English

Louis was, a fantastic guide, knowledgeable, kind, and fun. The best part of the tour was the hike in before we got to the very crowded shrine. The bamboo forest we hiked through was better than what we saw at Arashiyama. After the tour Louis gave recommendations of other things to do that were nearby and might not be crowded with tourists. His recommendations were very good!

It was a great tour and hike away from the heavy tourist area.  Louis did a great job explaining things and answering questions.  Just be prepared for quite a hike!  😁

Top notch guide.  Fluent english and very informative.  Tasty food and sake!

Louis was an absolutely fabulous tour guide - best in Japan!  Excellent communication and pacing of the tour.  Great personality too!  As promised, we went on a route that avoided major crowds.  Very worthwhile.

The tour was absolutely perfect for our family of 4 with 2 kids 9 and 11 years old. Louis took us through an incredible trail up Mount Inari and we got to all 3 peaks and the main shrine over the course of 3 hours. He was very informative and shared important Shinto (but also Buddha) history and information. He took us through a lesser known path so we were able to avoid crowds for about 2/3 of the tour. The hike wasn't hard for any of us and we enjoyed all of it (including walking through the bamboo forest on our descent). We also walked by a local person's house and he shared stamps with us (such a kind gesture). Thank you, Louis for a memorable time! We recommend this trip to ANYONE who is looking for a memorable and unique way to experience Fushimi Inari.

Louis was very welcoming and knowledgeable.  He explained many things at each temple which enhanced our experience and helped with our next self tour.  The tea ceremony was amazing and surprisingly my husband even enjoyed the matcha.

Louis was a kind, informative, and patient guide. We were lucky to be the only ones on this tour. He took lots of photos for us in lots of secret spots. He was passionate about the religion and culture, and taught us a lot. The tea ceremony was also a very homely and traditional experience. Highly recommended. 

The tour and Louis were Number One.  Our guide was very informative and his English was very good.  The route we took was for most of the tour not crowded.  Our best tour so far in Japan.

Louis was amazing and knowledgeable! We went down hidden paths, learned about the history of the shrine and the surrounding areas. The hike was well paced and we saw everything we wanted to and more! Wonderful experience all around.

What a fun night with Louis! He took us to some interesting spots where locals go to drink and dine. Louis english was perfect with knowledge to go along with. He knew everything about the city and recommended me to a few places afterward.  I can't recommend him enough! I travel the world and probably have done over 100 tours either on viator or TripAdvisor and don't often do a review but I had to write a review to express the 5 star tour Louis put on. Thank you 🙏

We had a great tour with Louis. He was knowledgeable and personable, happy to try to answer any of our questions on the tour. We had a very nice visit to the temples, lunch and meditation. He also had English booklets for us to help us with the meditation practice.

We booked a Sake Tour through Klook as an extra part of our trip to Kyoto.  We had the great experience of being the only two people booked onto the tour which was great,.  Louis was an excellent guide, giving us lots of insights and understanding and makings are we made our way around the Sake area safely and easily.  The museum was interesting and we got to explore 3 tastings - and then moved into a bar to try another 18!!  This was a very generous amount of tasters!!  We couldn't ask for a better guide than Louis - not just knowledge about Sake and the area but also giving us lots of insights into Japanese culture.

The tour was amazing, and Louis was an excellent guide, explaining all the different foods we tried and the history around Gion. Such a fun night and we definitely didn’t leave hungry!

Great food tour by Louis, who was very friendly and insightful about the Geisha districts and Japanese culture! Would highly recommend for an introduction to Kyoto

Easy to follow, not rushed, just a lovely area of Kyoto to explore and ask questions. Luis was very helpful answering questions and we never felt rushed.

Louis was awesome.  Excellent English, well spoken, knowledgeable, and kind.  Answered tons of our questions about food, culture, and local life.  Would definitely recommend.

Our guide Louis was extremely insightful and knowledgeable.  His English was impeccable and he was so kind and friendly.  The temples and shrines  were extraordinary and riding bikes allowed us to see many interesting areas of Kyoto that we might not otherwise have seen.  Great day!!!!!

We got sooo lucky and it was snowing all morning which made the scenery extraordinary. Can't wait to come back during autumn to see the colours too!

Our bike tour with Louis was the highlight of our Kyoto trip! It was obvious a lot of care and planning went into the itinerary, and we loved every single place we stopped. Louis was an incredible guide who taught us so much about the city’s history and culture (and also have great recommendations on other places to visit on our trip). We would highly recommend this tour if you’re looking for an active way to explore Kyoto and discover areas and attractions you wouldn’t find on your own!

This may have been the most meaningful Experience I had in Kyoto. Louie was knowledgeable and insightful   He provided information and context to the day.  I appreciate the space to enjoy the surroundings without being pressured to move on to the next thing.  The meditation was something I’ll keep going back to in my mind as a highlight of this trip.  I am so glad I booked this tour

Great tour! Our guide was very nice and shared lots of interesting information. We learned a lot about Kyoto and the history of sake.  We also had lots of fun exploring the area and singing Karaoke.

Really enjoyable morning and Lewis was an excellent guide. Loved learning about the culture and history of Kyoto and trying different foods in the market

Louis was an awesome host & could answer all of our questions. We wish we could have him as our personal tour guide for our whole stay in Kyoto!And we loved that it was a small group.

Wonderful your, less people along the way, and such informative session. Thank you Louis for the great hike and photo skills!

This was, by far, the most elevated food tour I have ever been on (and that is saying something). We choose the Kyoto Night Foodie Tour to get an introduction to the city on our first night there. The plating of the food was stunning (like things I have seen at Michellin starred restaurants) and the flavors impeccable. But lest you fear the experience might be too hoity-toity, we ranged from a cozy upstairs nook in a fine restaurant to standup tables at a takeaway spot and comfy seats in an alleyway izakaya. The food at each stop was extraordinary. As to our tour guide, Louis was lovely and personable and showed us a side of Kyoto that was both elegant and intimate. I will be recommending this tour (and guide) to any friends or acquaintances looking to get a magical taste of Kyoto.

The day with Louie was amazing, he gave us a great experience of the culture and area. Louie made the tour a great experience and gave great suggestions for things to do after which was very helpful.

Louis was a lovely & sweet guide who took us to 3 different food stops that we would never have found on our own!  And the food was surprisingly good!

Our Zen tour with Louis was great!  We saw some beautiful gardens and temples we would not have known about otherwise, and he was knowledgeable and friendly.   Highly recommended!  Both myself (long term meditator) and my wife (non meditator) got a lot out of the tour.

Louie was a fantastic guide! A wealth of knowledge of the Gion Kyoto district. The food was delicious and was a great experience.

The walk in the forest and charming side route was amazing, without the crowds, peaceful and calming. Louis, the guide, is highly knowledgeable and had good recommendations with authentic sharing.

This tour is a must. Avoiding the crowds felt like a cheat-code that you wouldn’t be able to do without this amazing backwoods hike. The bamboo forest and sites along the way were stunning. Loui (spelling?) was so informative and was always willing to answer our questions or help us make a purchase.

Fantastic tour! Our tour guide Louis was excellent - very knowledgeable & wonderful to chat with along the walk. The tour route is great, very private for most of the journey - an excellent option to avoid the crowds & have an authentic experience. Also bonus is that the tour route means you will be walking down the steepest part of the trail instead of walking up (which is what most tourists were doing). Louis paused whenever we wanted to take photos & he was able to point out the best photo spots as well. Overall a really enjoyable experience - I learned a lot about Fushimi Inari, very glad we did it & would highly recommend it to everyone.

It was just two of us and Louis was fantastic. We were not just interested in the sights but also so many cultural aspects of Japan and historical significance of Kyoto and all that we saw. We stayed away from crowds and I would wholeheartedly recommend Magical Tours and Louis if you are looking for a unique experience. The tea ceremony was with a bigger group but was still awesome,

We had a great time with Louis and Chie ! Very informative, light mood, good vibes and the time flew by! They gave us great recommendations and bonded with lots of great people !

This was a very nice tour by chie and Luis, we had some great food, they explained us a lot. Great thing to do this rainy Saturday morning

Had a wonderful bike ride visiting 2 temples. Also the bike ride along the Kamo River was very peaceful & a highlight of the tour. We even saw a heron bathing itself in the river.Lunch was delicious too & don’t forget to try their specialty cinnamon sweets.Louis was very knowledgeable and he was very good at answering all our questions.

We had a fantastic treck with Louis. Very kind and informative on the history and culture of the shrines. Would recommend this way of experiencing the sacred Mount Inari, to stay out of the crowds and see the bamboo forests. Thanks Louis!

Louis was a great tour guide and kept a good walking pace for us all. He interacted with everyone in our group and always answered our questions. Just know you will be walking a lot! So bring some comfy shoes!The tea ceremony at the end was nice too and I felt like the overall tour is a great way to learn about the history and culture of Japan.

This was a great tour of Kyoto! Our tour guide, Louis, was knowledgeable and made great conversation. He helped us better understand the culture and history of Kyoto while we had some great food and drinks.

Louis was great! There were only 4 of us (2 couples) on the tour, so we got to have great conversation and learned a lot about sake! I loved being able to try so many varieties and see the brewery. Louis made sure we were well taken care of, and he even made sure we got back to the area of our hotel.

A great walking tour. Louis our guide was very informative, easy to understand and gave a great explanation of Japanese history and culture.

Highly recommend the Kyoto night foodie tour!!Our guide Louis was fantastic; who showed us around the area, took us to several delicious restaurants, and gave us lots of food and shopping recommendations. We sampled so much delicious food that we have never tried before. Louis explained what was in each dish and how it was prepared. We learned so much! We also learned about Japan culture and Japan travel tips which will help us better experience the rest of our trip.

Had an amazing time with Yukari and Louis hiking and seeing shrines. They were both so knowledgeable and fun to talk to as we made our way through the mountain. This was my favorite thing I did in Kyoto mainly because of them!

Our tour with Yutaka (& Louis) was great.Yutaka is very open and chatty. He knows a lot and is very willing to share the information he has.The group size was good (7) and we were able to follow all the info shared even though it was sometimes noisy on the market.The lunch was a nice one, enough set menus to choose from.All in all, we can recommend this tour with Yutaka. Louis is still learning the ropes, but it was clear he will get there.We enjoyed it very much.

What a great guide with fantastic English and knowledge of the temples, tea ceremony and area. Thank you Louis we highly recommend you.

We had a fantastic time on the Wabi Sabi walking tour. Louis was an amazing guide who shared many insights into Zen Buddhist practices. The tea ceremony was also very insightful and we both learnt a lot about the matcha tea ceremony. 

This was a very interesting tour where we got to learn about how sake is made, the history of it and its significance to Kyoto. We were able to taste 18 different sakes and gain an appreciation for the different tastes and flavor profiles. Fuji and Louis were excellent tour guides!!Fuji also gave us an excellent restaurant recommendation for my wife, who is vegetarian!!I highly recommend this tour for anyone who enjoys sake.

Louis and Fuji were excellent! Despite scorching heat we were able to have a great time going around the Kyoto sake district. Definitely got a buzz going from all the sake! Great educational info as well! Highly recommend.

Louis and Fuji were fantastic guides and were a great time during the tour. They were both informative and answered any questions perfectly. Overall they made it an incredibly good time for our group overall.

Naru and Luis were absolutely excellent hosts and tour guides to take us around the bamboo forest.Very knowledgeable and gracious to our requests for information and stopping to take picturesI would fully recommend these guys if you wanted a guided tour of the bamboo forest in Kyoto.Well done guys!

Naru and Louis were amazing tour guides! They both were very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. They brought us to the best places for photos. The gardens and temples were gorgeous and must see places on your trip to Kyoto. Thank you, Naru and Louis! We would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Kyoto.

Naru and Louis, were fantastic tour guides they made us feel so comfortable and happy on our tour, we saw so much thier English was impeccable  and we had a great time on the tour. 

Louis

Reviews (54)

My Upcoming Tours

Tours I Guide

Kyoto Arashiyama Bamboo forest & Hidden Garden Half-Day Walking Tour with Michelin Lunch

Fushimi Inari Hidden Hiking Tour: Escape Crowds & Explore Secret Trails

Kyoto Zen Meditation & Garden Tour at a Zen Temple with traditional Sho-jin lunch

Kyoto Gion Tea ceremony & Wabi-sabi Walking Tour

Kyoto Authentic Sake Tour in Fushimi: 18 Sake Tastings & Explore Historic Breweries

Nishiki Market Brunch Walking Food Tour

4.5-hour Kyoto Historical Highlights Bike Tour with UNESCO Zen Temples

Kyoto Premium Night Foodie Tour: Gion, Pontocho, Hidden Eats & Sake

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