We were a little trepidatious about scheduling 8 hours with an unknown guide for our first time in Japan/Kyoto, but our past experiences with Context gave us confidence that a full day would give us the breadth and depth we wanted to help maximize our trip. It was not a surprise that Marc was a fantastic guide, scholar, and host - truly a great day. Knowing that we had 10 days left in our itinerary, he tailored our day to dive deep into a selection of Japanese history, culture, architecture, gardens, etc. so that we would have some of the fundamentals that made our following days richer. Marc is a teacher at heart; he enjoyed being challenged with tough questions and pivoted quickly as he got to know us better. He also helped accommodate specific dietary needs, making sure we still had a traditional Japanese lunch experience that would have been hard to navigate on our own. Highly recommend this tour (especially Marc) to anyone looking to fully appreciate Kyoto!

Isabelle was a great guide! She helped us find some areas in Kyoto that were not overrun with tourists to give us a balance of excitement and relaxation during the walking tour. She is incredible knowledgeable and helped us understand more about Japanese culture!

Our expert, John, was a lot of fun and great with his knowledge about the history of Kyoto and the sites we visited with him. I have some mobility issues and he was very gracious and accommodating throughout the day making sure I was safe and able to participate. We truly crisscrossed the city and around each corner was a new discovery. We had lunch at a wonderful small restaurant with a beautiful set course meal. He knew we had an interest in food and he introduced us to a number of Kyoto specialties. One highlight was visiting the food hall in the Daimaru (sp?) dept store. Incredible displays of fresh and prepared foods as well as an enormous selection of sweets, both local and national. Must see for any foodies. My daughter and I went back the next day on our own to spend more time and buy some goodies to take home. We ended our day at a zen Buddhist monastery off the beaten path and were able to get away from the crowds and literally by ourselves sit and reflect and chat in the rock gardens. All in all a delightful day. So much to see in Kyoto it is hard to know where to start. We had a great taste in a relatively short time-8 hours- and I would highly recommend the tour and John if you want to see a few of the major sights in Kyoto but still have time off the beaten path and get to experience the culture and hear about current and past events through the eyes of someone who has lived their as a native for 47 years

Photo Shared by Bryan with their review
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