— Sightseeing Taxi Tour in Kyoto with National Licensed Guide Interpreter (English) —
[* All the messages and photos are posted by permission of my customers.]
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May 25th, 2023
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May 2nd, 2023
Wonderful Day Seeing Kyoto – Saw Lots, No Stress
Review of Hiroshi Taxi
While Hiroshi, yes, does drive a taxi, he is an excellent, nationally licensed tour guide for the wonders of Kyoto. We and two other couples hired him for a full day.
Hiroshi met and later dropped us off the the drop off area of Kyoto’s main train station. We visited temples, shrines and some other sights of old Kyoto. The relatively small minivan enabled us to navigate crowds, find parking slots, and get closer to attractions than most people touring that day.
Hiroshi is full of interesting information and a rich native grasp of the culture. HIs English is fine. He attended to our every need, beginning by asking when we contracted with him what our priorities were to to see in one day. He added in his recommendations and laid out a practical plan to maximize our time there.
One highlight also was when we had lunch at a typical local restaurant he found. Hiroshi’s help in the six of us ordering food from the Japanese only menu was invaluable and, frankly, just a lot of fun.
Another highlight was when, toward the end of the day, we drove through the Geisha area and actually observed two of them alighting from a limo and walking right by our car.
This was so much better than the typical larger tour company offerings.
Date of experience: April 2023
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California, U.S.
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Hiroshi is kind, funny, informative and flexible. He knows the city well and is able to tailor any trip to your specific needs. I immediately felt like I was with an old friend.
Thank you Hiroshi, for a very memorable day. I hope to see you again some day!
– Paul, CT, USA
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Michael United States
My partner and I booked a private tour with Hiroshi to see the following sites; Kinkaku-ji Temple, Ryoan-ji Temple, Tenryu-ji Temple, Bamboo forest of Arashiyama, Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple and Shimogamo-Jinja Shrine. I have only good things to say about Hiroshi and the tour. His knowledge and insight of the temples and shrines provided an extra dimension to what we saw that was invaluable. He was professional, very personable and friendly. Close to the end of the tour, I asked Hiroshi what his favorite temples were. Based on his response, we opted to not visit Shimogamo-Jinja Shrine and opted to view Ginkaku-ji Temple. We were not disappointed. Arigato gozaimasu Hiroshi for that wonderful, once in a life-time, memorable experience!
Steven United States
Hiroshi was great. He was so knowledgeable and organized our trip so well. He came very prepared with umbrellas which were only needed once. His knowledge on the various temples and shrines really were appreciated and even some other tourists commented on how it really enhanced their visit as well. He also adapted well to our request to go see plum blossoms in bloom at one of the shrines called Kitano Tenmangu. I highly recommend him. Steven
December 25, 2019
Fushimi Inari shrine, Kiyomizu temple, Nishiki market, etc.
Brenner Family from Spain enjoyed one day Kyoto taxi tour during their voyage.
We had a wonderful time. Golden temple, which was our last destination, was completely beautiful because of the setting sun.
Although the traffic on our way back was unbelievably jammed, we managed to be in time for the voyage!
Sergio San, Ori San, Michelle San, Eithan San and Meli San, thank you very much for giving me a happy time with all of you. Here’s the thoughtful message and photos they sent to me.
“We did the full Kyoto day taxi tour and it is very recommendable. Hiroshi was very nice to us from the beginning, giving us a lot of previous information by email. He picked us up at the Osaka port and drove us to Kyoto in a new and comfortable car, which is an hour long journey. He took us to a very nice local Kobe meat restaurant to have lunch, and his explanations were really thorough. You could see that he is a very professional touristic guide and he explained us a lot of traditional Japanese rituals at the different shrines.
On our way back to Osaka we were stuck on an unexpected traffic jam and he really worried about our arrival and contacted the cruise company. We arrived on time after all!
We enjoyed a wonderful day in Kyoto, thanks to him! ”
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October 14, 2019
Bamboo Museum
My wife and I visited bamboo museum which is 5 minutes drive from our home.
In this garden, there are 110 different kinds of bamboo planted. As there were a few visitors, we could enjoy walking in this amazing bamboo garden a lot. We love this museum because this place is far quieter than the most famous bamboo forest in Arashiyama district located 4 kilometers away from here.
There’s a small souvenir shop which sells various kinds of items made of bamboo. We bought a bamboo grater and ate grated radish topped with a lot of dried micro-sardines tonight. It’s a traditional Japanese dish.
July 29-30, 2019
Kuriyama Kobo, Gekkeikan sake museum etc.
Boers Family and I enjoyed two-day tour in Kyoto. It was very hot but we enjoyed the tour a lot. We visited Nijo castle, Kuriyama textile dye works, Kiyomizu temple, Gekkeikan sake museum, etc. The process of dyeing textiles for kimono at Kuriyama Kobo factory is very complicated, delicate and technically advanced even though it’s very traditional.
Boers Family is certainly a good and happy family. Jan San, Katja San, Daan San and Xander San, thank you very much for a great time with you and giving me various happy experiences. Here’s the thoughtful message they sent to me.
“Dear Mr Yano,
Thank you for our wonderful two days in Kyoto. You guidance has been great, and we all enjoyed it a lot.
Thanks again, and good luck!
Best Regards,
Boers Family”
July 18, 2019
Fushimi Inari shrine, Silver temple etc.
Heuts family from Holland and I enjoyed visiting Fushimi Inari shrine, Golden temple, Nijo castle, etc. Japanese gardens, especially gardens of Zen Buddhist temple, use a lot of moss. Moss likes water very much. It’s a rainy season, so we could enjoy beautiful green moss gardens a lot.
They sent me beautiful photos and considerate email. Ron San, Rigt San, Niels San and Eline San, thank you very much!
“Dear mister Hiroshi,
Me and my family ( Rigt, Niels en Eline ) had a wonderful time with you in Kyoto.
We have bin in the Silver and Gold Temple where you told us a lot about the history and habits of the city and Japan.
But during our visit to the Castle of Kyoto your enthusiasm reached a very high level.
Telling us about the historical place and historical moments during the last period of the capital Kyoto was very inspiring. We are very delighted to be your geusts today.
We recommend you to every one who visits Kyoto for a wonderful tour around the city of Kyoto.”
June 19-20, 2019
Kyoto, Nara and Wazuka tea farms etc.
I attended Martin San and his two sons, Robert San and Paul San from Holland for two days. We enjoyed a lot in Kyoto and Nara. On our way back from Nara, we visited Wazuka, a mountainous village located at the southernmost tip of Kyoto prefecture, just next to Nara city. This beautiful village is famous for the production of ‘Uji green tea’. The view of the tea plantations which cover the mountains is breathtakingly beautiful.
Martin San sent me beautiful photos and heartwarming message. Thank you very much, Martin San, Robert San and Paul San!
“Dear Hiroshi-san,
Once more my sons Robert and Paul, and I would like to thank you very much for being our guide and driver on 19 and 20 June. You organised a wonderful sightseeing program in Kyoto, Nara and Wazuka. Thanks to the information you provided to us we got an excellent understanding of many interesting facts of the many beautiful places we visited.
According to our opinion you did an excellent job and we absolutely recommend you to anyone that is looking for a great guide and driver in Kyoto and the surrounding area.”
June 13, 2019
Yoshimine Temple
Today, my wife and I visited Yoshimine Temple to see hydrangea flowers. It is on the top of the mountain in the west part of Kyoto city. It’s a 15 minutes drive from our home. Hundreds of thousands of hydrangeas cover the temple’s huge mountainous garden. The view of the garden against the background of the whole city and the blue sky is exactly breathtaking! This temple has also an amazing 500 year-old huge pine tree. Its name is “Playing Dragon pine tree”. On our way, there were a lot of newly planted rice seedlings in the rice paddies.
May 22, 2019
Golden Temple, Ryoanji Temple, Sake Museum etc.
Marc San and Bart San from Holland visited many places. We enjoyed talking a lot about the history, culture, the way of thinking of the people in Japan, history of the long relationship between our countries and so forth. Here’s the thoughtful message they sent to me. Thank you very much, Marc San and Bart San!
“We had the nice en good experience to have Hiroshi as our guide for a day in Kyoto. He speaks English very well, and I presume that his history as a teacher, makes him a pleasant storyteller. He had a perfect historic knowledge off of the places we visit. But also is Hiroshi nice and relaxed company with some humor and a twist to talk about today’s live in Japan.
Bart en Marc
Amsterdam”
May 17, 2019
Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace
My old friends and I visited Sento Imperial Palace, Nijo castle and other places by bicycle. Sento Imperial Palace is the name of the residence where retired emperor and empress live. Former emperor and empress who stepped down last month will live in Sento Imperial Palace in Tokyo. There is a bronze statue of Izumo-no Okuni in the album below. We started our bicycle tour from around this place where many Geikos(Geishas) work. Izumo-no Okuni was a woman who started Kabuki, a traditional Japanese theatrical art like a musical, about 400 years ago.
May 5, 2019
Golden temple, Ryoanji temple etc.
Tom San and Sharon San, and their old friends, John San and Nancy San visited Golden temple, Ryoanji temple etc. In this season, various kinds of flowers such as water lily, iris, wisteria, azalea and so forth bloom very beautifully. Temple and shrine gardens are adorned with such beautiful flowers and fresh green leaves. We enjoyed the beauty of Japanese gardens a lot.
They gave me very thoughtful messages and beautiful, happy photos. Tom San, Sharon San, John San and Nancy San, thank you very much!
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Hiroshi-San picked us up at the train station in Kyoto and took my wife, two friends and I on an amazing 6 1/2 hour tour of Kyoto. The tour included some of the most historic sights of this beautiful City. Hiroshi-san is quite fluent in English and able to inject his own feelings and interesting stories throughout the tour. He is a very humble man; a good listener; he not only takes you to the sights you’ve expressed an interest in but also made suggestions that proved to be some of the day’s highlights. We highly recommend Hiroshi-San to other travelers of Kyoto. You won’t be disappointed!!!
(A message from ‘TripAdvisor’ page posted by Tom San)
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Yano-San
Thank you again for a wonderful time in Kyoto. Your expertise made Kyoto City one of the highlights of our visit to Japan. Without you we would never have been able to see, experience and appreciate all the sites that we did. We especially enjoyed the interesting details and stories you added that we would not find in a guide books.
We met as a client but felt we left as friends.
Thank You
John & Nancy Henson
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May 5, 2019
Fresh green leaves in Komyoin temple
My wife and I enjoyed beautiful fresh green leaves in Komyoin temple. The garden is our most favorite. It was designed by a famous landscape gardener Mirei Shigemori about 80 years ago. This garden always makes us feel certainly relaxed and happy.
May 2, 2019 (Reiwa 1)
Komyoji temple & Nagaoka Tenjin shrine
My wife and I visited Komyoji temple and Nagaoka Tenjin shrine. We enjoyed green tunnel of maple leaves in Komyoji temple. After that, we visited Nagaoka Tenjin. The beauty of azalea is so surprising!
April 27, 2019
Arashiyama district
Tom San and Fe San visited Tenryuji temple in Arashiyama. There are various kinds of plants and trees in the garden of Tenryuji temple. And it was certainly a good time to enjoy a lot of beautiful flowers. I was very happy to enjoy the beauty of Zen garden with Tom San and Fe San. Thank you so much for being with me and thank you very much again for your kind messages and beautiful photos!
Peace and blessings!!
We can’t thank you enough for your kind attention touring us . You are so kind, knowledgeable , and professional . We learned a lot of Japan 🇯🇵 from you.
Yano San,
Fe San and I will be forever grateful for our beautiful experience with you touring several places in Kyoto. Just a note to tell you we appreciate much the great job you did.
Sending you special pictures to share the wonderful memories with you. Again, big, big thank you!!! We are very much satisfied.
Tom San
April 25, 2019
Fushimi Inari shrine, Bamboo forest etc.
We enjoyed lunch at a beautiful restaurant in Gion district after we visited Fushimi Inari shrine.
Dr. Omori and Dr. Mizobuchi working at a hospital in Osaka invited Dr. Chee and his wife Mrs. Sharon to Kyoto. We enjoyed delicious lunch in Gion district. Dr. Omori kindly sent me an email. Thank you very much for your kindness, Ms. Omori!
矢野様
本日はお世話になりありがとうございました。
観光案内を上司から任されてからずっと不安な日々でしたが、矢野様に担当いただき、観光地の案内から植物の名前に至るまで的確に詳しく説明いただき、充実した1日になりました。感謝しております。
Chee先生夫妻も大変喜んでおられました。
本当にありがとうございました。
またこのような機会がありましたら、是非宜しくお願い致します。
大森
April 23, 2019
Miho Museum & Ishiyama temple
My friends and I went to Miho Museum and Ishiyama temple in Shiga prefecture. Shiga prefecture is located next to Kyoto prefecture. It has the largest lake in Japan named Lake Biwa from which Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe are benefited a lot. Almost all the tap water in those areas comes from this Great Lake Biwa. 14 million people depend on this water!
Miho Museum is in the middle of the mountainous area. Now they are displaying treasures of Ryoko-in temple in Kyoto city. Among them, there is an intriguing item named ‘Yohen-Tenmoku tea cup’, which is designated as a national treasure. It is certainly an awesome pottery of unusual glittering deep blue colors. This mysterious blue colors cannot be born intentionally but by coincidence in the kiln. And there still were a lot of beautiful cherry blossoms as well, and the colors of fresh green leaves were so refreshing.
After we enjoyed the artificial beauty and the beauty of nature at the museum, we visited Ishiyama temple where we also enjoyed a stunning nature. The main hall and some structures are standing on a huge rock.
March 29, 2019
Fushimi Inari Shrine & Gion
I enjoyed visiting Fushimi Inari shrine etc. with lovely young lady and gentleman. She kindly sent me a message below. Thank you so much.
“I hope you are well. I just wanted to say thank you so much for your amazing 6 hours of Kyoto tour. My boyfriend also enjoyed his first Kyoto trip. Your English was great and your explanation of those places and history were very lucid. Also we were really impressed with your photo-taking skills. On the train back to Tokyo, we were looking at pictures you took for us and both of us were surprised how amazing your skills were! Even pictures on your website are great! You have many talents!!!! I will definetly contact you when my boyfriend and I visit Kyoto next time. “
March 27, 2019
Shoboji temple in Rakusai area
My wife and I visited Shoboji temple in Rakusai area. This area is located in the south west part of Kyoto city. This area, in which we live, is abundant in beautiful nature such as mountains, rivers, agricultural fields, bamboo forests, etc. Shoboji temple is not famous at all, but there are a lot of beautiful cherry trees, plum trees, magnolia and so forth. And many of them have just started to bloom! On our way to the temple, strawberries were sold at a small hut in a field without any staffs. We picked up two packages and dropped 4 one hundred yen coins in the nearby box. They were very delicious.
March 22, 2019
Silver & Golden Temple
I attended Harry San, a professional photographer, and his daughter Floor San from Holland. We visited Silver temple, Golden temple, etc. Both Silver temple and Golden temple are designated as world cultural heritage sites. At Golden temple, they picked up very good fortunes!
Thank you very much for your kind email, Harry San. Here are the email from him and happy photos.
“Dear mister Hiroshi, Hiroshi-san,
Thank you for your perfect guidance in Kyoto.
March 16, 17, 2019
Silver Temple & Fushimi Inari
Ferry San and Trudi San are from Holland. They are a great haiku poet and an artist. Ferry San made a beautiful haiku, a very short Japanese poem. This is their warm email. Thank you very much.
“This is my haiku for Hiroshi san:
Moon mirrors mind
guiding reflections
calm and wise
nearing perfection
If you want to, you can put it on your URL.
Thank you so much for a wonderful two day trip.
We enjoyed your guidance, your company and your car!
We visited your url. It is very informative and beautifully done.
Our compliments.
We wish you luck, health and happiness.
Hope to see you again,
ferry san
trudi san
from Flowerdale, Holland.”
March 1, 2019
Golden Temple & Arashiyama
Bob San and Marion San are in front of the Golden pavilion. We went to Nonomiya shrine in the bamboo forest etc. Nonomiya shrine is a small but very popular shrine.
I got a heartwarming email from them. Thank you very much, Bob San and Marion San!
“Thank you Hiroshi! Just wanted to tell you, that I told the concierge at the Okura Hotel, how fabulous you were and that they should refer you often. She took a photo copy of your card for reference. And said she would. Hope you get some well deserved additional business!! Thanks again for a fabulous day!!! Marion and Bob Auray”
February 24, 2019
Bamboo forest & Kiyomizu Temple
I was with Shreekant San and Bhash San from the US. We went to the bamboo forest in Arashiyama, Kiyomizu temple etc.
The path to Kiyomizu temple was very crowded like Kyoto station at rush hour but it was enjoyable. I enjoyed walking in the bamboo forest with the lovely couple, Shreekant San and Bhash San.
February 22, 2019
Kitano Tenmangu shrine
‘Ume’ or plum / Japanese apricot blossoms are beautifully flowering. Kitano Tenmangu shrine is the most famous place for its beautiful ume plum trees in Kyoto.
February 15, 2019
Guesthouse in the Imperial Palace garden
It is open to the public and I booked on the Internet several weeks before. The beauty of each room, corridor, decoration and garden is certainly breathtaking.
November, 23, 2018
Eikando Temple garden
Brilliant colors of Eikando are especially beautiful this year! I certainly enjoyed its beautiful garden with my guests from Hong Kong, a lovely family.
Hiroshi Taxi -- Sightseeing Taxi + English-speaking Tour Guide in Kyoto, Japan 