Kyoto Private 6 hour Tour: English Speaking Driver Only, No Guide

We have opted for this Tour as we had limited time and wanted to see as much as possible in 1 day. The tour includes 6 stops in all key sightseeing points. As we were picked up, we told the driver that we have booked walking tour for Gion, so we can skip this part of 60 min. The tour started at 9:30 in the morning with pick-up at the hotel. 1st stop was Fushimi Inari Shrine. Then we made an attempt to drive to Kiyomizu-dera, but the driver suggested because it's too crowded, we should skip it and go to Kinkaku-ji Temple (2nd sop), where I felt the driver started rushing us. The tourists are allowed to follow a certain way, and once you pass the Teahouse you cannot return back. As we were going down, pass the security the driver was asking us if we want to buy souvenirs, I said that we want to see the Teahouse. So we had to go back, pass the security and ask for permission to return. Next, The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (3rd stop), which is very close to Tenryū-ji temple (4th stop). As we were passing the entrance of the temple, the driver was just walking ahead and ignoring to point out what is it. When I said I want to see it, he told us, "yes but you have to pay"... Of course we knew we had to pay. Thats when I really felt he was rushing us and walking ahead - almost like he had enough of the day. I pointed out what i want to see and he again said it is on the other side, we passed it. After that when we sat at the car he asked us whether he should drop us the hotel, as the drive back to the hotel is 30 min, and our tour is for 6h (45 min less for him and 2 places less to visit, but that didn't bother him). Itinerary: You'll get picked up at your hotel 1. Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Stop: 60 minutes - Admission excluded 2. Gion. Stop: 60 minutes 3. Kinkakuji Temple. Stop: 60 minutes - Admission excluded 4. Tenryuji Temple. Stop: 40 minutes - Admission excluded 5. Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine. Stop: 60 minutes 6. Arashiyama. Stop: 60 minutes You'll return to the starting point

We were driven around Kyoto by Mr Yukata Ito (Taxi 110).. He was truly a gentleman and professional for our family of 4 Inc. Pre teen and teen. He explained us important history about places we visited shortly and succinctly. He was punctual. He was clever taking us through nooks and corners, so that though we were running late (due to crowd and our clumsiness), he took us through all salient places so that we could enjoy all.places. His recommended place for lunch was A+++... reasonably priced and yummy food... We only left with gratitude to honourable Mr Ito... Beside English he also used our broken native language... If you are around Kyoto for a short trip and want to get maximum informative time... always recommend Mr Ito... Aarigato ????

Fuji was an amazing driver and even helped us figure out the best routes to take when he dropped us off at each destination. The only reason I'm giving this review 4 stars is because the itinerary for this tour suggests that all items on it could be competed within the 5 hour timespan. That is just not possible. We tried to reach out to the cab company a few days before to confirm the itinerary as suggested but we never got a response. On the day of our visit we were able to see 3 temples & the bamboo forest (one temple is in the same place as the forest so it was still only 3 stops). We adjusted our plan so that we could be dropped off at the Geisha district at the end of the 5 hours and then we ended up searching for a cab at the end of the night which took some time. But all in all the experience was so nice. Fuji's driving was safe, the vehicle was clean and comfortable and we saw many amazing places.