Hyogo, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, Himeji
English, Japanese (Native)
0 days on average
2 days ago
Hello! I am Seiko, National Licensed Guide since 2007.
I was born and raised in Kurashiki (Okayama pref.), spent my college days in Kyoto, lived in Osaka for more than 15 years and recently moved to a city near Nagano (guiding in Kyoto, Osaka, Nara etc during peak season).
I studied in Wisconsin, USA and worked as a translator/interpreter, market researcher, and executive assistant for global companies for many years where I enjoyed spending a precious time with people from different backgrounds and cultures and broaden my world and horizons.
I myself am a traveler for life, been to more than 30 countries and all the prefectures in Japan, and always excited to help my clients with their planning. I am also a hiker, kayaker, scuba diver, and snowboarder enjoying myself mostly outdoors in every season.
Besides city tours in Osaka and Kyoto, my tours can stretch to introducing local food and drinks, sake/beer brewery visit, visiting less-touristy areas, excursions to enjoy the nature such as walking/hiking tours, baseball games, tours for kids, onsen day-out, and more!
Let's have a fun time and unique experience with me!
Important Notes before booking:
1. Please check availability with me, even for open dates, before booking!
2. Transportation fee, entrance fee, and lunch/dinner for you and guide during the tour are NOT INCLUDED in the guide fee and to be paid at each site. Please bring enough cash to separately pay them during the tour. (Licensed guides get free admission at temples/shrines/castles and most tourist attractions, except for some facilities like aquarium, zoo, amusement parks, etc.)
3. Please let me know IN ADVANCE if anyone in your group has any physical challenge and/or food allergies.
Thank you!
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.
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