Pinpoint Traveler: private tours to Kyoto and Nara

[many cruises]

We completed our Japan Cruise on Regent Cruises Explorer Ship and were glad we booked private tours with Pinpoint Traveler for Kyoto and Nara.  Both tours included pick-up/drop-off at Kobe Cruise Pier and included a professional guide. 

 

Our group of 6 people drove to Nara for our half day tour from Kobe Cruise Pier.  Our guide, Lito, was wonderful and the van was very comfortable.  We walked around the park to see the deer and learned how to bow and feed them.  We visited Todaiji Temple (giant Buddha) and walked around Nara near the quaint shops and drove to the top of the hill for fabulous views of the area.  We also saw a Japanese bride and groom in their wedding clothes posing for their wedding pictures on the hill.  Our guide, Lito, had a wonderful personality and he made the day very enjoyable.

 

Our group of 6 people drove to Kyoto for our full day tour leaving Kobe Cruise Pier at 7:30 am for our 1.5 hour drive to Kyoto.  We visited Tenryu-ji Temple, Okochi Sanso (bamboo Grove) in Arashiyama, Fushimi Inari (red gates), Golden Pavilion, Nishiki Market, and had lunch at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant.  Our day had our professional guide with us at all times explaining what we were seeing.  We drove comfortably from one place to another.  We saw more than we would have seen if we had booked a cruise ship tour where we might see 1-2 places in Kyoto.  Our guide also walked us around a neighborhood discussing real estate listings posted and we visited a Japanese convenience store too.  Having a personal guide for both of our tours made each day so meaningful. 

 

We had no difficulty understanding or hearing our guides because we were only 6 people and one of the guides was Canadian and the other American, so there were no language issues.  Unfortunately, our guides on the Regent Tours we booked were difficult to understand and hear.  We were all very glad we booked Nara and Kyoto privately and we highly recommend PINPOINT TRAVELER (located in Osaka) for future Japan private tours.

 

 

[thehowlingroad]

This was super helpful, thank you!!

[cjwags]

Thanks for the information on these tours. We are really interested in both of them. I don't see the Nara one listed.  Did you book directly through the website? via email? other way?  I reached out to them a few days ago but have not heard back.  

[travellife1]

Thank you for this info. 

[LovesToRead]

I can now second the recommendation for Pinpoint Traveler excursions to Kyoto and Nara. I contacted Pinpoint after reading many cruises’ review. In mid-March, we had a wonderful day and a half visiting both areas; our itinerary was similar to the one described above. Kevin, our guide, was extremely accommodating and personable. He provided informative background about the sites, shared many of his own experiences in Japan and arranged for us to have lunch at local restaurants where we could sample dishes common to the area. We could not have covered as much ground if we had taken the ship’s excursions.

[hazeleyez3]

We typically do private tours, and that was our original plan for the B2B we have planned next September.  Pinpoint sounds like a great option, but I keep reading that it could take 3-4 hours to clear customs before we get off the ship. Was that addressed when you booked the tours?  As much as I do not want to do ship tours, I keep thinking that may be the best option for Japan.

 

We have 2pm-4am in Kobe and 1:30pm-11pm in Yokohama/Tokyo. 

[cjwags]

We absolutely loved our tours with Pinpoint.  Highlight of our trip.  We had no problems clearing customs, but our day(s) in Kyoto were not immediately following Busan.  If so, there could be a delay. 

[Peteymil]

On 4/30/2024 at 8:54 PM, cjwags said:

We absolutely loved our tours with Pinpoint.  Highlight of our trip.  We had no problems clearing customs, but our day(s) in Kyoto were not immediately following Busan.  If so, there could be a delay. 

So do I understand correctly that the day that could be customs delay would be the day after Busan?

[cjwags]

Yes, the day after Busan when reentering Japan could take quite a while.  We had at least a two hour delay.  If I were planning, I would probably book a ship excursion on the day following Busan, or plan something that isn't time specific.

[Hlitner]

On 5/15/2024 at 9:13 PM, Peteymil said:

So do I understand correctly that the day that could be customs delay would be the day after Busan?

The Japanese authorities are very "rules oriented" and this can become a real pain.  Whenever a cruise ship returns to Japan, from any non-Japanese port (i.e. Taiwan, Korea, etc) everyone on the ship must again go through a face-to-face with the Japanese authorities.  Sometimes it can become almost comical.  Last year, when we returned to Japan from Taiwan, we had to again go through the process (it was the third time on our trip).  In less than 10 minutes, we had our Passports checked by 5 different Japanese authorities (I am not exaggerating) all of whom were very friendly/polite.  The 5th time it happened was just after we had finally debarked the ship (having had our face to face plus 3 other Passport checks) when another official asked to see our Passports.  I smiled, handed him our Passports, and then said "Five."  His English was excellent, and he immediately understood and apologized.  

 

As to how much delay, it can vary depending on the number of passengers, and number of Japanese officials, and whether the Japanese get their computer stations set-up within a reasonable amount of time.  We had 3 checks on our cruise, and I recall the delays varied from about 30 minutes to nearly 2 hours.   This does make it difficult to plan.  And that is not all!  The Japanese also require an exit stamp (in each Passport) everytime you are leaving the country.  This needs to happen, even on a cruise ship that might be going to Taiwan or Korea.  Of course, it is the Japanese cabotage laws that create the situation that requires cruise ships to go to these non-Japanese ports.

 

Hank