Iconic Japan Unveiled: Tokyo to Kyoto & Nara Private Day Journey

Our Kyoto and Nara tour was fantastic. Yuka was an excellent guide. She shared so much insight into history and culture both past and present in Japan. The temple in Nara was amazing. The Nara deer were so cute but if you plan to feed them, be prepared as they can get kinda aggressive. In Kyoto we enjoyed the Fushimi Inari shire and walked through some (but not all) the Torii gates. We went to the Motorikyu Nijo Castle and learned about the samurai, then enjoyed the old town and learned about Geisha. We even saw an actual Geisha! This was a long day trip from Tokyo even on the Shinkansen and high cost isn’t to be overlooked (tour, car/driver, train to/from Tokyo -Kyoto) but worth the experience to get out to see another area of Japan in 1 day!!!

This is a great tour for hitting the major points in Kyoto, especially if you only have a day! We were expertly guided by Moto, who had an excellent understanding of the history and culture. Moto was great with our 5 year old daughter, and found her THE souvenir of the trip in Nara. He answered questions all day, listened to our interests, and made additional stops not on the schedule based on those interests. My husband was talking about how he was interested in cars so Moto found a showroom full of vintage Toyotas that had been restored. He found us a wonderful sushi place for lunch after making sure he was aware of allergies (my husband has a wheat allergy) and helped us order. He asked questions about kinds of things I was looking for in shops, and then went with me into the shops to help me purchase. He was just really amazing and we learned so much about Shintoism, Buddhism, and the reasons different shrines have different colors and themes. He was great with questions about the history of Japan as well, and we all learned a lot about the shoguns, the emperors, and the history of lineage in those families. We went to three main spots- the Golden Temple, Nara and the Todjai Temple (with the world’s largest Buddha), and Fushimi Inari. Moto took the time to explain the historical context, point out things off the beaten path, and tell us legends in Japanese history. He gave us very good tips about feeding the deer in Nara (deer crackers can make the deer lose their mods and it’s every deer for themselves at that point 🤣🤣) and made sure our daughter was having a great time as well. Five year olds are not the easiest to win over and he was mindful of her moods, helped her pet the deer, and found her a headband with moving deer ears and sunglasses that she hasn’t taken off yet. This is a great tour for someone with limited time, as we came from Tokyo on the Shinkansen and went back that same night. It’s a long day, but honestly worth it if you have the time and inclination. If you take this tour staying in Kyoto, it’s a great way to see some of the highlights and get out to Nara in a comfortable environment. Being from the United States, our Japanese is very limited and having Mito with us to translate and assist was instrumental to removing the stress from the day. I would recommend you have additional cash with you as lots of the shrines are cash only. You’re going to get some amazing local food, but they may be cash only as well. Absolutely worth it, as the food is amazing everywhere and so fresh. Overall this was our favorite tour of our trip!

We had an amazing experience. Along with the amazing sites, we learned a lot about history of Japan. Ahmed also took great pictures.

It was a very nice and interesting experience in Kyoto for a day. Our guide Ahmed Abu Tayeh was very helpful during the whole tour as he knew a lot about the history, culture and tradition of the places we visited, we lived an experience that we will definitely remember forever. Thank you Ahmed for helping us to live an unforgettable experience in Kyoto.

Our tour guide Ahmed was very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about Kyoto and the surrounding area. Including the religious and cultural history. He was punctual, well organized and was great with our kids. The tour was well planned for the time allotted and having the car service made for a comfortable adventure around Kyoto. Making the trip from Tokyo to Kyoto was well worth it.

Awesome experince super friendly guide and driver! Car super sharp and clean. kento the guide was very nice and the tour lasted as expected. He is fully english bilingual

Ahmed was a great, very accommodating and knowledgeable guide. He was flexible of our needs, was a great story teller and helped us navigate the city to and from Tokyo- I would recommend this tour.

Bamboo forest at Arashiyama Park was beautiful and Ahmed did a great job, very inciteful and knowledgeable, great to talk to!

Hi, it was great experience for me & my family! It was short but the itinerary was I believe what best we could do with the limited time we have. Midori-san was so warm, helpful and very attentive. Very knowledgeable with the history of the places we went to! She even went above and beyond and helped us upgrade our shinkansen tickets to reserved bec we were likely going to stand if we kept the non reserved tickets.

The Todai-Ji Temple was definitely worth the ride to Nara. My guide, Yuji Hino, even explained where the pathway stones came from & why there were arranged the way they were. There is so much symbolism in Japan and I would have missed that. Most signs inside this temple had an English translation, but most of what we saw elsewhere did not. An English speaking guide really enhanced my experience.