Kyoto top must-see Golden pavilion and Bamboo forest half-day Private tour
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Kyoto top must-see Golden pavilion and Bamboo forest half-day Private tour

Recommended by 100% of travellers
100% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
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This tour is best for first-time visitors to Kyoto. You will visit popular must-see tourist attractions such as Golden Pavilion, bamboo groves, and Tenryuji Temple with its wonderful World Heritage garden. We will also take you to hidden jem, meaning the temple of heaven, which is a relatively quiet and beautiful temple. You can enjoy popular sightseeing spots in a comfortable and efficient manner by cab. The tour ends in the Arashiyama area.  After the tour, the guide will give you directions to other must-see places such as movie studios, Nijo Castle, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kiyomizu Temple, Gion, etc. If you are new to Kyoto, please join this tour and get an outline of Kyoto sightseeing.
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation

Ages 3-100
Duration: 4h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: Japanese, English
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  • Selected Local Professional Guides
  • Pick-up service
What's not included
  • Taxi fee: About 6000 yen per one taxi. *Depending on the hotel location and traffic conditions.
  • *4people (a guide+3 guests) can get on one taxi. If your group is 4 people, you need two taxis.
  • Admission fee : around 1500yen per person for all temples
  • Retern transfer, The tour ends in the Arashiyama area.
  • Entry/Admission - Kinkakuji Temple
  • Entry/Admission - Jojakkoji Temple
  • Entry/Admission - Kyoto


Start:Multiple pickup locations offered.
    Pickup details
    • Pick-up service is available at hotels in Kyoto City. Pick-up from private accommodations such as Airbnb is not available. Please send a message with the hotel's name and address.
    Hotel pickup offered
    During checkout you will be able to select from the list of included hotels.
      End:This activity ends back at the meeting point.

        • Not wheelchair accessible
        • Pushchair accessible
        • Near public transportation
        If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 285124P3

        • Most travellers can participate
        • The tour ends in the Arashiyama area.
        • This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

        • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

        If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 285124P3

        From
        AU$201.37
        per adult (price varies by group size)
        Select date and travellers
        Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.

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        Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

        Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


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        5.0
        5.0 of 5 bubbles25 reviews
        Excellent
        25
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        直子 清
        2 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Oct 2021
        On entering the park, we were welcomed by a lot of attractive figures, like Sailor Moon, One Piece and Dragon Ball. Then our charming guide, Aki showed us a lot of “Edo” buildings built for film shooting. She was knowledgeable about the history and culture during “Edo“ period, when Japan closed the door to the rest of the world with bloom its own unique culture. Aki stopped at every building and told us an interesting story with humor, showing pictures and English panels. She was so friendly that we didn’t hesitate to ask any questions. We also enjoyed the exciting Ninja show. We met several people in traditional costumes. They were happy to take a photo with us. No tipping required. I was very happy to have a picture with a girl in Kimono and Samurai. I highly recommend you this tour.
        Written 23 October 2021
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        Pamela L
        Orinda, CA18 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Sept 2023 • Family
        We had a beautiful visit to the Golden Pavilion and Bamboo Forest with Mutsumi. She is very professional, knowledgeable and includes interesting facts about the area. We loved the bamboo forest for its grandeur and peacefulness. We liked the ice cream stop too!

        You can tell Mutsumi enjoys being a guide sharing Kyoto sites and culture with visitors which made the tour a great experience for us.
        Written 11 October 2023
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        ElizabethBarna
        New York City, NY13 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        We love Japan! This was our first trip and also our first time trying private tours. Fuji was so friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating. The Golden Pavillon and the grounds were beautiful. The Bamboo Forest was breathtaking. Fuji also took us to the Fushimi Inari Shrine with the 1000 (?) orange gates. Scenes of “Memoirs of a Geisha” were filmed here, which began my interest in Japan. I’m pretty sure she took us here because I mentioned I loved the movie. We spent 2 lovely weeks in Japan with various guides along the way. Fuji was our favorite. The best! 10 stars. 💫
        Written 17 November 2024
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
        Thank you so much for your kind words and thoughtful review! It was a great pleasure guiding you, and I am truly grateful to have met you. I am so glad that you were able to enjoy Japan. Please visit Kyoto again! Thank you! Fuji
        Written 18 November 2024
        This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

        Jet41686548062
        Washington DC, DC5 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Mar 2024 • Family
        Naoko was the best guide we had on our whole (2 week) trip! She was warm, funny and informative. If we could have had her travel with us for the entire vacation it would have been a dream! She added a stop we requested and arranged for a taxi to wait for us at places so wouldn’t have to call multiple taxis or Ubers to get around. Perfect!
        Written 23 March 2024
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        Stephenne B
        1 contribution
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Oct 2024 • Family
        Fujiko was so knowledgeable and kind! She spent the entire day with us and even gave us her umbrella when we were surprised by some rain. She gave us many choices throughout the day and made our tour very special. I would highly recommend this tour and Fujiko in particular. There is no way we could have seen all she took us to without her guidance.
        Written 30 October 2024
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        Ann W
        San Francisco, CA42 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Nov 2024 • Friends
        We had a great morning with Kumi. She was prompt, knowledgeable, very friendly and kind. She was prepared with a notebook of material on the two sites and was generous with her time to explain and show us things we never would have known or learned on our own. Thank you Kumi!!
        Written 23 November 2024
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
        Thank you so much for leaving us such a lovely review. I’ m grateful and truly appreciate it. I had a wonderful time with both of you and I hope the day will hold a special place in your memories of Kyoto. Thank you Kumi
        Written 26 November 2024
        This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

        Hersh M
        2 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Great tour! Our favorite in Japan.

        Yoko was our tour guide and she was extremely accommodating and knowledgeable. She was able to tailor the tour a bit around our preferences, what we wanted to see and had time to see and we had a wonderful experience.

        It was also helpful to learn about all the history and background of each place we visited to really appreciate what we were experiencing.

        I would definitely recommend the tour for anyone visiting Kyoto.
        Written 24 March 2024
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        PeteB_12345
        London, UK30 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Fantastic day out with Kaori! As described, saw many great sites during the day, while learning interesting history and cultural facts from Kaori. She was very engaging and even followed up after our tour on some cultural questions that we had discussed. I highly recommend!
        Written 21 August 2024
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        Grant Osmond
        Nelson, New Zealand10 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Sept 2024 • Family
        A stunning piece of Japanese Culture. Beautiful building and gardens. Very busy though so go a little early if you can but even so a great morning and easy to get to from Nishiki Market area on the No 12 Bus.
        Written 2 October 2024
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        kenG6133CA
        Shinjuku, Japan1 contribution
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Dec 2023 • Business
        This was an excellent 1 day tour. A client visited from the U.S. and we traveled to Kyoto the night before. Met our tour guide Araki-san at our hotel. Araki-san was perfect. She helped explain, history, sights and points of interest. Client was happy. I was happy. A very good day. Recommended for travelers who don't have time to plan tour and the route. The planning was perfect.
        Written 18 December 2023
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        Showing results 1-10 of 24
        *Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.

        Kyoto top must-see Golden pavilion and Bamboo forest half-day Private tour - with unbiased reviews

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