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Home > Kyoto > Kyoto Full-Day Sightseeing Tour including Nijo Castle and Kiyomizu Temple
Kyoto Full-Day Sightseeing Tour including Nijo Castle and Kiyomizu Temple
USD $122.00

Kyoto Full-Day Sightseeing Tour including Nijo Castle and Kiyomizu Temple

Kyoto, Japan

Discover tranquil temples, Imperial palaces and ancient shrines on this 9-hour full-day Kyoto sightseeing tour. Explore top city attractions such as Nijo Castle and the ornate gardens of Kinkaku-ji Temple. Visit the Kiyomizu Temple and the Kyoto Imperial Palace, once home to the Imperial family. Marvel at the Heian Shrine and behold the Thousand Armed Kannon at Sanju-Sangendo Hall. This tour is ideally suited to those short on time keen to explore Kyoto’s rich cultural heritage. Please note there’s quite a lot of walking involved.

Following a morning pickup from your Kyoto hotel, meet your guide and hop aboard your air-conditioned coach to begin your city tour. Widely considered to be the cradle of Japan's cultural heritage, Kyoto was the country’s capital and the Emperor's residence from 794 until 1868. Today it stands as Japan’s seventh largest city, with a population of 1.4 million people and a modern face which belies its status as Japan's most traditional city.

Head first to Nijo Castle, noted for the stark contrast between its solemn appearance and beautiful interior. Built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shogun, Nijo Castle is a joy to explore. Wander past the inner walls to Honmaru Palace and its garden, and hear of their history and heritage from your guide. Discover Ninomaru Palace with its five connecting buildings made of cypress — lavishly decorated in gold leaf — and admire the kitchens, guard house and extensive gardens.

Continue on to the Kinkaku-ji Temple (Golden Pavilion), Kyoto's most popular temple. Explore the authentic and exquisite Japanese garden — widely considered to be the most authentic and exquisite of its kind in the world — and the celebrated Golden Pavilion.

Follow your guide on a walk through the Kyoto Imperial Palace, where the Japanese taste for simplicity and calmness can best be appreciated. (Please note that before entering the Kyoto Imperial Palace you will be required to fill out a form with personal information such as your full name, sex, age, and nationality.) The palace was the residence of the Imperial family until the capital was relocated to Tokyo in 1868, and its history is fascinating. Marvel at the Shishinden Imperial state chamber — where enthronement ceremonies took place — and gain valuable insight into ancient Japanese royalty.

Admire the brightly colored Heian Shrine, then visit the Buddhist temple of Sanju-Sangendo Hall — where famous deity the Thousand Armed Kannon sits in wait — and marvel at the 1,000 life-size statues flanking the grand hall.

Follow your guide along a quaint old lane lined with pottery shops to conclude your tour at the Kiyomizu Temple, and enjoy panoramic views over the entire city of Kyoto from your vantage point on its lofty terrace.

After approximately nine hours exploring Kyoto’s many top attractions, return to your original departure point with your guide to conclude your tour.

    USD $122.00
    Traveler Reviews
    Review by:   Ronald W,    May 2018 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    History , the guide was very knowledgable. excellent, highly recommended .
     

    Review by:   Nindya,    April 2018 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    Definitely recommended! The tour was fun and it took us the most fascinating places in Kyoto. Kyoto is indeed have a lot of beautiful and historical things to offer. I had so much fun and learned a lot fo things about Kyoto although i have to say that one day tour is somehow isn't enough to explore Kyoto.
     

    Review by:   Robert W,    April 2018 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    The sights and scenes of Kyoto are without a doubt some of the most awe inspiring in Asia or indeed the world. Would recommend the whirlwind tour only if you have super limited time to be here. We felt rushed and crushed by the swarms of humanity as it was cherry blossom time. The lunch was a bit less than average. Come on, in the land of excellent fresh food, they found a way to have chicken nuggets on the menu! OK, maybe it was for kids...so perhaps give them a break. However, if you have the chance to roam on your own, would highly recommend it or do two 1/2 tours and break it up.
     

    Review by:   Michael S,    April 2018 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    The first part of the tour was amazing. The tour company said on the day I went that there would be five busloads of people on the morning tour. I was concerned I wouldn't be able to see anything. However, that turned out not to be an issue. The Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle, and the Kyoto Imperial Castle were all great to see. The tour guide on the am part was excellent in explaining things and did a great job of moving a lot of people through some very crowded attractions.
     

    Review by:   Daniel G,    March 2018 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    Really good experience. Can't fault it.
     

    Review by:   deanap,    March 2018 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    This full day tour was really very good. We could never have visited all of the sites that we saw in the same time on our own. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and her English was good. We were fortunate enough to have quite a small group around 20 as during busier seasons, the groups are much larger. It would have been helpful to have known beforehand that we'd have lunch at the Kyoto Handicraft Centre near Heian Shrine because then we wouldn't have made the effort to go there on an earlier date during our stay in Kyoto. We would definitely recommend this tour for anyone who has limite time in Kyoto.
     

    Review by:   Kate L,    March 2018 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    Really enjoyed the full day tour, would not have been able to see this much on our own. Tour guide spoke excellent English and answered all our questions :
     

    Review by:   mikeowen68,    February 2018 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    Fabulous day with wonderful sights seen. Only down side was the high number of tourists at these sights but this didn't spoil the day. Mike.
     

    Review by:   Levana B,    February 2018 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    Fantastic tour! Our guide was quite funny and very enjoyable to spend the day with. _br/_ The castles and temples were absolutely gorgeous. No way could have seen all this on my own in one day. Lunch was way too long (almost 2 hrs)but other than that this tour was fantastic. Must do if in Kyoto!!
     

    Review by:   Tanya D,    January 2018 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    I had a great time seeing all the temples, and the castle. There was no way I would have been able to see them all on my own plus they got us in faster than if you went on a personal tour. I liked having lunch and shopping at the local arts and crafts place near the lunch place. The guides were very knowledgeable and gave us options on the last tour if we didn't want to climb all the stairs. Finding the Travel agency where it was starting was a bit difficult.
     

    Review by:   Guru Kaustubh V Teggi,    January 2018 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    Amazing tour.! friendly tour guide and knowledgeable.
     

    Review by:   amy h,    January 2018 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    Wonderful tour, very informative with a great guide. Would highly recommend.
     

    Review by:   CARMEN GRICELL V,    January 2018 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    Good explanation about all the sites we visited
     

    Review by:   Neal P,    January 2018 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    A big day of seeing the temples and shrines of Kyoto. A great cultural experience and a convenient way of seeing the city
     

    Review by:   Long N,    January 2018 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    This tour was amazing!
     

    Review by:   Jane M,    December 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    A very interesting and professional tour.
     

    Review by:   monicelau199,    December 2017 Review: 1 star rating: I do not recommend this
    we did 't go to the Nijo castle and the imperial palace as described in the itinerary._br/_ Besides we have to wandering for one hour in a handcrafted shop before we cab have lunch._br/_ Lunch was buffet , the quality was beyond expectation._br/_ The morning guide was wonderful._br/_ The afternoon guide was too tired and we did not get much information about the place we went._br/_ So the next day we decided to go on our own .
     

    Review by:   Ursula N,    December 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    It was a great tour for both of us. I personally had been to Kyoto several times before and so I already knew some of the sight-seeing places. But I got a lot of interesting new information, and I could fully enjoy it. For my partner on the other hand it was all new, a discovery and extremely exciting. Actually for him it was a very good start getting to know Japanese culture.
     

    Review by:   Becky C,    December 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    It was a great day tour and you get to see so many sites in a short period. Both guides were very knowledgeable and provided an excellent service. I would recommend and felt it was good value for money.
     

    Review by:   Edmond,    November 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    It is a very comprehensive tour of Kyoto temples, castles and palaces. Very good for those with limited time to spend and very strong legs. That is because you will need to do a lot of fast walking from place to place. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and very strict in following the schedule, which has its positive and negative points. For those who love photography, you'll need more time to compose your pictures, so walk ahead of you tour guide instead of following behind. Overall it is a very good introductory tour of the major architecture of Kyoto. Beautiful in autumn!
     

    Review by:   ALINE J,    November 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    The tour is good if you want to see many castles in one day but if you have enough time in Kyoto I recommend seeing all these castles in two days.
     

    Review by:   joe,    November 2017 Review: 2 star rating: It was OK, but could have been better
    The morning part of the tour was a not very enjoyable, far too many people were on the tour. As most of the attractions were very crowded, our guide would start talking before the group could catch up. The tour should have a limited number of people or provide transmitters to each person so you could hear the tour guide. Although the sites were beautiful, the guide could have and should have done a better job.
     

    Review by:   tbarnett45,    November 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    Excellent tour. Comfortable bus, good guide with just the right amount of explanation. Highly recommended.
     

    Review by:   Michael F,    November 2017 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
    A great way to become familiar with Kyoto, although a lot of time was spent sitting on a bus. I would recommend seeing the sites on your own, with half the travel time and more time at the sites.
     

    Review by:   James M,    November 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    Excellent Tour covering quite a few of the highlights of Kyoto. It was a shame that there were so many people at all the points of interest but that can only be expected as it was a Public Holiday Cultural Day and even all the locals were out and about. Tour Guides morning and afternoon were excellent and kept everybody in order and accounted for. Not sure how they achieve that!! Excellent English and very friendly, funny and informative. Lunch was excellent although very american ir non-Japanese. Highly recommended.
     

    Review by:   Dorothy L,    November 2017 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
    While the tour covers very good venues that are very interesting, it was very rushed. The tour guide seemed in a hurry to get us from place to another and started speaking and walking before people were off the bus. We missed a lot of the discussion. Overall it was a good experience but could be better.
     

    Review by:   christabel s,    November 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    This tour allowed me to see and learn some historical/cultural places in Kyoto. I recommend this tour for those who have limited time in Kyoto.
     

    Review by:   SYD J,    October 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    This is a well organised good tour. The guide was great. The locations visited were interesting and relevant. It did seem we went a little to quickly and possibly could have dropped one temple to give a little more time and explanation at the others. The lunch stop and lunch were good and recommended.
     

    Review by:   SYD J,    October 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    The tour was well organised and the guide was good. Probably one to many temples crowded in and so the day seemed a rush.
     

    Review by:   claude.laliberte,    October 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    tour très intéressant._br/_ le lunch du midi était plutôt ordinaire et l'attente après le lunch de plus de 75 minutes était beaucoup trop longue_br/_ somme toute une belle journée._br/_ excellent guide spécialement le matin
     

    Review by:   SUMMERBEAT,    October 2017 Review: 1 star rating: I do not recommend this
    The tour was boring.
     

    Review by:   Eliot M,    October 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    In total we spent four days in Kyoto. Spent our last day on a full day trip with Viator.Overall, an excellent day going to sites we may not have gone to by ourselves. Lunch time was too longtwo hours. Guide was very good
     

    Review by:   Matthew S,    October 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    This is a very good tour to visit some of the highlights of Kyoto in quick time. Our tour guide was very amusing and informative of the background history of the sites visited. My only disappointment was that we were not allowed to visit the beautiful garden when stopping at Heian Temple. As a day tour it is also pretty exhausting. Nevertheless, I recommend it to visitors of Kyoto which has so many treasures to see.
     

    Review by:   Sylvia P,    October 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    Found all the sights to be beautiful but looking back hard to remember each one specifically without going back in the pamplets. Saw a wedding procession at one shrine which was a bonus. Learnt a few customs and traditions as well. Always amazed at the dedication of past generations to idolize their gods and also the wealth that the emporers were able to accumulate at the expense of their people.
     

    Review by:   dmccullo,    October 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    Excellent tour. The sights were great and the tour guides were very helpful explaining the sights and keeping the tour on schedule. I had a wonderful experience that I will always remember with great pleasure.
     

    Review by:   Sieto78,    October 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    Great tour! Highlights are the Kyoto Castle, the shrine w/ 1000 budhas. If you do the 1-day tour of Kyoto there is a bit of a gap between the morning- and afternoon programs. Lunch was included and was OK.
     

    Review by:   Veronica C,    September 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    lugares muy interesantes buen transporte y la comida fue suficiente. si lo recomiendo.
     

    Review by:   Mark G,    September 2017 Review: 2 star rating: It was OK, but could have been better
    I could describe this tour as a tour of 2 halves.
     

    Review by:   leolion,    September 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    It is a great tour.only low point was the deplorable lunch we received. I would rather have free time and seek out my own lunch if that is the quality available
     

    Review by:   Christina D,    August 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    Worth the money to have a knowledgeable guide pick us up and take us to 6 famous sites.
     

    Review by:   Julien A,    August 2017 Review: 2 star rating: It was OK, but could have been better
    way too much tourists, queuing everywhere. thousand of buses, one after the other full of Chinese tourists._br/_ was always in the rush besides the speaker was interesting. The weather was very hot. At the golden temple, we were literally walking on each other and the flow was slow..
     

    Review by:   David,    August 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    A good way to see a lot in a short time.
     

    Review by:   Melissa S,    August 2017 Review: 1 star rating: I do not recommend this
    If your into shrines and temples then this trip is for you. It's a full day looking at shrines and temples. But my point of view is that if you seen one then you e seen them all, as they all look the sane. Boring tour.
     

    Review by:   gmmr,    May 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    My wife and I would highly recommend this tour with Viator. Everything was on time, professional, and we got to experience the sights, sounds and the inside information due to our great tour guide.
     

    Review by:   Peter F,    May 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    The tour guides were exceptional in their knowledge and skill in speaking english. A great chance to see few of the important sights of a beautiful city. But the group size was large, so hard to always stay in a good spot to hear.
     

    Review by:   Gordon,    April 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    Leaving the weather aside it rained very heavily and constantly ALL day, this was a good tour. The guide disproved the myth that the Japanese have little sense of humour or that they don't understand irony - he was good entertainment as well as being informative. _br/_ The sights chosen to see were excellent, and you would not have wanted to have visited Kyoto and not seen them. As with the other tour in Tokyo we chose, we felt that the tour was a bit rushed with little time to read to the information boards or take time to enjoy the sights. Only at Kiyomizu Temple did we have time to really enjoy the experience of the place. There is a fairly long walk here which is recommended._br/_ Should you have the confidence to use the rail and underground system and most importantly you have the time, you should consider seeing these sights on your own. The advantage and disadvantage of such a tour is the convenience, and the fact that so much is crammed into the one day._br/_ The lunch was no better than adequate.
     

    Review by:   V. P. JOSEPH L,    April 2017 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
    2nd half of tour guide was not good
     

    Review by:   Benjamin D,    April 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    A few things about this tour:_br/_ 1 Value. There is no way we could have seen as many sights, paying for entrance fees, transportation, and lunch along the tour, as we did for the cost here. VERY reasonably priced for what you receive._br/_ 2 An English Speaking Guide means that the guide speaks English. Since the tour is probably going to be done by someone who is a non-native English speaker, they will probably have an accent. This can mean they will occasionally be difficult to understand, but I think it's much better, and you can gain a fuller window into the culture, with tour guides who are native, and are speaking a non-native language._br/_ 3 Even though you are being transported to all the locations by bus, there is A LOT of walking and stairs 1600 year old temples do not have a lot of ramps. There are also a couple of locations where you are required to remove your shoes when you enter. A good pair of walking shoes, and some thick socks maybe two pair? are a good idea. The full-day tour is actually two tours with a lunch in the middle, and can be booked separately without the lunch if a full-day would be too much walking. I'm in fairly decent shape for an American Foreigner Tourist lol and I was feeling it the next day._br/_ 4 Our tour guide was an older gentleman 60's? who is very vigorous. The tour is fast paced. He would point something out, speak about what we were looking at I listened intently, and then I would stop to take a few pictures and have to hustle to catch up to the group. He was attentive though, and always made certain the complete group was together before heading to the next location. At the Golden Temple, he offered to take a few pictures of us with my camera._br/_ 5 Bring cash. I did the majority of shopping for gifts for folks back home at the little stands and gift shops attached to the sites along the way. Again, the prices were very reasonable for what was offered._br/_ All in all, I was very satisfied. Good job!
     

    Review by:   Glenn K,    April 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
    Got a good survey of the highlights in Kyoto. Our tour guide Casey was outstanding. The places we visited were crowded, and was difficult sometimes to keep up with the pace of the tour. Wished the luncheon was better organized so that all the tour's buses didn't converge at the lunch spot at the same time. Also wished there was a better place to wait during the luncheon, like a larger shopping area. Otherwise a good tour.
     

    Review by:   Andres C,    April 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
    Excellent tour. The best way to make the most of your time.
     

    All Traveler Reviews...

    USD $122.00
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