowds due to the local spring break. However our fears were misplaced because we had a wonderful time. The day is a treasured memory of our time in Japan!
Response from Host, Mar 2025
Thank you for your thoughtful review! It’s great to hear you had such a memorable time in Kyoto with Thomas. Despite the rainy weather and crowds, it's wonderful that he made the day enjoyable and comfortable during your visit in Kyoto. We'd love to welcome you on another tour in the future.
Stephen_H, Dec 2024
Pinpoint traveler really had their game on for this tour! Great, continuous upfront communications once the tour was booked and the day of the tour, our tour guide took ill. Pinpoint travel (Kristi) was all over it, regrouping their resources, communicating to us as well as the hotel to ensure that the delay was communicated and all in it was like a 30-minute delay. Our guide showed up, ready to rock and off we went. We had book this tour in hopes of catching the fall colors as well as the many attractions in Kyoto and nothing disappointed. Our guide was highly knowledgeable, had incredible insight on paths better taken to avoid the crowds and still see all the many wonders that were on the list to visit. The fall colors were in full bloom and gave the awe-inspiring tour and extra bit more love to an amazing adventure. This was a last tour of our Japan adventure and it was definitely a case of saving the best for last. Cannot recommend this tour & company enough.
Response from Host, Dec 2024
What a fantastic review—thank you for sharing your experience! It’s so great to hear how smoothly Pinpoint Traveler handled the unexpected hiccup, ensuring your tour started with minimal delay. The fall colors in Kyoto are truly magical, and it sounds like your guide’s expertise made the day even better, finding the best spots and avoiding the crowds. We’re thrilled this tour was the perfect finale to your Japan adventure. Thank you for recommending us so highly—we hope to see you again on another journey!
Luciana_C, Nov 2024
My family and I had an awesome trip around Kyoto with Kevin! The weather was absolutely perfect, allowing us to fully enjoy the breathtaking autumn colors. Every stop was more stunning than the last, with Kevin expertly guiding us to the best spots to take in the seasonal beauty.
The food was another highlight—delicious and perfectly matched to the atmosphere of Kyoto. Kevin’s recommendations were spot on, and the meal felt like a cultural experience in itself.
Kevin is a fantastic guide—knowledgeable, friendly, and attentive. He went above and beyond to make the trip enjoyable and informative. I highly recommend this experience to anyone looking to explore Kyoto in the best way possible!
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you for the kind words! It’s great to hear you and your family had such a memorable day in Kyoto with Kevin. Perfect weather, stunning autumn colors, and a meal that felt like a cultural experience—sounds like a dream! Kevin’s passion for sharing the best of Kyoto really shines through. Thanks for recommending us, and we hope to see you again!
Ira_L, Nov 2024
It was a great day. Our guide Hugo was excellent. He was very knowledgeable and good at describing the way of life in Japan, giving us insight into day-to-day living, as well as interesting facts about the history and culture of the place. Although we had much less time than originally planned for our visit to Kyoto (due to Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas, shortening our stay in port), we have managed to see most of what was on our bespoke itinerary and get a proper taste of the city and the area. We enjoyed our visit to Kyoto very much indeed :-)
Response from Host, Nov 2024
We’re so pleased that Hugo’s guidance made your Kyoto experience special! His knowledge of Japanese culture and history truly enhances every tour. It’s great to know you still covered most of your bespoke itinerary, despite the shortened time. Thank you for your review, and we hope to see you again on a future adventure!
msordal, Jul 2024
Everywhere we went was incredible. Kevin provided so much great information and history. My 10 year old grandson was very impressed
Response from Host, Jul 2024
Thank you so much for the great review! I very much enjoyed personally taking all of you around Kyoto that day.
Margaret_M, Apr 2024
Our guide Lito met us at Osaka port & drove us to Kyoto. We connected with him straight away- easy going, fun. We loved his sense of humour & took outstanding photos. Lito understood what we would like to do in our private tour & more than delivered. He set the standards high for our next booking in a couple days time visiting Osaka. We highly recommend Lito & has been our best guide in Japan. Thanks for such an awesome day
Response from Host, May 2024
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! We're thrilled to hear that you had such a positive experience with Lito. He truly is a gem and goes above and beyond to ensure our guests have a memorable time. We're glad he made such a great impression and set high standards for your upcoming tours. Enjoy your time in Osaka, and we look forward to serving you again soon! Safe travels!
RubeJ_P, Apr 2024
Thomas was a great tour guide. Although French, he spoke Japanese fluently and was well versed in English as well. He navigated the busy streets of Osaka and Kyoto with ease and showed us the highlights of Kyoto. We would recommend Thomas as a friendly well organized and helpful guide
Response from Host, Apr 2024
Thank you for sharing your experience with Thomas from Pinpoint Traveler! We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed the tour and found Thomas to be an excellent guide. We appreciate your recommendation and look forward to welcoming you on another adventure soon!
Brian_H, Feb 2024
Our group (6 adults) had such an amazing time with Kevin doing this tour! Kevin was a great guide (shared good information, was timely, and just all-around great guy!) and drove us to Arashiyama, Kinkakuji and the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine. It was wonderful day and we all had a great time :)
Response from Host, Mar 2024
It's great to hear you all had an amazing time with our guide, Kevin! I hope you were all able to make awesome memories in Kyoto! Thank you for your review and choosing Pinpoint Traveler!
Lilnabeth_S, Dec 2023
Kevin R. was an amazing guide! He took us to the highlights of Kyoto (nice balance for our group, which included first timers in Japan and folks who had been there before). He had a lot of info to share, was very patient with our group which wanted to take tons of pics. Thank you, Kevin and Pinpoint Travels (esp Kristy, very responsive to emails before the tour). Private tour was so worth it!
Ria_S, Nov 2023
We booked this private tour for our family to go on a day trip to Kyoto with additional side trip to Nara Park. The tour itself isnt cheap but it was worth it to have a private car / driver /local guide / photographer to bring you around, which isnt easy to do as a tourist. Our guide Kevin is a caucasian who’s been living in Japan since 1996. Having an english speaking guide made this tour more fun since theres no language barrier. Kevin is also easy going and flexible. We always allot extra with every travel destination to get a private tour and so far, it proves to be well spent every time.
Response from Host, Nov 2023
Thank you for taking the time to write a review. We're really happy to hear that you had a great experience on your private car tour with Kevin!
mukesh_s, Oct 2023
We had great time in Kyoto.Amazing place to visit.
Our guide Kevin was great.Very knowledgeable and funny.Took us some amazing places which was not part of our itinerary.
Also found a nice place for lunch since we wanted vegetarian food.
For the company our car was small and not comfortable even though we booked for private tour.
We think it was bit pricey.
Overall excellent 👍🏻
Response from Host, Nov 2023
Thanks for your excellent review. We're sorry if the car didn't meet your expectations, but we're very happy that you had a wonderful time!
Matthew_D, May 2023
Had a great day trip to Kyoto. Our guide, Levi, was very informative and funny and looked after us well. The gardens were beautiful and Kyoto was stunning. I would recommend this trip to anyone.
Thank you
Matt, Angela,Nathan and Louise
Response from Host, Jun 2023
We're thrilled that you got to take in the beauty that is Kyoto and had a wonderful time doing so. Thanks for your review!
coopercleone, Apr 2023
We had an excellent day with Daniel who took into consideration my mobility limitations and our interests to tailor a day that showed us the wonderful sights and experiences of Kyoto. Communication with this company was easy with very good response time.
Response from Host, Apr 2023
We're so glad we could help you navigate the beautiful city of Kyoto! Thanks for the stellar review!
Robert_H, Apr 2023
Lito arranged a custom day for us based on our interests, and despite the drizzling weather, we had such a fantastic day. We saw beautiful gardens, shrines, bamboo forests, mountain trails with thousands of red Tori’s gates, and he even found an organic vegetarian restaurant that met my wife’s dietary restrictions. Thanks for the great day Lito!
Response from Host, Apr 2023
We're so happy you were able to power through the rain to enjoy the amazing things Kyoto has to offer! Thanks for the five star review!
Francis_F, Mar 2023
Shoji, our guide, was great. Very knowledgeable and fun to speak with. We have a three-generation family and he was very flexible in adapting to our requests for adjustment to the itinerary. We really enjoyed the experience.
Response from Host, Apr 2023
We're so happy that everyone had an enjoyable experience. At Pinpoint Traveler we focus on having something to offer anyone and everyone!
YinTiong_W, Dec 2022
Kelvin the guide was helpful and knowledgeable. We have enjoyed the day tour. A suitable tour for family.
Response from Host, Dec 2022
Thanks for the very kind review of our Kyoto tour from Osaka! It was my pleasure to personally show you all around that day. Yes, this tour is perfect for families, kids, elders, etc. We hope to see you agian someday!
Hubert_T, Nov 2022
Levy was a great guide, personable, knowledgeable and great with kids. Place was magical. Abundant in nature and preserved culture and history.
Response from Host, Nov 2022
Hubert, we are so happy to hear you enjoyed your day with Levy! Private vehicle tours are especially nice with kids in tow, and prospective guests should rest assured that all our guides enjoy them. We are also very pleased to hear you found Levy to be knowledgable and personable.
Thanks for taking the time to write this review, and may your future travels also be fulfilling.
Way3, Mar 2020
We had a great time . Tour guide Levy made it interesting and fun. Vehicle was new and clean. Would definitely recommend my friends.
Response from Host, Mar 2020
Dear Way3,
Thank you for the nice review! We aim to please, just as you say by keeping our tours both fun and interesting.
Stella_W, Mar 2020
Levy our tour guide was informative and made the tour interesting and fun. We had a great time and will definitely recommend our friends.
Response from Host, Mar 2020
Dear Stella_W,
Glad you also enjoyed our Kyoto tour from Osaka so much! Thank you for taking the time to write the review.
StephenPaul_T, Nov 2019
This was an amazing experience for our family. Shoji, we cannot thank you enough for showing us the best places in Kyoto, and for sharing the culture and general history of the area. Shoji really took care of us, and we had enough time to appreciate each spot. We highly recommend this tour!
Response from Host, Nov 2019
Hi tadlipl,
Shoji and I both thank you for the flattering review. We are so happy we were able to enhance your enjoyment of wonderful Kyoto. May your future travels also be rewarding!
From $612.89
per group (up to 6)up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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