This was an amazing day filled with three popular Kyoto sights. Our guide Noriko became a trusted friend over the course of the day -- she's warm and friendly, extremely helpful and caring and was a joy to walk around with. We started the day at the Inari Shrine with its splendid torii gates before the crowds swarmed in, but by the time we got to the Golden Temple, the tourists multiplied! So the early bird tour is definitely worth it, even to escape the crowds for a little bit of the morning. We loved the bamboo forest (though it was also packed) and the Arashiyama area of Kyoto. It was a nice experience seeing the sights with a local like Noriko, and as an added bonus, we'd strike up thought provoking conversations about Japanese and American culture while waiting for our trains :) Our 8-month old baby took a liking to her as well! A memorable day in Kyoto we'll always remember. 10/10 would recommend!

Everything went to as planned Hiro our guide excellent, great English, able to assess our needs and full of interesting facts without lecturing. Lots of walking so we took cab from Kinkaku-ji Temple to Bamboo Forest rather than bus and train well worth it about $30 Australian. Getting to Shinto Shrine early meant fantastic photos without the crowds of famous Red Tori gates. The shrine was awesome but somehow the Buddist temple managed to be even more beautiful with the reflective pool. Crowds building by time we got to Bamboo forest not to mention hundreds of Rickshaws. All in all highly recommend with extra stars for Hiro

What a great day with Tomoko as our guide. It was lovely to have someone so experienced take our group of 8 around Kyoto and look at the sights. We had 4 children ranging from 5-8 and 4 adults and Tomoko was amazing with everyone. She was so attentive to the kids including teaching them origami on the train, gave us great pieces of education throughout the day and was extremely patient with everyone whilst we navigated travel. The group all agree this was a highlight of the trip!! It’s a lot of walking so be prepared for a big day.

Easy train trip to see some key sites of Kyoto, excellent communication with guide to organise beforehand! Loved that it was a private tour.

We were lucky and the tour was given only for us. Our tour guide Masa was great, helped us with strollers, was very knowledgable and knows the best spots for pictures. The time was great since you avoid most of the crowds. Would definitely recommend.

Makoto was a great tour guide. Very patient and informative. Helped us get around via train and bus. Would absolutely recommend to anyone looking for a packed half-day tour. Ended the day around noon with plenty of time for lunch

Our guide Tohru was outstanding! His knowledge of the sights is unmatched & he openly shares his perspective on the beauty of the area & global significance of each location that provides an understanding you wouldn't have otherwise. The highlight of this tour is the bamboo forest but the gates & Golden Pavillion is also a must.

Our tour guide Tomomi Osone ("Tomo") was fantastic and expertly guided us through three main tourist spots in Kyoto, Fushimi Inari, the Golden Pavillion and Arayashiyama Bamboo forest. She was very knowledgeable as well as kind. I had two tween boys who had been up early so were a bit grumpy at each other to start. Tomo was very patient and kind and helped us to have a wonderful experience. Thank you so much Tomo, I really appreciate it. It was definitely the highlight of my trip to Japan.

This tour was the best way to see the highlights of Kyoto. Being early to these popular tourist sites allowed us to see the beauty and magic of Kyoto without all of the crowds. Our guide, Akiko, was absolutely amazing. She was super friendly and very knowledgeable. We are so thankful to have met her and to have had her as our guide. Highly recommend!

Excellent tour with great tour guide. Ms Yoshiko was a great and patient with us when the kids were tired and wanted to take a break. She recommended the best places to take pictures. Highly recommended tour.

Thank you Naoko for a wonderful day. Even though it was very busy with lots of people around, you managed to educate us on the history of the places we went to. This would have been a difficult, if not confusing places to visit if we did it on our own. HIGHLY recommend this tour for anyone visiting Kyoto for the first time.

We saw 3 amazing places but our favorite was fushimi Inari and getting there early made it so much easier to get the unique photos.

All I can say is wow! If you want an intimate tour with the perfect local guide then this is for you. Have your Suica pass ready and you’ll be set to explore the wonders of Kyoto. Can’t recommend this tour enough.

Miho was a great guide. She teached us so many different things about japanese culture and was very knowledgeable. We also were only two people, so it was very private. I was expecting a tour with a car but we took public transport which was alright, too.

Our guide Hironori was just fantastic. Full of knowledge, well organized, efficient and very pleasant. This tour couldn’t have been better. Highly recommended

Had a great day with Ken as our guide. Very knowledgeable. Enjoyed all the sites. I know it says” early bird “but still very busy. All in all 5/5!

Fushimi Inari shrine was wonderful, such a lot to see and expertly guided by Hisashi. You couldn’t go in to the golden temple but the route allowed you to view it from all around. The bamboo forest was very busy, but thanks to Hisashi we saw everything and all at our own pace. Our tour guide Hisashi was excellent and ensured the tour went at our pace.

Wow our guide Hero was fantastic. Highly recommend as a way to see these 3 main sites in a half day. We would never have been able to do it without Hero to guide us effortlessly through the trains and bus. He was always looking for seats for us, checking we were ok on the pace etc. so knowledgeable, polite and caring.

Our guide picked us up at the hotel and took us by metro, train and bus to the shrine. He was very knowledgeable about its history. Built on the foot of the mountain, the temple gently slopes upward. It’s an easy walk and well worth it. One of the must sees in Kyoto. This tour is highly recommended.

The walking….. And the valuable information shared with us by the Tour Guide, we would have never known about if we were to have done this ourselves