Koichi

City of Kyoto Visitors Host National Guide

Language(s)	:	English
Expertise	:	Cultural properties, Traditional Culture
Qualification	:	National Guide, Itinerary management supervisor
Fee	:	35,000 JPY / day (8hours) 25,000 JPY / half a day (4hours)

Recommend Course	:	Guided tour and professional Photo shooting experience Fushimi Inari /Hidden bamboo → Sanjusangendo temple → Golden pavilion → Geisha town

Hi, my name is Koichi. I'm offering guided tour and memorable photo shooting experience in Kyoto.

I have a great love for Kyoto City, from its major tourist attractions to some of its lesser known, tranquil and peaceful sites. I would be glad to conduct the tour according to your interests and share with you my knowledge of the city's rich history as well as its cultural and seasonal events.

Since both my high school and university days were located in Kyoto, I know not only all the city's shrines and temples but also great local restaurants that serve traditional Japanese cuisine at a reasonable price. So, for example, if you are interested in a traditional Izakaya experience, please let me know, I know the perfect place and I will be glad to escort you there after the tour.

Additionally, I love motorcycle touring as my hobby and I enjoy taking pictures of Kyoto's beautiful landscape. Therefore, talking about and showing off Kyoto's scenery with my guests is one of my pleasures as well as explaining the traditional Kyoto culture.

Therefore, whether you are wishing to explore Kyoto's traditional heritage, sample the fantastic food that Kyoto offers or take a trip off the beaten path, I am the guide for you!

※Please note that separate necessary expenses are required.
:admissions, transportation fare, meal.
I am allowed to enter for free of charge by showing the guide license at the most of the temples.
Feel free to contact me if you need any further information about the tour.

Guide's Calendar

Performance

Reviews

4(5.0)

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Andreea Gagiu
2017-12-22
It was awesome. Koichi prepared all the reservations in advance and let us know what we need to do. He guided us in the Saihoji Moss temple and explained at every step what we were doing/seeing.

He also guided us for the Katsura Imperial Villa, providing important historical details about what we were about to see, as well as attracted our attention to small details that we would have otherwise missed. The whole experience was superior to just grabbing an English tour self-guide and flowing the group. Plus it was incredibly useful at every step to have a knowledgeable person able to understand and answer your questions.

Koichi also provided useful information regarding things that we were about to see on our own - e.g. the fastest way to our tourist destinations (his approach was better than Google's and saved us about 1 h of wondering aimlessly), best restaurants and cafes in the area (he actually marked them on a map so we can go there if we're in the area).

All and all, I totally recommend him as a guide and we will ask for his guidance every time we return.

Kimmo Lehtonen
2017-11-19
Koichi has very good attitude and great knowledge about Kyoto and it's history. He seems to be very dedicated to his job as a guide which means he listens what customers want and does his best to make them happy for the tour. We visited food market and after that he had organized us a possibility to participate a demosntration of tea seremony that was a great experience for us. We were given an instruction about how to prepare and act in tea seremony and we especially liked the friendly lady who instructed us in english.

Doreen Liang
2017-11-16
Koichi was our guide for two days, he was an excellent guide, he was very knowledgeable and patient answering all our questions.
I would recommend him and his services to all my friends.

San
2017-10-07
Visiting Kyoto for the first time, we really appreciated having Koichi as our guide. He was informative, helpful, and accommodating with a great sense of humor. He showed us Nijo Castle and Kinkakuji Temple and brought us to see the Zuiki Matsuri Festival during which we were lucky enough to see some maiko. Afterwards, we walked to Kitano Tenmangu Shrine and enjoyed watching the return procession of the festival participants. The little children dressed in traditional clothing were adorable! Koichi was also very kind in taking photos of us during the tour with his DSLR camera and then emailing them to us after the tour. At the end of the tour, despite it being past the time that the tour was supposed to end, he went out of his way to personally escort us to a little teppanyaki place by our airbnb for dinner. The okonomiyaki was delicious there. Thank you, Koichi, for your guidance and enthusiasm!