Nara is located about 40km south from Kyoto and 30km east from Osaka.
It is an older capital than Kyoto and as old as Osaka.
It was about 1300 years ago.
There are ancient temples. Most of them are older than Kyoto and are not Zen temple.
Nara is quieter than Kyoto and Osaka.
More than one thousand friendly deer live with Nara citizens.
And also Nara has a lot of local food like Sushi, Ramen and so on.
You would be able to have unique experience.
At the lobby in your Hotel in Kyoto city or Osaka city
It is a central Shinto shrine of Kasuga-shrines which are there about 1000 branches in Japan.
Three deities were enshrined to protect Nara from evils. And the forest in the shrine has not been touched by human for more than 1000 years. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Todai-ji is also famous for the "Big Buddha statue". It is 14.7 meters height bronze statue.
The statue is kept in Great Buddha Hall, the main building whose height is about 50 meters.
About 1300 years ago, the temple and statue were built for playing to stop natural disaster, famine, the pandemic and so on. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Koufuku-ji is a Buddhist temple and tutelary temple of Fujiwara clan. Fujiwara clan had been the most influential power over imperial government in ancient Japan. Kamatari Fujiwara implemented Taika Reform which built the basis of ancient Japanese central government.
It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Nara-machi is an area where is southern from national road 369.
It has old town scape with narrow road. There are many traditional style houses which are Japanese cuisine restaurant, tea room, traditional goods shop and so on.
Your Hotel in Kyoto city or Osaka city
You can visit most of major destinations in eastern Nara city. Then you will feel different atmosphere from Kyoto and Osaka. It is quieter town than them. And you will have to play with deer because they are very friendly.
Guide fee,
Hotel pick-up fee in Kyoto city or Osaka city
Transportation fee between guide's house and your hotel in Kyoto or Osaka.
Transportation fee(you and guide) during this tour.
Lunch, dinner, entrance fee(you and guide),
Entrance fees are 600yen for Todai-ji, 500yen for Kasuga-taisha, 700yen for Koufuku-ji.
I can guide you from Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Nara if you pay the pick up fee.
Please ask the fee.
We will walk long (more than 5km). So you should wear walking shoes.
We departed Osaka in the morning of this tour, and Yoshi kindly adapted the tour’s schedule to include him guiding us to the correct station for travelling to Kyoto. This was our third consecutive day spent with Yoshi as our guide, and he was just as friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. It was a particularly hot day, so he allowed us plenty of breaks in the shade with cold drinks. We saw the golden pavilion, bamboo forest, thousand-shrine gate and Gion geisha district. All were really enjoyable despite the oppressive heat, and adapted our tour to finish a little early at our request because of our long hot day. He also went out of his way to arrange a delicious vegetarian monk set lunch at the temple in the bamboo forest area, which was in a Michelin-star tatami-mat floor room. Our time with Yoshi was overall superb. He is a wonderful guide for first-time visitors who my family and I couldn’t recommend more.
Dear Tom Actually, I was super-suprised for not only the value of the tip but also the paper wrapping the tip up. It was very famous temple's paper. The temple is famous for the origin of "Manga" comics in Japan. There were famous pictures on the paper! Anyway, thank you for your evaluation and tip. And I hope you will have good trip and return home safely. Yours sincerely, Yoshi
Yoshi guided us to the sights of Nara including shrines, a giant bronze buddha and Nara park. He always put our preferences and wishes first, especially with the hot September sun. He is kind and considerate, and overall great company to travel with. He is really helpful on public transport by clearly informing us where our stops are and where to go, always checking back to make sure we are all accounted for and well.
Dear Tom Thank you for your evaluation and your tip Y(^^)Y. The tour day was very hot but there were few tourists. So we were easy to visit those destinations.(Every cloud has silver lining?) I am very happy to hear you are satisfied with the tour. Yours sincerely, Yoshi
Yoshi was very friendly and guided us around to explore Osaka including Dotonbori and street markets. He helped us acquire an Osaka underground ICOCA card to use for all kinds of public transport. Such a friendly and keen guide who kept an eye out for us every step of the way whilst teaching us about each area!
Dear Tom Thank you for your evaluation and your tip Y(^^)Y. Stations in Osaka are busy and very complicated. So I was keen not to make customers loose the way. By the way, you can use ICOCA card in some vending machines, for instance to buy coke. Please check the machine having "ICOCA" mark.I guess you can use all value of ICOCA before leaving Japan by drinking a lot of coke (^^). Yours sincerely, Yoshi
I had the luck and pleasure of spending a day exploring Osaka with Yoshi, and he is an absolute legend. From the moment we met (exactly on time), Yoshi impressed me with his preparation. He provided a document he made, containing all the information about our daily tour as well as historical and cultural insights about Japan. Yoshi's knowledge of the area is exceptional, and he's incredibly adaptable, tailoring the tour to match personal interests. As a fellow engineer with a passion for technology, I was thrilled that Yoshi shared this enthusiasm. He guided me to amazing hidden gems like local component stores and geek shops, making the experience even more special. Despite the scorching heat and long day, Yoshi showed remarkable endurance, even though it was clearly challenging for the both of us. His dedication and professionalism are truly commendable. Yoshi is one of the most likable, polite, and kind people I've ever met. I'm honored to have had the chance to spend time with him and benefit from his expertise. For anyone visiting Osaka, especially those with a passion for technology, the Yoshi guiding experience is a must. Everyone should try it at least once in a lifetime! Yoshi is the funniest, kindest and overall best guide in Osaka.
Dear Marco Thank you for your evaluation. I am happy to hear you enjoyed the tour. The area used to be for warehouses of electronics and electric appliance. But some old style electronics shops are remained, even vacuum tube shop. Next time you visit in Osaka, I guess you should bring a big suitcase to put many parts in. (^-^) Anyway thank you! Yours sincerely, Yoshi