I have travelled to many places but never had a guide impress me more. First of all, I appreciate his communications prior to my travel providing me insight on the weather conditions, cash requirements needed to enter the sites, and his flexibility in planning an itinerary of my favorite sites to visit. On the day of our tour, he provided excellent directions of where we would meet at Kyoto Station and upon meeting him his friendly demeanor let me know I was going to have a great tour. He created for me a brochure with our day’s plans with time and even some of the history of the places we were to visit which was great to have. Masaki had so much background knowledge on the sites that we visited that made it more personal instead of boring see the sites. He made the history come alive in the sites we were seeing that day. His photography skills were excellent and he shared all his photos after for my memories plus he knew exactly where to go on these sites to find the best views and photo op. Our lunch location and food were excellent – he asked of course ahead of time what kind of food I wanted and made the best plan. I highly recommend Masaki for an organized, insightful, fabulous yet fun tour on your visit to Kyoto.