Kyoto Shore Excursion from Osaka with Japanese Guide

Traveling time from Osaka/Osaka port to Kyoto

Gion Shirakawa is in the entertainment district near Yasaka Shrine. Traditional wooden houses, restaurants and teahouses along the stream create a special atmosphere. Especially in spring, pink flowers of cherry trees and fresh green weeping willows show a nice contrast. If you are lucky, you might see some wedding couples in kimono, geisha or maiko on the street. They have a light-up event in the sakura season.

This is a temple where Japanese style flower decoration called Ikebana originally came from.

A sub-temple of Kodaiji Temple and Kenninji Temple known as the "Temple of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Nene". Nene spent 19 years at this cosmetic castle (restored from Fushimi Castle) before her passing. The enshrined three-sided Daikokuten statue is a "Nenjibutsu", a Buddha to remember Hideyoshi. The ink painting by Hasegawa et al. on the 32 sliding doors has been designated as an Important National Cultural Property. Currently a digital replica stands in its place. The North Garden has also been designated as a Special Site of Scenic Beauty. The beautiful, Ikeizuma-style (garden focusing around a pond) front garden of Fushimi Castle was changed to a dry landscape garden by Masakaza Kobori when was it was moved here. Additionally, visitors can also see Nene's actual hand bowl, as well as enjoy Matcha in the tea room.

Walking through this 390-meter long market also means walking through 400 years of history. Nishiki Market, with its history and arcade, is long. But it also has depth. It is also a shopping street featuring ages-old merchant practices and traditions. The market is integral to Kyoto’s culinary culture with special ingredients that can only be found here and knowledge that only experts can share with you. Please enjoy discovering the many unique features of Nishiki Market.

Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital's move to Kyoto in 794. At the very back of the shrine's main grounds is the entrance to the torii gate-covered hiking trail, which starts with two dense, parallel rows of gates called Senbon Torii ("thousands of torii gates"). The torii gates along the entire trail are donations by individuals and companies, and you will find the donator's name and the date of the donation inscribed on the back of each gate.

Traveling time back from Kyoto to Osaka by train