Visit the most famous and beautiful castle of Japan - Himeji Castle with 400 years of histoty
In the afternoon, we'll visit Kobe, known as a cosmopolitan city located between the Rokko Mountain Range and Kobe Harbor, attracting many tourists with its amazing night view. You can choose to enjoy the view from the mountain, harbor or both sides.
PLEASE MESSAGE ME BEFORE BOOKING
At your hotel (additional fee), JR Sannomiya, or JR Osaka station
Himeji Castle (1,000 yen, free for licensed guides)
Option: Kitano Ijinkan walk - if you don't mind walking uphill
Nunobiki Herb Garden (ropeway: 1,200 yen with discount, free for licensed guides)
BE KOBE at Meriken Park - Instagram spot!
Kobe Harborland for night view
Option: Shopping or tea break at Ampanman museum - most popular character among Japanese babies. Recommended for the ages between 1-4
Option: Kobe beef dinner
Option: Hanshin Tigers baseball game at Koshien (during the season only, extra hour and entrance fee required) - experience Japanese professional baseball game with the enthusiastic Hanshin Tigers fans!
Kobe Harborland or JR Osaka station
You will visit Himeji Castle first and then have a casual local lunch there.
On the way back to Osaka/Kyoto, you'll stroll around in Kobe where you can feel an exotic old town atmosphere and enjoy the city view from Nunobiki Herb Garden while walking thru the beautiful garden park.
We will also visit the new and popular "BE KOBE" monument with others on the way to Harborland.
Harborland is known as the best spot for Kobe harbor night view with a street of various types of restaurants and few shopping malls. I recommend having a nice dinner such as Kobe beef in this area after the tour.
With additional hours, you can also choose to enjoy Hanshin Tigers baseball game at Koshien stadium - which could be most entertaining experience for you in Japan with the fans known as most exciting and energetic of all the 12 professional teams in Japan. (only during the baseball season)
This is a good tour for those who got "templed-out" in Kyoto and traveling long enough in Japan to see more modern side of Japan : )
Guide fee, hotel pickup in Osaka and Kyoto
Transportation fee, lunch, dinner, entrance fee for both you and guide
FYI, JR fare from Osaka to Himeji is 1,490 yen, 970 yen from Himeji to Kobe, and 410 yen from Kobe to Osaka. Free with JR pass.
One-day pass for Kobe bus is 660 yen with discount for Nunobiki Herb Garden.
Please note below before booking and contact me first for availability:
1. My schedule on GoWithGuide site is open for the next 3-month only.
2. All my listed tours include hotel pick-up fee and guide fee. Please ask for quote for custom tours.
3. For tours in the peak season, I am currently prioritizing mult-day tour requests (at least two "full-day" tours per group) and accept one-day request between the booked tours etc.
***Excursions ***
I can guide you in Okayama (including Naoshima and Kurashiki), Hiroshima (Onomichi, Shimanami islands cycling, Miyajima, etc.) and Shikoku (Iya valley etc.) if you pay for my transportation.
The above areas can be visited from Osaka/Kyoto in one or two days.
Baseball game is only available during the season (no game on Mondays)
PLEASE MESSAGE ME BEFORE BOOKING
1. You will be walking a lot during the tour, so please wear comfortable walking shoes and clothes and bring an umbrella or poncho in case of rain.
2. Transportation fee and lunch/dinner for you and guide is not included. Even if you have a JR pass or IC card, you'll be asked to purchase tickets for the guide in cash. With the standard itinerary, the total transportation cost for this tour per person will be around 3,500 yen per person from Osaka without JR pass. With JR pass, it will be 660 yen.
3. Hanshin Tigers baseball game is held only during the professional baseball season (April-October). Ticket rates are ranged from 2,000 yen to 7,200 yen depending on seat location. You will be asked to pay for the tickets in advance for popular games such as against Tokyo Giants.
Seiko was an excellent tour guide for Kyoto with broad and deep knowledge about everything from the specialized shrines to history of sake distilleries. She met us at our hotel and even adjusted our schedule on the fly to try and avoid the expected rain that day. We toured the Fushimi Inari Shrine, explored the Fushimi district and ate at a local yakitori restaurant, went to Kimozu Dera, and explored the streets and alleys in Ninenenzaka/Sannenzaka. It was a very full 6 hours covering a lot of areas and we thoroughly enjoyed it all.
Thank you Tuan for your kind words. With your flexibility, no hesitation to walk further to see more, and trusting my recommendations, we could see both major attractions and true local scenes. Lucky us, we didn't get much rain during the tour despite the almost hopeless forecast:) Hope you enjoyed the rest of your time in Kyoto and your family trip in Japan! Best reagards to all of your sweet family members. Seiko
Seiko, my family and I can't thank you enough for such an amazing, information Kyoto cultural experience. Our tour was above and beyond our expectations, with bonus hidden attractions on the day that we would never of seen without you. I wouldn't hesitate booking with you again and highly recommend you to anyone looking for a friendly knowledgeable guide. Thank you again.
Thank you Alison for your kind words! It was the busiest week in Kyoto I've ever seen but thanks to your flexibility and willingness to walk extra miles to see hidden attractions, the tour went smoothly and most importantly, I am very happy that your whole family enjoyed the day in Kyoto! Hope you also had a great time in the other destinations of Japan. Seiko
We had an outstanding experience with Seiko-san as our guide to visit Fushimi and Uji! She's such a fun and super friendly person to show you around the sights, and she's fluent in English since she lived in the U.S. We spent the whole day with her learning about matcha and sake, and she took us to a wonderful sake tasting bar in Fushimi that we would have never discovered on our own! We are sad we did not book her for more days while we were in the Osaka/Kyoto area. She's the best guide we had while visiting Japan! Sorry for forgetting to submit the review sooner, Seiko, but we will definitely call you when we come back to visit - hopefully this year! Kim, Gary, and Sandra
Hi Kim! Super excited to hear from you about our tour in Fushimi and Uji as I also enjoyed the time with you guys so much! Glad to know it was not my one-way love, hahaha! I was also impressed how much planning you've done, which led to your having a great time in this special area. I also felt we didn't spend enough time together and have more to show, so hope to see you again in Japan! Seiko
Had an amazing time with Seiko for a day trip to Nara and Osaka. We managed to see all the main attractions and didn’t feel rushed. Seiko was very responsive, helpful, knowledgable and caring. Highly recommend
Thank you so much for your kind review. I had an amazing time with you as well! It was just so easy to go around with someone who loves to walk, see the nature, try to eat something new, and interact with the locals! Hope you'll have a great time for the rest of your trip in Japan. See you next time;) Seiko