Options and Questionnaire for Family Fun Tour
There are lots of fun things to do in Kyoto for people of all ages. We want to make a day that everyone can enjoy. Below is a list of some of the activities we have done in the past and a couple of sample itineraries. Click here for a list of suggested sightseeing courses. We also have to choose the course based around the activities we want to do so let us know what your priority is between the activities and the landmarks. Locations of activities are in parentheses.
Fun Activities
Monkey Park (Arashiyama): a short climb up a small mountain which takes about 20-30mins will take you to see wild monkeys all hanging out the top of the hill. You can buy treat to feed them with and not only that there is a great view of the city below. Cost 550 adults, 250 for kids and junior high (4-15)
Sagano Romantic Train (Arashiyama): hop aboard the classic steam engine train and wind through some beautiful valleys and see the beautiful scenery. This is an open car train so this is not a great option in winter but is a nice way to rest the legs after a lot of walking. Take a return trip on the same train or even choose a river boat ride back to Arashiyama or a regular JR train back to the city. Cost: 620 adults 310 for kids (6-11)
Hozu River Rapids boat ride (Kameoka/Arashiyama): great in combination with the Sagano Romantic train, or take a regular train to hop on the boat and take the 2hr ride down river to Arashiyama village. This is a fun and thrilling ride but is only good when the weather is pleasant even if they do have covered boats for wet days. Cost: 4,100 adults 2,700 for kids (4-12)
Rickshaw ride (Arashiyama, East side of Kyoto): this is a fun way to see the city from a different perspective and you can choose just to go around the block once or twice for around 2000-3000 yen per person or do a 30-60min course for 4500-9000 yen per person. It one of the coolest ways yo see the bamboo grove too! Cost: 2000-9000 per person
Taiko Drum classes (city centre/West side): try your skills on the taiko drums with this fun lesson. You can learn how to play the drums and you even get a good workout from it too. This is especially fun for teenagers who are getting bored of temples and shrines. Cost: 6000 yen per person
Ninja Star throwing (city centre): not too far from the Nishiki Market is a place where they show you how to throw ninja stars. This is especially popular with elementary school age or young teens but adults can have a lot of fun with it too. The staff are nice and there is a cool shop to look around in too. Cost: from 1000yen depending on how many tries you want to have.
Sagano Romantic Train (Arashiyama): hop aboard the classic steam engine train and wind through some beautiful valleys and see the beautiful scenery. This is an open car train so this is not a great option in winter but is a nice way to rest the legs after a lot of walking. Take a return trip on the same train or even choose a river boat ride back to Arashiyama or a regular JR train back to the city. Cost: 620 adults 310 for kids (6-11)
Hozu River Rapids boat ride (Kameoka/Arashiyama): great in combination with the Sagano Romantic train, or take a regular train to hop on the boat and take the 2hr ride down river to Arashiyama village. This is a fun and thrilling ride but is only good when the weather is pleasant even if they do have covered boats for wet days. Cost: 4,100 adults 2,700 for kids (4-12)
Rickshaw ride (Arashiyama, East side of Kyoto): this is a fun way to see the city from a different perspective and you can choose just to go around the block once or twice for around 2000-3000 yen per person or do a 30-60min course for 4500-9000 yen per person. It one of the coolest ways yo see the bamboo grove too! Cost: 2000-9000 per person
Taiko Drum classes (city centre/West side): try your skills on the taiko drums with this fun lesson. You can learn how to play the drums and you even get a good workout from it too. This is especially fun for teenagers who are getting bored of temples and shrines. Cost: 6000 yen per person
Ninja Star throwing (city centre): not too far from the Nishiki Market is a place where they show you how to throw ninja stars. This is especially popular with elementary school age or young teens but adults can have a lot of fun with it too. The staff are nice and there is a cool shop to look around in too. Cost: from 1000yen depending on how many tries you want to have.
Cultural Activities
International Manga Museum (city centre): this is a fun place to check out especially on weekends when guest artists come and do caricature drawings for people, If you have a manga fan with you they will love it. Note that this is more of a library than a museum and the selection of comics in English is limited but it can be a lot of fun and there is a cafe and outdoor space to relax and read. Cost: Adults 800, High School & Junior High 300, Kids 100
Pottery making class (East side/city centre): there are a few around the city and they can be a lot of fun. We can try our hand at making a cup or bowl and then once we are done they will put it aside to be fired in the kiln. And if you want, then have a service where they can ship it to your home country or to an address in Japan where you will be staying before you go. Cost: 1,800-3,500 yen
Kyoto Handicraft Centre (East side): you can try all kinds of workshops here and also it's one of the best places in Kyoto to shop for souvenirs too. Everything from wood block printing, jewelry making and even spice mixing. Costs: 2000yen and up
Tea ceremony (West side/city centre/East side): this is one of the most popular cultural activities for adults and older kids and teens can really enjoy it too. Sit on the tatami mat floor and watch the tea master go through the careful ritual. It's like a form of meditation. Many places give explanations in English too. Choose from a group or private option. Costs: from 3,000 yen per person and up to 30,000 for a private encounter using museum level antiques.
Cooking classes (city centre) One of our favorite places to recommend for cooking classes is cooking sun. The only thing is that the classes last 3.5hrs so we recommend to book this on a day other than the tour date. We are happy to help you with it but their website is easy to access too.
For little ones
We have experience taking parents who have very young kids with them and can take you to a special indoor play centre for part of the day so the kids can run around and have fun while the adults can hang out and chat about the history of Kyoto or talk about tips on fun things to do. We know lots of fun park playgrounds and can even bring you to the Kyoto city zoo, aquarium or railway museum. We can add this to the middle or the tail end of the tour so the kids have something fun to look forward to. We can also arrange a rental of strollers or other items for kids too.
Suggested courses
One of the best areas in Kyoto to see amazing sights and have fun too is Arashiyama. We can take the Sagano Romantic train, have a river boat ride, see the monkeys and even visit the bamboo forest and the amazing zen temple Tenryu-Ji too. If we limit ourselves to just the one activity we can even make our way to Kinakaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, to see even one more amazing temple.
If you want to see beautiful temples and shrine, amazing streets filled with shops and don't mind the crowds, we would suggest to see Fushimi Inari and then go to the Kiyomizu temple. From there we could try a pottery class or a tea ceremony and then go on to the amazing area of Gion where we can tell you about the lives of the geisha. Also a good place to do kimono rental if that's your thing too.
For travelling with teens, we often suggest to do a taiko drum class or visit the manga museum if your kids love manga. Both of these activities can be combined with a sightseeing course of your choosing too and we can bring you to an amazing garden like the one at Ginkakuji temple or Heian Shrine with a trip down the Path of Philosophy. This is especially fun to do on a bicycle.
Here is a link to a few of our suggested courses. Note that with a 6hr tour, we might want to do just one or two activities so that you can get the most out of your time with your guide who will be able to bring the sightseeing places to life with some background knowledge and stories from the past.
If you want to see beautiful temples and shrine, amazing streets filled with shops and don't mind the crowds, we would suggest to see Fushimi Inari and then go to the Kiyomizu temple. From there we could try a pottery class or a tea ceremony and then go on to the amazing area of Gion where we can tell you about the lives of the geisha. Also a good place to do kimono rental if that's your thing too.
For travelling with teens, we often suggest to do a taiko drum class or visit the manga museum if your kids love manga. Both of these activities can be combined with a sightseeing course of your choosing too and we can bring you to an amazing garden like the one at Ginkakuji temple or Heian Shrine with a trip down the Path of Philosophy. This is especially fun to do on a bicycle.
Here is a link to a few of our suggested courses. Note that with a 6hr tour, we might want to do just one or two activities so that you can get the most out of your time with your guide who will be able to bring the sightseeing places to life with some background knowledge and stories from the past.