Tailored Full Day Private Experience of Kyoto

Experience the best of Kyoto in just one day with a private tour. Discover the top sightseeing spots, immerse yourself in the local culture, and customize your itinerary with a knowledgeable guide.

Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Arashiyama - A district on the western side of Kyoto that is designed as a nationally designated Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty. Arashiyama’s Sagano Bamboo Forest, or Bamboo Grove, is both locally famous and world-renowned. Visitors can stroll paths lined with endless rows of towering bamboo.
  • Kinkakuji Temple - Discover the…
What's Included
  • Guiding Fees
  • Transportation Arrangements
What's Not Included
  • Transportation(cash): up to 5 travelers:¥100,000. Extra ¥20,000 for port pick up & drop off
  • Lunch
  • Admission fees
  • Admission fees
  • Gratuities are always appreciated but never expected (In case your experience was exceptional)
Additional Information

The tour itinerary is designed around an 8-hour car or van rental in Kyoto. Transportation fees are payable in cash to the driver on the day of the tour: ¥100,000 for up to 5 people. For groups larger than 5, please inform in advance. An additional ¥20,000 is charged for pick-up and drop-off at Kobe or Osaka port.
This private tour offers a comprehensive…

Location
Kyoto
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(19 Ratings)
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Scott_d
Aug 7, 2025
Great Tour of Kyoto’s Highlights - This was a great tour in a great city that has so many unique sites and photo opportunities. Our tour guide met us at the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove early in the morning and luckily before the wave of tourists arrived shortly after. We then visited 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites scattered around Kyoto (Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavilion, the Kiyomizu-dera temple, and the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine. Our tour guide Keiko was terrific and was very understanding when we asked to cut short one or two site visits due to the extreme heat. We got to see so much in a limited 8-hour stop.
Review provided by Viator
Marel_p
Aug 1, 2025
Kyoto from Kobe - Our family of 8 (5 adults and 3 kids) had a great time! Our driver was waiting for us right off the ship. Our guide Jaime was great! He was engaged, great energy, and made sure we had a memorable experience!!! I will definitely recommend this tour company!!!
Review provided by Viator
Stanley_l
Jul 8, 2025
Wonderful private guided trip to Kyoto with van - Well organized trip from start to finish. The operator organized a private van and driver to pick us up from the cruise port of Kobe to Kyoto. Our tour guide was very experienced and completely fluent in English. They were very flexible and accommodating. It was very easy to contact the operator in advance. Very highly recommended for travellers wanting to see Kyoto and have a limited time.
Review provided by Viator
Yahaira_b
Jul 6, 2025
Best tour option in July - Since it was July, the heat was intense, so having private transportation available was the best option. The guide also shared tips and routes with us to avoid tourists and take photos. I recommend the tour if you go in a group.
Review provided by Viator
Bhoomi_b
Jun 23, 2025
Must-do Kyoto family tour! - highly recommend! We loved this tour and we are so happy we did it! We saw six major must see things in Kyoto all in one day in the summer two adults two kids ages 12 and 14 with a private friendly driver, extremely clean nice comfortable air conditioned van, and our own English speaking tour guide Ahmed who is excellent! to navigate as first time visitors would've been impossible without this tour (it's a lot of going from one to the other and not easy and can take up a lot of time if you're planning it on your own!) and to be able to see this much in our short time here was absolutely amazing and we are so thankful! The explanations and historical context were fantastic, guide was professional friendly and we felt very comfortable throughout the day! Thank you!! Worth it!
Review provided by Viator
Elsamariemedeiros
May 29, 2025
Fantastic and well organized tour! - I highly recommend booking a tour with Ahmed. A private driver picked us up at our hotel in Osaka. The van was modern, spacious, and clean. Perfect size for 6 people. Our driver dropped us off with Ahmed and he took over from there showing us all the sites we were interested in seeing. While touring Kyoto, we learned about the monkey park from Ahmed and we wanted to add it to the itinerary. Ahmed immediately shifted our itinerary and we got to see all the sites we wanted. He was super organized and knowledgeable about the history of all the sites. I appreciated that he paid attention to small details like taking us through the Gion district between 5-6pm so we could see geishas/maikos. That is the time that you are most likely to spot them, which we did. His English is fluent and he communicated in Japanese for us at shops as needed. He was patient when we took our time in soaking the sites in and taking pictures. We never felt rushed and felt we had good resting breaks in between in between the sites. We had lunch at Nishiki market which was super cool. The driver followed us and took us to the various sites from door-to-door. This was truly a VIP service which we appreciated given the fact we only had 1 full day to see the major sites in Kyoto. The full day tour is well worth the money if you're looking to pack in as much of Kyoto as possible in 1 day. This tour was a highlight of our Japan trip. Thank you Ahmed and your team for such a memorable experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gretchen_c
May 25, 2025
Well worth the extra $ - We were only in Osaka/Kyoto for one day because we were on a cruise! This was a perfect private tour of the highlighted Kyoto sites! I was a little confused about the extra fees, but Ahmed’s explanation made total sense! Still a great deal over what the cruise was offering and most importantly it was just my family, guide, and driver! Ahmed was amazing! Very knowledgeable, personable, and knew exactly where to take us and the best photo spots! We are forever grateful!
Review provided by Viator
Nan
May 1, 2025
Tailored full day Kyoto from Osaka port return - Excellent. Ahmed was very knowledgable, and took care of our group with different need levels. An excellent photograp[her as well!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jingsha_r
Apr 19, 2025
Our guide is the best! - Our guide Yuka was wonderful. She met us at our hotel, which makes it very easy for us. (Our hotel is in the station). She is very conscious for the special need of our group and customized the tour to still hit all the points of interest on our list. She is super nice, knowledgeable and very easy to communicate. We had a very good time in Kyoto. Thank you so much, Yuka!
Review provided by Viator
Alexis_t
Jul 22, 2025
No Show - Ahmed contacted me the day before to request more than ¥120,000 extra to visit Kyoto from Kyoto. We refused and he didn't show up for the appointment. On the other hand we were debited and we therefore opposed the bank.
Review provided by Viator
From $490 (Per Group)
up to 8 guests
1 - Traveler
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).