You don't need one. Kyoto is safe, well-signed in English, and easy to navigate on your own. But the city makes much more sense with someone who knows it. The teahouse on a side street, why a particular shrine matters, where to eat without queueing for an hour: those things aren't in any guidebook. A guide is the difference between ticking off temples and understanding them.

Three to four full days is a good baseline. One day gets you the major sights and not much else. Three lets you mix the headline temples with a full day in a quieter neighbourhood. With a week, you can add Nara, Osaka, or simply slow down through the back streets.

Cherry blossoms in April and autumn colours in November are the obvious answers, and they're also the most crowded weeks of the year. If you can travel just before or after those peaks (late March, early December), the city feels more like itself. May, October, and the first half of June are quieter and still beautiful.

Both, on different days. Bikes are best for covering ground: connecting neighbourhoods, riding the canals, reaching temples that buses skip. Walking is for going deep into one area like Higashiyama, Gion, or Arashiyama. Most of our guests do one of each over their stay.

Three things help. Start early (Fushimi Inari at 6am is a different place). Skip the tour-bus loop and walk the smaller temples nearby instead. And spend time in residential neighbourhoods, not just the headline spots. Most of Kyoto isn't crowded at all if you know where to go.

Yes. The deer in Nara Park are real, and Tōdai-ji is one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. The train ride is about 45 minutes. A full day gives you time for the main sights plus a quieter walk through the old town behind them.

Our flat rates start at around €230 for a 3-hour evening tour and go up to €550+ for a full day in Nara. The price is per group, not per person, so it scales well for families and small groups. Custom itineraries are quoted within 24 hours.