Kyoto OFF Tours offers private or small-group English guided tours in Oharano and its surroundings, which lie to the southwest of Kyoto City central. The tour operator is run by a Kyoto Certified Interpreter Guide (Kyoto City Visitors Host), Asako Matano, who lives in and engages with the area. Through deep local connections, we create unique experiences. Despite being rich in history and sights to see, the area is untouched by mainstream tourism, and Kyoto OFF Tours offers authentic, bespoke tours to visitors looking for the unknown, some peace, or sustainable community-based travel.

Private tours offered

1. Half-day tour
2. Spring special! Unearthing and Eating Kyoto Bamboo Shoots
3. Autumn special! Kyoto Western Lights

We also offer bespoke tours tailored to your interests. Please feel free to contact us.

1.Half-day tour

2.Spring special! Unearthing and Eating Kyoto Bamboo Shoots

3.Autumn special! Kyoto Western Lights—Illuminate your Kyoto holiday with bamboo

Taking you on an evening tour of local shrines and temples, with the highlight being Kyoto Nishiyama Take-akari, a bamboo illumination viewing. Come and soak up the local culture, the natural sights, and a delicious dinner prepared especially for you.

The Kyoto Nishiyama Take-akari

Kyoto Nishiyama Take-akari is a bamboo illumination event launched in 2024 as a local initiative to make use of a powerful local resource: the area’s plentiful bamboo. Over the course of a month take-akari, or ‘bamboo lanterns,’ will light up the walkways and grounds of three selected shrines and temples consecutively, creating a magical autumn evening unique to Kyoto’s Nishiyama area. Visitors can experience the solemn atmosphere of historic sights beautifully blended with the gentle glow emanating from bamboo lights, and learn about the non-profit driving the event, and the temples and shrines supporting it.
https://kyototakeakari.jp/en

Highlights

• The tour includes a pickup and drop-off back to the nearest train station, so guests can rest at ease and enjoy themselves.
• A visit Oharano Shrine with its extensive grounds and Shoboji Temple where guest will have dinner while viewing its beautiful garden (these are in addition to the evening illumination experience)
• An exclusively prepared dinner in a bamboo bento box available only for this tour, featuring locally grown vegetables
• Hearing directly from the local bamboo non-profit supervising the illumination event
• A tour guided by a real local. The organizer is not only a Nishiyama area resident, she’s also experienced, bilingual, and a Kyoto city-certified interpreter guide

We offer three different tour courses depending on the dates of the Kyoto Nishiyama Take-akari illumination event (each venue has differing dates, so please plan accordingly).

Course 1: Bamboo Illumination viewing at Yoshiminedera Temple
Dates: Oct. 31st (Fri), Nov. 1st (Sat), 2nd (Sun), 3rd (Mon), 8th (Sat), 9th (Sun)
*When booking, please indicate the date you’d like to join.

Itinerary

(4h)
15:45-16:00 Meet at JR Katsuragawa Station
16:20-16:40 Visit Oharano Jinja Shrine
16:45-17:45 Visit Shoboji Temple & dinner
18:00-19:30 Bamboo illumination viewing at Yoshiminedera Temple
20:00 Drop off at JR Katsuragawa Station

Pricing

This is an exclusive private tour.

*10% consumption tax will be added to the above prices.

What’s included

Pick-up & drop-off @JR Katsuragawa station, chartered car, a local dinner, English speaking guide, and admission fee to temples

Cancellation policy

14-30 days or less 20%, 4-13 days 30%, 3- days 100%