Kyoto & Nara Tour: Iconic Sites & Photo Memories

Explore Kyoto, Osaka, or Nara in a private car tour with a flexible itinerary. Capture memories with a photographer guide. Customize your adventure today.

Duration: 9 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Kinkakuji Temple - Kinkaku-ji Temple (金閣寺);
    Begin your adventure at Kyoto’s iconic golden temple, reflecting beautifully across a serene pond and surrounded by meticulously designed Zen gardens. This World Heritage site is a must-visit, renowned for its pavilion adorned with pure gold leaves, symbolizing Kyoto.
  • Bamboo Forest Street -…
What's Included
  • Professional English Speaking Tour Guide
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Professional travel photos taken during your tour
  • Parking, Gasoline, and Expressway fees
  • Hotel pick-up and drop-off
What's Not Included
  • Lunch and personal expenses
  • Admission fees to temples and shrines (e.g., Kinkakuji, Fushimi Inari, Gion, Arashiyama, etc.)
  • Admission to other attractions
Additional Information

These private tours are exclusively yours!
Experience the best of Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara with top-notch VIP service, including hotel pickup and drop-off.
Explore iconic landmarks such as the Golden Pavilion, Fushimi Inari’s Tori Gates, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, and Deer Park with its Great Buddha.
Flexible itineraries are available from Kyoto, Osaka,…

Location
Kinkakuji Temple
1 Kinkakujicho, Kita-ku,
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.9
(89 Ratings)
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Sivaramprasad_p
Apr 17, 2026
Ryu is an excellent... - Ryu is an excellent driver and guide. The car is in great condition. He took us to all the spots and explained the details about each site in detail. He took our photos and was very friendly. Very good choice for a group of up to 5.
Review provided by Viator
217tamarav
Apr 12, 2026
Kyoto tour - Ryu is highly professional and provides a personalised itinerary. He took us to a restaurant that served a great ramen set, and very knowledgeable in history and
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shan
Apr 10, 2026
Great Day Trip to Kyoro - Very friendly guide who took us to Kyoto and showed all of the major sites and showed us a local ramen spot. Allows us to customize experience and also helped us book a dinner reservation for after the tour. Great experience and highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Y7735xbsharonc
Apr 8, 2026
Amazing Kyoto and Nara experience - Good day trip experience in Kyoto which was highly customizable. Really enjoyed the trip to Nara and Bamboo forest the most!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Y6022atmorgans
Apr 7, 2026
Best Tour Guide in Kyoto - Ryu was amazing. Our family had so much fun with him as our guide. He took us to all the best spots and we had a lot of flexibility in what we saw and how we wanted to spend the day. He was great with our two boys (ages 7 and 10). They loved him and had so much fun. We can’t recommend him enough.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
O1573eugeorgea
Apr 6, 2026
Kyoto site seeing - Was a great experience getting to see various temples and shrines in Kyoto, along with some awesome ramen noodles!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
S6218qepaolag
Apr 3, 2026
Best private car experience in Kyoto! - We had the best experience with Ryu. We got to see a lot of Kyoto in one day. He speaks English perfectly which is a plus. Also he gave us some very good recommendations. Great experience! Definitely will send people his way!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
James_m
Apr 27, 2026
April 27, 2026 Luxury Kyoto Private Car Tour - Overall, our tour was good. However, a few comments: 1) Booked 2 months in advance, and the day before the tour had to be rescheduled since they did not have enough drivers. We had to cancel another activity since we had to change the date. 2) The booking itinerary did not match the actual tour since they stated we did not select the option of Nara. There were 2 additional stops in the original itinerary. Gion and Tenryu-ji Temple were both located in Kyoto and not in Nara. The Viator chat person did not seem to understand the differences. We did see the top 3 attractions. - Golden Temple, Bamboo forest (Arashiyama district), and Fushimi Inari Shrine were seen. The booking confusion seems to be common, as we were told. This was a disappointing action on the interinary, which is not clear and concise. 3) Our guide/driver was nice and helpful, but lacked some professionalism in dress and actions. We do not like texting while driving.
Review provided by Viator
Nanna2kk
Apr 25, 2026
Very nice into to Kyoto cultural sutes! - Ryu was friendly, funny, and engaging. His English was excellent as he spent 8 years in the US and Canada. The sites we visited were excellent although they weee very crowd. We are in a small ramen place; food was tasty and the experience was fun and enlightening.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
T9294ntconorc
Apr 5, 2026
Cancelled on me the night before - Hadn't heard from him in a while so decided to reach out day before to confirm pickup time and itinerary. He informed me he was too sick to honor the tour to Nara/Osaka the next morning, then before any further discussion, cancelled at 9pm the night before. Really frustrating. I get it's a solo person and not a big company but in that instance just communicate better and dont leave customers with a cancelled tour/transport the night before. Super unprofessional
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $185
up to 12 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).