Our guide Akihiro was great. We were a group of 5 for this tour, ranging in age from 8-57years. We wanted to see the monkeys in Arashiyama and the bamboo forest so that dictated our choice of tours. Akihiro met us at our air B&B and guided us smoothly on trains to Arashiyama. There we went first to see the monkeys. Be forewarned, it is a pretty steep climb, with many switchbacks. Our guide was wearing long pants and a button down shirt! I have no idea how he kept a smile on his face, but he did!! At the top, we saw the monkeys (including two mothers with small babies who were nursing) and we went inside a small building from which you could feed the monkeys (picture humans inside a hut & monkeys free outside, but they come to the screened windows for snacks). There is also a good view of Kyoto from the top of the mountain. You walk down the same path that you followed up, and from there we went to see the Tenryu-ji Temple (a UNESCO world heritage site & Buddhist temple). The buildings of the temple are interesting and the garden is lovely. Akihiro made the temple visit accessible to the kids in our family (remember to bring socks if you aren’t wearing them!). The last part of our tour was the bamboo forest. Each of the sites is not far from the other so we walked from the monkeys to the temple to the forest. It was very hot when we did the tour, but we knew it would be. July in Japan is hot. At the end of the tour we stopped to have a snack and then Akihiro guided us back to the train station as we were heading to Osaka that afternoon. If I were to do it again, I might skip the monkeys, but I know my husband, son and nephew loved seeing them. To me, it was a LOT of uphill walking for a brief stop (and we can see similar monkeys at our zoo at home). However, that is not Viator or the tour company’s fault - that’s the challenge of picking activities in a place when you have limited time and want to find things for everyone. One of my favorite things on the tour was when we stopped to look at the river and Akihiro told us about the history of the area. It is a beautiful section/area of Kyoto.
Dear Debby, Thank you very much for your kind review. We’re so glad to hear that you and your family enjoyed the tour in Arashiyama with our guide. It’s wonderful to know that he was able to make the experience smooth and enjoyable for all ages. Your feedback about the hike and each location is greatly appreciated, and we’re happy that the monkeys, temple, and bamboo forest each left a positive impression. We truly appreciate you choosing our tour and hope to welcome you again on your next visit to Japan. Best regards, Summer
