2 Self-Guided Tours in Kyoto Worth Booking

1.One Day Private Customized Self-Guided Tour in Kyoto

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 11 reviews · 10 hours Our pick

Build your Kyoto day around Arashiyama, Kinkaku-ji, Gion, Fushimi Inari, or other urban sights. A private driver handles the roads, parking, tolls, and pickup from Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, or Kobe. Drivers such as Ben and Mrs. Pan have offered useful local suggestions, but this is transport, not a guided tour.

“We were very disappointed in our trip. The driver was about 20 minutes late picking us up and did not say hello or introduce himself. He was literally a driver and did not try to interact with us at all. He gave no guidance on how long to spend in each place and told us the bamboo forest was too far to visit. I told him it was on the itinerary and insisted we go there. We asked him to suggest somewhere for lunch and he said give him the name of a restaurant we wanted to go to. Do not book this excursion unless you know where you are…”

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2.Fushimi Inari Shrine: Explore the 1,000 Torii Gates on an audio walking tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 8 reviews · from $5Best value

Use the VoiceMap app for a self-guided 45-minute to one-hour walk through Fushimi Inari Shrine. Follow the route from the fox statue near Inari Station through the hand-water ritual, main hall, Senbon Torii, Okusha Shrine, and Root up Pine Tree, ending at Kumataka Shrine.

“Self guide tour learning as you take your own pace. Just make sure you download everything before you get to the shrine.”

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