Hello all,
We are going to Japan in June, with the planned nominal itinerary below. Have a few questions about finding tour guides. For most of the full days, we are looking for a tour guide to take us around.
**Day 1 – Sunday 6/16 – Arrival**
* Flight to NRT, arriving 2:25 PM JST
* Hotel is Keio Plaza, Shinjuku
* *Questions for day 1*
1. Do you recommend just taking the Narita express to Shinjuku or hiring a car to go point to point?
**Day 2 – Monday 6/17 – Tokyo West**
* Meiji Jingu Temple
* Takeshita Street (Harajuku)
* Shibuya Scramble Crossing
* Kabukicho Area
* Golden Gai Streets
* Omoide Yokocho (Memory Lane)
* *Questions for day 2*
1. How would you organize the items on this day/how much time in each?
2. Can you recommend a tour company for this day? Assuming that transport between sites would be walking or Yamanote line. Would like to have some time on our own in Harajuku.
**Day 3 – Tuesday 6/18 – Tokyo East**
* Senso-ji Temple
* Nakamise-dori Street shopping
* Tsukiji Outer Market
* Imperial Palace
* Akihabara Electric Town
* *Questions for day 3*
1. How would you organize the items on this day/how much time in each?
2. Can you recommend a tour company for this day? Assuming that transport like a van would be needed given the distribution of the sites.
**Day 4 – Wednesday 6/19 – Travel to and half day in Kyoto**
* Taking Shinkansen to Kyoto station
* Hotel is Rinn Gion Hanatuoro
* Walk around Gion/Sannezaka/Ninenzaka
* *Questions for day 4*
1. How to get from hotel to Shinkansen station? Would you recommend taking the Yamanote to Shinagawa, Chuo to Tokyo station, or hiring a car?
2. Looking into participating in a tea ceremony on this day. Any recommendations or good experiences?
3. Do you recommend hiring a car or finding a local taxi to get between Kyoto station and the hotel, or some other option? Will be doing this multiple times during our stay.
The next 5 days are in Kyoto with day trips to Osaka & Nara. In addition to the details on each day, I would appreciate knowing if there is a specific reordering of the days that would be useful (e.g. better to do Kyoto temples on a week day vs weekend). I’ve marked all the sites we definitely don’t want to miss with a \*, the others on those days seemed like they would be interesting and convenient based on location, but happy to hear other ideas.
**Day 5 – Thursday 6/20 – Kyoto Day 1**
* Kiyomizu-dera temple \*
* Yasaka-jinja Shrine \*
* Gion district \*
* Nishiki Market \*
* *Questions for day 5*
1. We are looking for a walking tour guide. Any recommended services?
2. Is this an appropriate ordering, and \~ how much time is needed?
**Day 6 – Friday 6/21 – Osaka Day Trip**
* Osaka Castle \*
* Dotonbori area \*
* *Questions for day 6*
1. Getting to Osaka – is it recommended to take a train to Shin-Osaka? How do you then get around in the city to the castle and Dotonbori? Or do folks a get a driver to go point to point?
2. Are tour guides useful in Osaka, or is it better to just wander around?
**Day 7 – Saturday 6/22 – Kyoto Day 2**
* Fushimi-Inari shrine \*
* To-ji Temple
* Nijo Castle \*
* *Questions for day 7*
1. We are looking for a tour guide, and assuming that a driver will be needed between sites. Any recommended services?
2. Is this an appropriate ordering, and \~ how much time is needed?
**Day 8 – Sunday 6/23 – Nara Day Trip**
* Nakatanidou Mochi shop \*
* Tōdai-ji temple \*
* Kofuku-ji temple
* Nara Park \*
* Naramachi area
* *Questions for day 8*
1. Getting to Nara – is it recommended to take a train to Nara then just walk around?
2. Are tour guides useful in Nara, or is it better to just wander around?
**Day 9 – Monday 6/24 – Kyoto Day 3**
* Arashiyama Bamboo Forest \* & Tenryu-ji Temple
* Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavilion \*
* Ryoan-ji Zen Temple
* Take Shinkansen back to Tokyo
* *Questions for day 9*
1. We are looking for a tour guide, and assuming that a driver will be needed between sites. Any recommended services?
2. Is this an appropriate ordering, and \~ how much time is needed?
**Day 10 – Tuesday 6/25 – Free day in Tokyo**
* Hotel Shibuya Excel
* *Questions for day 10*
1. Any other experiences would should be sure not to miss?
**Day 11 – Wednesday 6/26 – Depart**
* *Questions for day 11*
1. Transportation from Shibuya Excel to Haneda airport – is a driver most efficient here?
Thanks for all of your input – I have been reading a lot of posts to assemble this itinerary.