Guest Reviews of Our Kyoto Private Tours

VOICE

I often talk on the phone or exchange a lot of emails with clients before I guide them. It is my great pleasure when I receive thank you messages from satisfied clients. Here are some messages I have received.

Hi Mr. Doi

I know it's been a little bit since our tour but I really did want to thank you

The tour was excellent! We saw so much and learned so much.

I have told all of my friends and relatives about how amazing the tour was.

I also wanted to thank you for the tips about taking the Bullet train from Kyoto to Osaka and recommending spending a day in Nara. You really influenced how great our trip was.

I also wanted to apologize about my friend. He didn't know we were going to be stopping for food soon but that doesn't excuse him being so short with you or bringing a giant Pork bun to the cafe you took us to.

There were a couple points in our trip where he stood out as a rude American tourist. I'm sure I did too at some points but I still wanted to apologize because you did so much for us and he had no reason to be rude.

Thank you again and I will be sure to recommend you to anyone traveling to Japan
Thank you
Tim D

Hi Naoki San,

Thank you very much for accompanying my family today and taking us to all the nice destinations in Kyoko. Miyako was great to have around as well. I'm sure she will be a great tour guide one day.

I appreciate all the history and education you provided. Especially learning about shintoism.

Can you please tell me the list of places we visited today for my future reference?

Thank you,

Aloha Naoki-san,

I hope this finds you and Michiko well.
As I look back on this year gone by and all that has transpired, I can't help but reflect on the magnificent time we had in Japan visiting our son in Tokyo as well all the other wonderful places we visited. And of course Kyoto was high on that list, our experience shaped largely by the time we spent with you, made even more so profound by the connection you and I shared. 

So I just wanted to wish you Hau'oli Makahiki Ho, あけましておめでとう, 

Happy New Year to you both with my hopes and blessings that the coming year brings you good health and well being each and every breath of the year. 

I hope to see you again one day, Naoki..... I truly do. 

Take care and a hui Hou (till we meet again)

Hi Naoki-san.

We are finally home from our grand adventure, and I just wanted to say thank you for our tour. You went above and beyond our expectations. The visit to your home was a highlight for us- please thank your wife for her kindness, graciousness, and generosity. The driver you chose was exceptional- please thank him for us the next time you see him (we think his name was Toto-san but cannot quite recall). We were pleased that you were able to take back alleyways and streets to avoid the traffic on the main roads as it enabled us to spend a lot of time at the places we visited. The Norwegian tour the same day had to drop one of the locations from their itinerary because traffic on the main roads was horrible, so we are grateful you guys knew the shortcuts. We are also grateful that you helped us get on the bullet train as it would have been difficult to figure out. We wish we would have taken a picture of the driver next to his car with his gloves and suit on- we really enjoyed him even though he spoke no English. Anyways- thank you so much- it was an extraordinary day, and we will remember it always.

Dear Naoki-san,

Thank you very much.
Kate, Lisu and I have a wonderful time and know a little bit about kyoto, today.

Once again どうもありがとうございます.

Best regards,

Hi Naoki-san,

Mrs. Lewis texted me this morning. They had a wonderful time with you! Thank you so much for looking after them during their visit to Kyoto.

Dear Naoki Doi- San,

Thank you so much for a wonderful tour. It was an absolute pleasure. I'm so happy your wife liked the gifts. Yesterday was one of my favorite days in Japan, even though I forgot to wear sunscreen. I really hope I am able to come back to Japan in the future and possibly get another tour from you to see more of Kyoto. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and traditions with us.

Mr. Doi,

Here is the link you asked for, to Fodor's guide in which we found your information:

https://www.fodors.com/world/asia/japan/kyoto/travel-tips/tours-105603820

Thank you for a wonderful tour. It was a highlight of our trip. We had a great time getting to know you and the beautiful city of Kyoto. Spending time in the cafe with you and your friends and singing songs together are memories we will cherish.

Thanks again

I want to sincerely thank you for taking us on the tour of Kyoto yesterday. We greatly appreciate your flexibility with the train delays, and taking us through Fushimi Inari Shrine as a result. Your service and hospitality toward us are very much appreciated, as is your deep knowledge of the area.

Thank you so much for everything,D

Thank you again for the tour today, it was great! We really appreciated your being willing and able to find alternatives to the usual tourist spots, and accommodating my mother's disability. We're both looking forward to tomorrow. 

Naoki,

I wanted to thank you and your wife for such a wonderful afternoon. I wish I could take both of you back to Chicago with us! I hope that we can keep in touch and let me know if I can leave a positive review for you on Trip Advisor, Reddit or Google.

Good evening Naoki-San,

I wanted to share some of the photos I took with you of anndersons and my tour with you.  We had a wonderful time exploring your city.  Thank you and your wife for your hospitality.

Dear Naoki-San

We wanted to thank you for your kind assistance in touring beautiful Kyoto! We had a great time, appreciated your knowledge and hope to return. If you and your wife ever travel to Southern California, please let us know so we can host you and show you around Newport Beach! Once again, thank you.

Best regards

Hello Naoki-san,

I just want to thank you for the outstanding service you provided to Gayle and I and our friends. We all had a wonderful day with you. I feel lucky that you were available to show us Kyoto. I only wished we would have had more time to spend with you. Perhaps Gayle and I will be able to visit Kyoto some day in the future. You are an exceptional person, very kind and thoughtful. I hope one day we will meet again. If you like, please feel free to use me as a reference. Thank you again Naoki-san. I wish you good health and all the best in the future.

Your friends,
B and G

Dear Doi San,

Thank you so much for your wonderful service today.

My family and I had the privilege and pleasure of a guided taxi tour by Doi San of Doi Taxi Limousine service. Not only is Doi San highly knowledgeable, he is also very professional, kind and thoughtful. He has great recommendation of both places to visit and eat. He speaks English well and we will able to communicate effortlessly. Being ferried around in his luxurious car makes the entire experience highly enjoyable. We highly recommended Doi San and would certainly engage his service the next time we are in Kyoto.

All the best and wish you success and great health.

Dear Mr. Doi,

Mr. Doi Thank you for a wonderful tour. We enjoyed your company and appreciated your knowledge. You were very accommodating in working the tour around our lunch reservation. We enjoyed your friend's coffee shop as well. All weather reports said rain, and you managed to get us a beautiful day. It is also rare to find a knowledgable tour guide who also has a car and is an excellent driver. You even spent time to take us shopping for a gift.
We recommend Mr. Doi to anyone going to Kyoto and surrounding area. It will make the difference between a good trip and a great trip.
Thanks again.

Dear Mr. Doi,

Cheryl and I have just returned home again last night. I wanted to express to you our thanks and appreciation for your wonderful service and excellent hospitality!!! We had such a lovely and memorable trip made possible by your good nature and wonderful service! Your knowledge of the sites and history surrounding them is exactly what we wanted to experience and there is no way that we could have seen so much in such a short period of time without you. Your English language is very advanced and this also provided a higher level of appreciation and understanding for all you showed us. Your service is an excellent value for all you do! We will enthusiastically recommend you to anyone that is considering a visit to Kyoto, and would be happy to be a reference for you in the future should you need one. We look forward to seeing you again on our next trip to Kyoto!

Thank you so very much again!!!

Warm Regards

Dear Mr Doi,

Thank you so much for your fantastic service today to the Lodge family. Brendan called me to tell all about their day. He said your service and the sites were amazing. They loved your friend's restaurant you went to for lunch. They were very lucky with the weather.

Kind regards

We used taxi driver/tour guide Naoki Doi during our recent trip to Kyoto. I want to echo how great he was. His English and his knowledge of the places he took us was excellent. He kept my 2 teenage girls engaged for the 6 hours we booked with him, no easy feat. I highly recommend him to anyone considering a guide in Kyoto. We found having a guide very helpful as our time was limited and public transportation, while available, is not as easily accessible or user-friendly in Kyoto as it is in Tokyo.

Best regards,

(*From a satisfied customer who posted on Flyertalk)

Dear Naoki-san,

I wanted to say thank you for the tour you provided to my family and I during our recent visit to Kyoto. We very much enjoyed our time with you and have talked often about how much we learned. Your guide services were very interesting and educational, and we all enjoyed them. It is not easy to keep two teenage girls interested in much of anything, but your tour kept them interested the entire six hours. We highly recommend your services to others. Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Dear Mr. Doi-san,

We are now on our flight back to Chicago, and we wanted to send you a belated but heart-felt domo arigato for your services. We thoroughly enjoyed our day of touring four of the most beautiful temples of Kyoto with you. Thank you for driving us around and providing a fun and memorable experience. Thank you also for making the advance reservations for us at Saihoji Temple. The moss garden was our favorite garden that we saw in all of Japan, and we are grateful that we had the chance to see it. We also loved the udon noodle shop for a quick but satisfying lunch. We will definitely recommend you to our friends and family should they ever need a wonderful driver and guide of Kyoto!

Sincerely,

Dear Naoki,

Thanks you very much for guiding us and thank you, in particular, for the recommendation of Itoh Dining. The 4 of us met with 2 other Australians and had a most enjoyable, memorable meal.

All the best and thank you again.

Dear Mr. Doi,

Thank you so much for guiding us on Friday and Monday - we all had a wonderful time! My mother was so happy because she was able to see Nara again and she loved Arashiyama. We really appreciated your deep knowledge of Japanese history and culture. I hope that you have some time this summer to relax and enjoy yourself - we hope to see you again in Kyoto soon.

All the best,

Subject: Great Trip

Doi, I just wanted to say thank you for helping me cover a lot of ground in one day. Colleen and I thoroughly enjoyed your commentary and history behind the spots we visited. You gave us a very important view. You especially made Colleen feel at home when we stopped at the Takahasi's restaurant. The photographs are being reviewed and assembled for a show. Here's one for you.

Thanks again,


Stephen Baumbach Photography

Konbonwa Doi-san -

Happy New Year and I hope this note finds you well. My husband, 4 year old son Gavin and I visited Kyoto in November and had you for a tour guide for one fantastic day in Kyoto. I just wanted to say thank you, we so enjoyed learning about and seeing all of the amazing sights of Kyoto! I've have forwarded your name to two of my fellow expats friends here in Tokyo who are planning to visit Kyoto in the upcoming month.

Kindest Regards,

Happy New Year Doi-san.

You may like to read the article I wrote for Japan Tourist - I mentioned you and Japan Tourist added your contact information. http://japantourist.jp/view/three-days-in-kyoto-day-2

Regards,

Dear Naoki,

Thank you so much for a wonderful, educational day. I learned so much. I am already thinking about when I can return to continue our tour together. The pictures you took in the bamboo forest came out perfectly. Thank you for taking them. Usually, I am the person taking the pictures so I never have one of myself.

Best regards,

Dear Mr. Doi,

Dear Doi san, Thank you so much for taking such good care of us during our trip to Kyoto. You made it a truly memorable event!! We have already recommended your services to many of our friends and will continue to do so. I have attached a few photos of you with Sydney for a keepsake.

Your friends, The Morains

Dear Mr. Doi,

We have been meaning to thank you again for not just your excellent driving, but also for your wonderful guidance and interpretation! Our two days with you were a highlight of our trip to Japan. Arigato gozaimashita!! We have passed your name to a friend who will be in Kyoto is a few weeks.

We have been sorry that we did not buy a very lovely fan that was on display in that "bamboo shop" in western Kyoto you kindly took us to after the gardens. Would you have some way to get us the name and address or e-mail of that shop?

Looking forward to seeing you on our next visit to Japan,

Most sincerely,

Dear Mr. Doi,

Thank you so much for your tour on August 17th. It was so wonderful!! My sister and her family were very impressed. They left Japan educated and extremely happy...And you were a big part of that! I hope we can meet again in the future. I will recommend you to our university's international center. Sometimes we have visiting doctors from abroad who would like a tour of Kyoto.

Take care and keep smiling!

Sincerely,

Doi-san,

I just wanted to thank you again for your wonderful taxi tour around Kyoto on the 26 May. My family and I learned so much more about Japanese history and also modern Japanese culture than we would have alone. With only two short days to see the main sights, your service allowed us to make the most of our time. My family is still talking about how fun and informative your tour was - we will be sure to recommend your service to our friends and colleagues in the future!

ARIGATOU GOZAIMASHITA!

Take care!

Hi Mr. Doi,

Hi Doi-san, Thank you for the tour today. We had a good time, and your van is a very good way to travel. I will recommend you to others who visit Kyoto.

Hi Mr. Doi,

We just wanted to thank you for a great tour of Kyoto today. Your choices in attractions were spot on and you gave us insight that we would not have gotten any other way. Steve's favorite was the Nijo Castle, but I think I enjoyed the bamboo forest the most. We will surely recommend you to others who visit Kyoto.

I write to thank you for the wonderful tour of Kyoto recently. It is a marvellous city and I was very sorry that our time was limited. A few more days would have allowed us to appreciate all that the city has to offer.

Your knowledge of the places we visited greatly enhanced the trip and was of much more value than any guide book.

Thank you for a wonderful day.

Regards

Dear Mr. Doi,

Thank you for a wonderful tour, Mr. Doi. We all got back to the room and talked about how much fun we had. You are a great teacher and we learned a lot about Nihon through you. We understand a little bit more about the area between "Yes and No" as well as about Buddhist and Shinto religions. Your knowledge is respectable and impressive. And we especially enjoyed lunch at the cafe, tell your friends "Mahalo" for us.

I checked TripAdvisor.com and they have a few references to your business, but there is not an article yet. I will write an article about your company when I get home. Once you have an article, people will be able to write reviews about your service and hopefully it will generate more business for you. We will also tell the concierge staff at Brighton Hotel that we really like your service.

Here are the results when searching for "Mr. Doi Taxi" on www.tripadvisor.com:

Please contact us when you come to Hawaii so we can show you and your wife the same hospitality you showed us!

The tour guide (Mr. Doi) was very very good. The van was nice as well. He toured us around at our own pace. It was fun in Kyoto during New year. Lots of people where there sa temples. We also went to the place where "MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA" was filmed.

We didnt have any problems. My friends didnt want to leave Japan anymore!

Thank you veru much!

Dear Mr Doi

Having just arrived back in Australia after holidaying in Japan, I just wanted to write and say what a wonderful day we spent with you touring Kyoto. You made our day so enjoyable, memorable and comfortable. Your knowledge was outstanding and we got to see so much more of this beautiful city with you than if we had been on our own. The little extras like stopping for us to see a fashion parade and the drive out to the Bamboo Forest via the Emperor's Memorial were real highlights.

Thank you again. We will certainly be recommending your services to all of our friends and family.

Thank You very much for the rainy-trip with your taxi. It was a very interesting day although the weather was not sooo good! We wish you good luck and healthy!

Everyone connected to WMF praised your services, smile and excellent guiding. Thank you for taking this group around. They are very special.

Mrs. G will be honored at Lincoln Center in New York for her scientific literature and philanthrophy next month. These were all millionaires, Harvard professors and famous people so I was relieved that you could manage their trip.

While eating at Omoya, 2 women fell in love with the Shigaraki-yaki being used, and wanted to buy full sets of dinner dishes. I mention this because I know that most Japanese want to see "cha-dogu" when they visit a pottery town, but this is not true for foreigners. If you find a place (besides the Shigaraki Matsuri time in July) that sells dinnerware, this would be a good place to visit after seeing the Miho Museum. I didn't know where to recommend they go on Tues. night except to the Omoya on Fuyachi-dori. Their schedule was too tight for a trip to my favorite craft shop. Maybe some of them will come again.

Doi san thank you so much for such an enlightening visit to Kyoto. I can well see why you are the preferred guide for our hotel.

Please accept my sincere thank you for all of your efforts on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Y, and myself during our visit to Kyoto. Your understanding and ability to express the deep nature of Kyoto history was a tremendous value. Your assistance made the visit to Kyoto far more inspiring.

I wanted to thank you very much for a wonderful day spent in Kyoto last week. You made my visit very special and memorable with your extremely informative tour and insights. I very much enjoyed the day and I will absolutely recommend your tour to anyone else I know who is going to Kyoto.

yours sincerely,

It was a pleasure touring with you. It was the highlight of our trip to Japan. Attached are a few pictures of our tour with you. If you have any pictures, please e-mail them back.

Thank you,

Just a quick email to thank you very much for taking such good care of us on our day in Kyoto. Considering the extremely busy time of year with crowds and traffic, you were very knowledgeable of the best routes around Kyoto to get us to places in the shortest time, avoiding the major traffic areas where possible.

Your knowledge of the sites we visited and interesting inclusions of elements of Japanese life also contributed to making our day a very informative, relaxed, comfortable and stress free one which was astounding considering we were there on the biggest and busiest day of the cherry blossom calendar in Kyoto.

Once again, many many thanks from us all.

Subject: our Japan holiday

Hello Mr. Doi, just wanted to say thank you from Mr. B and Ms. K. It was a fantastic holiday and the day with you was one of our favourites.

So thanks again, we'll see you again if we are ever back in Japan on holiday, which is very likely!

Subject: Just a Short Thank You

It is with sincere pleasure Ms. S and myself pass on our best wishes to you and your family. Back in Australia we reflect on the great time we had in Kyoto and assisted by you and your professionalism in providing a relaxed, warm friendly guide and taxi service.

Prior to initially leaving Australia it was a pleasure communicating with you via email, as always you replied promptly to questions asked. While in Kyoto the one day we engaged your services it decided to rain, however this was no problem, your taxi was extremely comfortably for us six adults and to all venues you transported us to the front door. Kyoto displayed narrow streets and hectic peak hour traffic yet can I say your driving placed us all at constant ease.

Whilst guiding us through the various places of interest you provided informative cultural facts and engaged local people with us, making our experience natural and personalised.

I will recommend your business to family, friends and business collegues and I look forward to the day I will need to call upon your services in the future.

Best Regards

Now that we are returned safely to the UK, we would very much like to thank you for making our weekend in Kyoto so memorable. Whilst it was quite cold and the gardens were not at their best time of year, your enthusiasm and knowledge made these ancient sites come to life for us.

We do hope that you make it to UK someday and perhaps you will let us know if you do. Thanks again

Kind regards

Dear Doi San,

I just wanted to thank you for your guiding services for Ms. F. She said that you were the best guide she has ever had! We look forward to working with you in the future. I have some VIP customers that I will be booking with you for next spring. I will be in touch soon,

Best Regards

Subject: Thank you

Dear Mr. Doi,

My son, Mr. J, and I had such a wonderful time visiting Kyoto (July 19 & 20) with you. Your knowledge of Japanese history and the art and culture of the various dynasties was extraordinary. We saw and learned so much more than we could have on our own. And your new van was really first class and very comfortable. We weren't nearly as tired at the end of the day compared to the days we went sightseeing on our own. I have attached a photo of us which I hope you will enjoy. I will certainly recommend your services to anyone traveling to Kyoto and the environs. I hope you have a good winter.

Best regards,

Subject: Thank you

Hi,
Just wanted to express my thanks for a great tour on Wednesday. I learned a lot about Kyoto and the Japanese culture through your insights.

I've forgot to bring a small gift with me that I wanted to give you. I was wondering if I left it with the Hotel staff in the lobby would you be able to pick it up? I could post it if this would be more convenient? I’m leaving Kyoto tomorrow but will check my email in the morning.

Thanks again for your great service and friendship

Subject: Arigato from Los Angeles

Dear Mr. Doi,

We are back in Los Angeles, after a wonderful visit to Japan. One of our most memorable moments was our tour with you. What a coincidence that we would run into you two more times!! It was a pleasure to meet you, and I hope we meet each other again, either in Kyoto, or in Los Angeles.

Arigato gozai mas

Subject: Kyoto Tour 23/24 June

Doi-san,

Thank you very much for the tour you conducted for the Nachi-Fujikoshi customers this past weekend. Ms. M told me you were very good and I was very impressed by your skills. I have visited Kyoto on many occasions and found you to be one of the best guides I've experienced. I will pass your business card to fellow travelers and give you a high recommendation. Thank you again; I hope to see you on another trip to Kyoto (maybe the next time with my wife). By the way, I have ordered the "Old Kyoto" book you recommended by Ms. D as a reference guide.

Subject: THANK YOU

Dear Doi san
We both wanted to say a huge thank you for all the help you gave us. You helped make this THE most memorable birthday in history. Thank you for all the help and just being supportive.

You are a wonderful person and we hope to spend some time with you one day Love

Subject: Thank You

Dear Mr. Doi,
On behalf of my company, thank you very much for your prompt, courteous and friendly service during our recent stay in Kyoto for the Asian Development Bank Meeting. We would have no hesitation in recommending you to friends and colleagues in the future.

Kind regards,