On a flight today DCA/LGA, my seatmate strongly suggested thet we use the services of a guide when we visit Kyoto.

What's the opinion of those of you who have visited Kyoto?

Dan

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dhammer53:
On a flight today DCA/LGA, my seatmate strongly suggested thet we use the services of a guide when we visit Kyoto.</font>

What were the reasons given for a guide?

I don't think one needs a guide to get around Kyoto. However when one is touring a site, more information is obtained by listening to a site tour guide. I thought the info pamphlets at the sites were good enough.

Hmmm... how long will you be in Kyoto? There's a Tourist Information Center (TIC) in the building underneath the Kyoto Tower -can't miss it, right across from the train station - that has lots of maps, books, and suggestions of where to go, etc. The staff is really helpful. And I think you may also be able to "hire" a local student to show you some of the Kyoto sights, if you want. The TIC is run by the JNTO, there might be info at http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/
We didn't get a guide, but we were in Kyoto only a few days and saw only a few of the many sights. We did get along just fine; I had read up on some stuff in Frommers and other guidebooks, plus my Tokyo-resident friend had given us the heads-up on using the Kyoto buses before we got there, so once we had figured out where our hotel was we were fine.
Really, unless you're looking for a seriously in-depth tour of Kyoto, you'll probably be fine with a good bus map, a guide to the sights of Kyoto, lots of time and lots of change for bus fare http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif
Stephanie

If you are pressed for time, you can hire a car with guide to take you to the major sites of interest. But it will cost you.

If you are adventuresome, read up on a guide book and concentrate on those sites that interest you. Kyoto is a relatively small city compared to Tokyo, has an efficient subway system, and as a major tourist destination, taxis are all over the place. Save your money, immerse yourself into Japanese culture and splurge on a high end ryokan (traditional Japanese inn). The price may be hefty but it usually includes breakfast and dinner.

Since Kyoto was spared from bombing during WWII, much of the historical sites you are likely to see have been painstakingly preserved, unlike other castles and temples throughout Japan which suffered extensive damage and were essentially rebuilt from bottom up post-1945.

Having a guide some of the time certainly doesn't exclude the possibility of exploring other times on your own. Japan is not the easiest place in the world, or even the easiest place in east Asia, for Western tourists, so a guide can make sense for some people.

One of the more interesting guided tours seems to be a walking tour by Johnnie Hillwalker (http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/people/h-s-love/), whose name is actually Hajime Hirooka. I haven't taken it, but very well might when I visit in the fall.

Join an organized tour. I've done that in Kyoto, and been very happy with the quality. I think it is a little confusing to get from temple to temple, and I enjoy the ease of getting on the mini bus. I've also had great commentary from the guides.

Thanks for the interesting tips.

I'll let you know how it turns out when I return home July 31. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

Dan

Of!Course not. Just readup on the guide books, take a good map and follow the nose. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif enjoy !!! Mileage-run ?

AK,

Vacation.

If it's not too late, I've found the best book when traveling on vacation to be Gateway to Japan.

A guide is certainly nice but, expensive. If you don't mind spending, I'd perhaps use a private guide 1 day or 2 half days and explore on your own the others. Kyoto is relatively easy to get around. I'd also explore certain sections of the city for at least a half day or more rather than jumping all around to catch a little of everything.

If you have not already read Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, suggest you do so. It will give you an interesting historical perspective on Kyoto. It's also a great book.

Bumped. ;)

I'm recently back from Kyoto, and I found it to be one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to.

While much of the city looks like any other modern place, pockets and slices of beauty are there for the pickings, but it really needs to be seen on foot. My favorite street was in the Shinbashi neighborhood in Gion -- lovely houses along a tree-shaded canal, the buildings and architecture carefully preserved.

I am generally not a guided tour type traveler; I did not have a guide on this trip, but I did read extensively before going. (Favorite resource was Diane Durston's pictorial book, Seven Paths to the Heart of the City.) One of the things I like best about self-guided meanering is that I can explore little streets and alleyways that might be passed if I were being guided around.

However, I might very well hire a guide next time I visit Kyoto. Other than transportation (street signs, subway stops), relatively little is available in English, so most plaques, store signs, etc. remained unread by this anglophone -- a guide would certainly have been useful for that. And of course the city has a wealth of hidden treasures that a guide would know about and that I would surely miss.

I would absolutely encourage (maybe gently insist) that anyone going to Japan learn some basic phrases: "good morning" (everyone greets each other in the hotel elevator or breakfast bar); "thanks"/"thanks a lot"; "Is this ____?"; "Where is _____?" -- no one will expect a Westerner to speak Japanese, and the few phrases will endear you to a great many people.