Kyoto in Depth

(7 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Kyoto with Nara, Uji, Himeji Castle and/or Hiroshima & Miyajima

This comprehensive private tour focuses on enchanting Kyoto, the heart of traditional culture and crafts in Japan. It features flexible private touring with your own guide and driver, the best way to discover Kyoto’s many charms, such as heritage architecture, important temples and shrines, beautiful Japanese gardens, refined traditional crafts and delicious cuisine. It also includes private day trips to the most interesting cultural destinations in the region, such as Nara, Uji and Hiroshima.

Spend six nights at one of Kyoto’s best luxury hotels or ryokan (traditional inns), and enjoy flexible private touring of the best of this elegant city with your private guide and driver. Visit the city’s most important historic attractions and temples and shrines such as Kinkakuji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion), Ryoanji and its famous Zen rock garden, Kiyomizudera Temple, Nijo Castle, Ginkakuji, Saihoji (Moss Temple) and Fushimi Inari, famous for its tunnel of red torii gates. Take a private excursion to Arashiyama, a beautiful mountainside district, to see its enormous bamboo forest, historic gardens and sites, and to have a vegetarian lunch at a Zen temple. Enjoy a private tour of Gion, Kyoto’s traditional geisha district, walk on the Philosopher’s Path, and see traditional architecture in our favorite neighborhoods. Also browse Nishiki Market, antiques districts, small specialty museums, and historic shops that have been selling traditional goods for centuries. Upon request, we can arrange access to imperial villas and private gardens such as Katsura Rikyu and other less-visited attractions. One day, enjoy a private excursion to the I.M. Pei-designed Miho Museum; ancient Nara, the eighth-century capital of Japan; Uji to visit tea plantations and Byodoin Temple; or Himeji Castle, the most impressive medieval castle in Japan. Another day, take an excursion to Hiroshima for an educational and moving visit to the Peace Park and Museum and nearby Miyajima Island with its iconic torii (Shinto gate) that seems to float on the water. Artisans of Leisure will also arrange an exclusive private Japanese tea ceremony in a tea villa and reservations at the city’s best restaurants.

Upon request, other activities that can be arranged around Kyoto include an exclusive private dinner with geisha entertainment, private Zen meditation in a local Buddhist temple, meetings with local craftspeople, private ikebana (flower arranging) lessons, visiting a master swordsmith, meetings with ceramics experts, tea tastings, visits to sake breweries and tofu factories, manga drawing lessons, a visit to a private machiya (traditional merchant house), hiking to temples in the hills, attending local festivals, private Japanese cooking classes, and visiting the best places around Kyoto to view cherry blossoms and fall foliage.

Booking Information >

All Artisans of Leisure tours are private and depart daily.

Please Contact Us for more information regarding the above tour, or to begin customizing your own itinerary.

The Artisans of Leisure Style of Travel:

• Private touring with your own personal guides and drivers
• Preferred rooms in the very best luxury hotels
• Firsthand, sophisticated destination knowledge and recommendations from our travel specialists
• Itineraries that are customized according to your interests and schedule
• Artisans of Leisure upgrades and amenities
• A seamless travel experience, including all logistics, skipping lines during touring whenever possible, restaurant and spa reservations, performance tickets, private airport transfers, internal transportation, VIP and fast-track airport assistance in many destinations
• Around-the-clock support in each destination during your trip
• Unique, insider travel experiences and access to the Artisans of Leisure network of experts around the world