Arashiyama

The weather was drizzling, there were few tourists, short queues, the itinerary was on time, and the tour guide was polite and patient in explaining things. The scenery on the little train and boat was beautiful, and the boatman chatted and laughed with the passengers.

The relaxing train journey and the cute performances of the station staff added to the liveliness of the trip. You can choose the seat you want by planning in advance. It’s a pity that you can’t tell whether it’s forward or backward. It is recommended to choose window seats so that you can clearly enjoy the scenery along the way.

The group leader is experienced, knows how to control time, and will also use fluent and pure Mandarin and English to introduce the attractions, the whole group is as described as well run, if you like me like to see the characteristics of each attraction, it is recommended this group, chartered car to go is more comfortable. Following the tour, we also understand that each attraction will be limited time to go, so can not go enough, photography will be very rushed, so they have to allocate time. As the first time to Kyoto, learn about what is special nearby, this is worth choosing, the only is between Arashiyama can choose to rent kimono, yukata, I and one of the family of three group members have rented, but no time to choose the style, borrowed wooden shoes are also nearly broken, very difficult to walk. The reason why there is a comparison, is because in Arashiyama's snoopy branch has wooden shoes for sale, I bought back to Hong Kong to wear found not to imagine difficult to walk, difficult to balance and easy to drop shoes! It is recommended that you can also add "Chinese, Japanese, English, Korean" description notices in the store (many tourist areas in Japan), so that customers are less misunderstood, especially in such a hurry, service attitude can not be so perfect (like I go to snoopy store to buy wooden shoes, is to replace a brand new pair of box into me). The experience here deducted a lot of points, finally plus the preview that it will rain in Kansai, the results when the tour Fushimi Inari to rush back to return the yukata, also rain and people do not take pictures, buy useful souvenirs and see the scenery, so you budget is worth it. In addition, it is reasonable to pay for your own tickets to visit the museum. You should bring your own yen change cash to the tour guide, otherwise it will be more troublesome to change. Finally, thanks to the tour guide's courteous arrangement, just a yukata experience, or leave it for the next time I have the opportunity to explore on my own.

We arrived in Arashiyama on October 4th, hoping to take the Hozugawa River cruise on our own. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great. It rained for the next few days, and it was especially heavy on our day. We took the JR train from Kyoto Station, got off the train, and saw a sign at the exit saying there were no horse-drawn carriages or Hozugawa River cruises. It was a shame, but we did get on the Arashiyama train, and the river was incredibly turbulent! So, anyone who got on the train on good weather was lucky! And thanks to KKday, we had the opportunity to take the horse-drawn carriage. They stayed behind for our group, otherwise they wouldn't have been running. I think both horses were amazing! The one that took us was named Kuromi, and she was so clever! The carriage ride was actually quite long. It took us to the ferry, which was near the soccer field and Kameoka Station. Our tour guide then took us back to Arashiyama on the JR train from Kameoka Station—a perfect rainy day option. This time, I got to experience the different charm of Arashiyama in the rain and fog (there were still just as many tourists). Traveling is like that, with its many twists and turns. This time, because we had plenty of time, we even had time to sit down and relax inside Tenryu-ji Temple and just stare blankly at the scenery. It was a nice bonus, and we even headed towards Nison-in Temple. A small reminder for the tour guide: he could have gathered everyone at a better location for the talk. Otherwise, some places were crowded and chaotic, and it was hard for the little girl to hear the guide clearly. Also, he could have been more conspicuous at the train station, asking everyone to stand in a clear spot when gathering! Or, he could have guided the group up and down the stairs, so we didn't have to rush down all at once. Those behind us wouldn't have noticed and wouldn't know where the guide was, and the guide would have had to take the time to check if everyone had gotten down. Everything else was pretty good. At least, going with KKday saved me the hassle of buying tickets. (The refund only covered the group boat ticket, so it was still worth it to get on the boat. If we can't get on the boat due to rain, I suggest KKday include Tenryu-ji Temple tickets. Everyone would be happier, hahaha.)

This group is mostly foreigners. The tour guides mostly speak English, and the Chinese introduction is shorter. There were a lot of people that day, and each itinerary was a quick tour. The Nara deer would nod and say "thank you!" to you, very polite 😄