Private Car Tour: Unveil the Secrets of Majestic Kyoto's Unexplored Historical Sites

Uncover the hidden historical sites of Kyoto on a private car tour. Explore off the beaten path spots with a passionate guide, and enjoy personalized service and insider tips.

Duration: 7 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine - This shrine offers a breathtaking view of thousands of torii gates. The entire mountain is part of the shrine grounds, featuring a long stretch of bamboo forest trail and the peaceful sounds of birds chirping. The large gates and buildings at the entrance are pristine and beautiful, but as you venture deeper, you will…
What's Included
  • Completely private and personalized experience
  • Hotel pickup and dropoff
  • Tips of local good restaurants for lunch and dessert shops
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Gas, toll, and parking fee
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
  • Dessert
  • admission fee
Additional Information

The English-speaking Japanese guide offers a unique experience with a 10-passenger van ride. Kyoto, known as the former capital before Tokyo, has a history spanning 1,000 years. While it’s a beautiful place, the main sights are often too concentrated. My mission is to take you to lesser-known spots and immerse you in the culture.
This tour will give you…

Location
Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine
68 Fukakusa Yabunouchicho, Fushimi-ku,
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.8
(29 Ratings)
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Helena_e
Oct 6, 2024
Amazing Kyoto tour and experience with Takashi. - Both my husband and I enjoyed very much the Kyoto tour with Takashi. We wanted something out of the ordinary of this tour. Akashi took us to visit the hidden local gems of Kyoto. We started the day with coffee and breakfast at a local cafe that Takashi took us to which was such a splendid idea. The shrine and temples we visited was amazingly beautiful, tranquil and serene. We had matcha tea at one of the temples , it was perfect enjoying tea on a rainy day. For lunch , Takashi took us to a ramen restaurant, never had we tasted ramen in mackerel broth before. The broth was rich and very delicious. For dinner we had waygu beef teppanyaki in Gion, a restaurant that Takashi recommended and made the reservations for us. We also had an enjoyable fun time with the chef and the food was delicious. We were so glad to have chosen Takashi as our tour guide in Kyoto. He was very accommodating and customized the tour accordingly to our preference as we wanted a very different experience in Kyoto away from the tourist traps, hustle and bustle of the city. Takashi was very professional, friendly and had a great sense of humour . With his wealth of knowledge in the Japanese history and culture he brought to this tour, we were so well informed. We would not hesitate to recommend Takashi to anyone looking for a fun time and an extraordinary tour in Kyoto. Thank you Takashi , we had such an amazing time and a great pleasure meeting you . We will be back ! Arigato.
Review provided by Viator
Helenae795
Oct 4, 2024
Amazing Kyoto tour with Takashi! - We had an amazing time touring Kyoto with Takashi. He was very accommodating to our needs and exactly what we were looking for in this tour, visiting the hidden local gems, beautiful serene shrines and temples sipping matcha. We started the tour visiting a great cafe with locally brewed coffee and breakfast full of delicious Japanese cakes and pastries. He also took us to a very local ramen restaurant for lunch . It was our first time having Ramen in Mackerel broth and was absolutely delicious. Takashi is very professional with a great sense of humour . We were very amazed with his wealth of knowledge of beautiful Kyoto that he shared with us. We were very lucky to have chosen Takashi as our guide for this tour and would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking for an extraordinary experience in Kyoto. Arigato Takashi san .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Renee_k
Aug 25, 2024
Easiest way to enjoy Kyoto! - Visited beautiful temples and sites that were less crowded. Wonderful to have a local guide, fluent in English. He arranged for our 1-way ride on the Romantic Train and met us on the other side.
Review provided by Viator
Joanne_k
Jul 16, 2024
A wonderful way to explore Kyoto! - What a wonderful way to explore Kyoto! With temperatures up to 36 degrees, it was definitely enjoyable travelling to each destination in an air conditioned car! Takashi was a great tour guide! We were able to see: Arashiyama Monkey park, Bamboo Forest Otagi Nenbutsu-ji temple (my favourite) and Takashi's favourite temple. We also had time to enjoy matcha & mango shaved ice and Takashi's favourite ramen place! Thank you Takashi for a wonderful day!
Review provided by Viator
Melaney_l
May 12, 2024
Our best day in Japan (May 1, 2024) - From the Viator website, I liked the picture of Takashi who was our guide for the day and his description “let’s uncover secrets of majestic Kyoto history” does just as he says and more. Takashi was hands-down, the best experience my son and I had for the duration of our stay in Japan (Tokyo to Kyoto and back to Tokyo for a total of 10 days). We did a number of tours through Viator including a trip to Mount Fuji, Teamlab Borderless, Go-karts plus our own exploration. At the end of it (May 5, 2024), my almost twenty-year-old son concludes that, “my experience with Takashi in Kyoto has changed my life and as a result, I’m okay with the transition out of my teenage years into my twenties”. Thank you from both of us now that we are back home. We continue to say to friends, family and colleagues that our day with you was simply the most remarkable. And, as said Takashi, we welcome you to our Calgary home, should you ever choose to come back to Canada. For anyone who sees Takashi through Viator or other – DO THIS TOUR WITH TAKASHI. You will spend a day with a remarkable, intelligent, gracious young man, and be delighted with the unique venues that he chooses to share with those who choose this tour with him. In conclusion, the ease of just being with Takashi combined with his willingness to meld his itinerary and ours, plus having the ease of a vehicle at our disposal, we saw everything and so much more than we could have ever imagined. I will be forever grateful to have shared this experience with my son, and with Takashi. Melaney and Dante.
Review provided by Viator
Jessie_c
May 3, 2024
Super experience! Take the tour. - Excellent tour, we want to many places and saw many things that the “busy tourist” never gets to see. The place, the food and our guide were awesome. I would highly recommend to others.
Review provided by Viator
Seaside179446
Apr 10, 2024
Exceptional Tour Guide - Exceptional young man who did research and organized tour itineraries of Kyoto and Nara based on our requests. Takashi Kikuchi is a self made tour guide with a spacious and comfortable minivan. Highly recommended to any one interested in getting a tour of hidden locations that are off the regularly visited tourist sites.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lanka95
Apr 10, 2024
Exceptional Tour Guide - Exceptional young man who did research and organized tour itineraries of Kyoto and Nara based on our requests. Takashi Kikuchi is a self made tour guide with a spacious and comfortable minivan. Highly recommended to any one interested in getting a tour of hidden locations that are off the regularly visited tourist sites.
Review provided by Viator
Malcolm_r
Mar 25, 2024
Personal guided tour - Takashi and his student chicka were brilliant they made our tour really personal and took us off the touristy track
Review provided by Viator
Gz876xpy7x
Jun 9, 2024
Cultural exposure but could be more 🥲 - Takashi shan is very resourceful but not many places was covered as claimed plus not much of photos taken though mentioned 'DSLR photo captured for unforgettable memories'. A bit of disappointment. There was no communication prior to the meet up as well, like how many places are we going to visit, etc. Hopefully it is not because we are from asian country. 😅
Review provided by Viator
From $89
up to 9 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).