Our group of four (two couples, longtime friends) thoroughly enjoyed our half day with Makoon. He did an amazing job of timing our tour to hit the sites at the most opportune times. While visiting the Inari shrine, we felt we were surrounded by much fewer people because of Makoon’s expertise in moving through the crowd. He gave us plenty of history and knowledge of the shrine and its rituals. Afterwards, we explored a beautiful neighborhood with a Buddhist temple and we experienced the lovely garden and rooms in the quiet, peaceful temple. We made our way to the Gion disttrict of Kyoto and enjoyed a lovely tea and snack. Makoon introduced us to the fascinating history of the geisha culture, both past and present. We spent time walking through the flower streets of Gion, past geisha boarding houses and areas of geisha entertainment.
Makoon took wonderful pictures of us along the tour and made us seem like we were the only ones there at some areas that were quite crowded. Makoon gave us some wonderful tips on what to explore on our own in Kyoto, complete with restaurant recommendations. He proveded first rate service and we highly recommend Makoon!