What to Expect
At Amazing Kyoto Experience, we specialize in showing our travelers the most hidden and unseen sights, tastes, and activities in the area. Sure, you may want to see one of the famous spots in Kyoto like the ones below, and we are flexible in adding in your request. Within our tour hours, we are only able to see four or five sites. We would love to take you to all of the hidden gems that most tourists never see because that is what our tours are all about. All of our customers rave about the sites that we visit. So, you can trust us to make the best choices for you, or you can add some customization. Because of the crowds around famous temples and other tourist spots, your tour may not include as many places if these spots are requested.
A Typical Day Trip in our Private Van around Kyoto
~ Any big shrine or temple (customer's favorite choice, see below for ideas) It'll be much less crowded since it will be the first thing we do in the morning.
~ Visit two secret temples, these won't be disclosed until we go there. Takashi will pick the best ones to go to for the day.
~ Experience a tea ceremony and sample Matcha Tea at a serene beautiful setting.
~ A great lunch spot - your guide knows sushi spots, ramen restaurants, and others. These are ones only locals normally go to, the experience is everything. Kyoto is known for a great variety of ramen, the perfect destination for ramen enthusiasts. (I recently have gotten hooked on Mackerel Broth Ramen, let's give it a try if you want something most tourists will never find)
~ One cultural experience, such as sake-tasting, great wooden artworks from the 7-9th century, rickshaw rides, and others.
Temples, Shrines, Parks, and Pavilions
Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine This shrine will immerse you in the remarkable view of thousands of tri-gates. Surprisingly, one whole mountain is the shrine premises, including long stretch of bamboo forest trail and peaceful birds chirping. Some giant gates and buildings in the entrance are very clean and beautiful, but as it goes deeper, more abandoned but solemn shrines appear, which is depicted in some Japanese anime. Seeing this huge shrine with the help of your knowledgeable guide can be accomplished without facing massive crowds.
【Secret temple】(This temple name is only disclosed on the tour) Extremely gorgeous moss garden in this temple will astonish you. The temple is not visited by many people due to its distant and inconvenient location. As you enter the temple, wide open tatami mat floor are spread out, and naturally inviting you to enjoy the garden from the porch. Sitting on tatami, porch and having fresh air is invigorating.
Ryoanji Temple is the site of Japan's most famous rock garden. Originally an aristocrat's villa during the Heian Period, the site was converted into a Zen temple in 1450. The history of Ryoanji's famous rock garden, is not certain. The garden's date of construction is unknown and there are a number of speculations regarding its designer. The garden consists of a rectangular plot of pebbles surrounded by low earthen walls, with 15 rocks laid out in small groups on patches of moss. An interesting feature of the garden's design is that from any vantage point at least one of the rocks is always hidden from the viewer. Due to our advantage of driving directly here, you will not see many other visitors. Definitely a hidden gem.
Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple This temple was originally erected by a group of people called Hatashi, said to be Korean-rooted ethnic tribe in the 5-6th century. Ever since experiencing one burndown in the 8th century, it has stayed in tact and in it's original form until now. One of the most remarkable features of Adashino Nenbutsuji is Sai no Kawara, a dedicated space where approximately 8,000 stone grave markers of people who were buried in the area over the centuries are preserved. The temple grounds also contain several noteworthy Buddhist halls and statues, a grand Indian-style stupa, quiet cemeteries, and a serene bamboo grove.
Kinkakuji, golden pavilion. The temple was a villa of Shogun, Yoshimitsu Ashikaga (1358-1408) but was converted to a temple after his death. It is known as the building with two top floors covered with gold leaf. Rising above its reflecting pond like an apparition, the golden hall of Kinkaku-ji is Kyoto’s most impressive sight, especially if you’re there on the four or five days per year when it’s covered in snow. The only problem is, as you might guess, that it’s almost always packed with visitors. We know the best days and times to visit.
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple - The temple was an art master's property who was a professional in many arts such as the tea ceremony, calligraphy and such. So the temple has an awesome garden with various trees and plants, tea ceremony items and nice display of artifacts. At the end of the garden you will command a good view down over Kyoto city. This temple garden is particularly popular in the autumn and spring seasons when leaves have color, or cherry blossoms are in bloom.
Monkey Park Iwatayama - Nestled in the verdant hills of Kyoto, the Iwatayama Monkey Park offers visitors a unique opportunity to observe the Japanese Macaque, commonly known as the snow monkey. These fascinating creatures, renowned for their intelligence and sociable nature, captivate the hearts of all who encounter them. We will stop at at a local dessert shop. They have many Kyoto styled unique sweets such as Mochifu (pounded rice cake, a different texture from normal mochi), shaved ice flavored with Yuzu (Japanese citrus) and Matcha etc.
Kibune Shrine - This is the biggest shrine erected by one of the most powerful noble families, Hatashi-tribe. It is beloved by all the surrounding neighborhood households. They have a large Koi fish pond where you are allowed to feed them. They move so aggressively when you throw feed to them!! Wonderful! It is situated in the west end of Kyoto, making it disadvantageous to come by trains. We will let you stop there upon your request 30 minutes
Many of our customers have discovered these locations with us. They are some of the popular tourist places to visit. However, we can provide you a better experience of many places that other tourists don't know about. In fact, we don't even post the names of the sites on our site just to make sure we keep the experience special for you and your group. If there's a specific event cultural experience, or aspect you'd like to explore, feel free to share your suggestions. We're here to make your experience memorable and tailored to your interests.
