I took part in the SIEN group tour of Kyoto on Saturday 24th November, 2018. We were lucky to be accompanied by Ryoji Shimada, who is both the leader of the SIEN group and a professionally licensed tour guide. The tour lasted from morning to night and Ryoji showed us all the best places in Kyoto where we could see the wonderful autumn colours. We went to famous and popular temples and shrines, but Ryoji also took us to special interesting and beautiful places which are unknown to the general hordes of tourists. I especially enjoyed the light-up of the temples after dark during the autumn foliage season and the tour around Gion at night. An unexpected bonus was the half-day tour to beautiful places around Lake Biwa in Shiga-ken for those who were staying an extra day on Sunday 25th November. I would thoroughly recommend Ryoji as a tour guide and am sure if you decide to go with him, you won't regret your choice!

I visited Kyoto from Nov 23-25, 2018 and was able to spend some time in Shiga. I was part of the SIEN group tour, led by the amazing tour guide Ryoji Shimada. It was a wonderful experience and I was in awe of all the natural beauty, temples, shrines and the autumn wonder. The tour guide was very kind, accommodating and knowledgeable. I had a fantastic time and hope to return.

Ryoji Shimada is an exceptionally talented tour guide. I have taken many tours with Ryoji over more than a 10-year period, in very different areas of Japan, and with different focuses including historical, cultural, recreational, entertainment, and more. Ryoji is very motivated to warmly and passionately share his deep love of Japanese culture and history to those coming from abroad, and has many years’ experience in doing so. Ryoji is always very polite, thoughtful, considerate, well-organized, reliable and punctual, and completely competent to handle any situations that may unexpectedly arise, as can occur. Ryoji “thinks out of the box” to give not only the classic wonderful tour experiences, but also those which are surprisingly unique and providing fascinating, special insights to travelers. He is knowledgeable about all his tour subjects, and speaks English fluently. He has a gift in organizing a touring day to give maximum satisfaction, and provides tour days filled with the perfect balance of insight, enjoyment, deep learning experiences, variety, rest and satisfaction for personally-tailored interests. I highly recommend Ryoji Shimada as an outstanding tour guide in every way – Sandra Cave

I had the pleasure to do a tour with Ryouji in autumn 2016 in Kyoto where he showed us the beautiful autumn leaves (koyo) for which Kyoto is famous! It was a fantastic tour that I enjoyed very much and even though I have been living in Japan for many years now Ryouji managed to still make me see some aspects of Japanese traditions etc., from a different angle. He is very knowledgeable about Kyoto and knows all the “secret” spots that would be difficult to find without a guide. Kyoto is really packed during the autumn leave season but he was able to show us the above mentioned spots that are off the beaten track which were incredible beautiful, yet not overcrowded. His explanations about the city, its history, Japanese customs etc. where spot on, informative, entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable. I would recommend anyone interested in seeing Kyoto to book a tour with him to get the most out of the experience. Thumps up for his tours!

I enjoyed the trip arranged by COCOMO Japan Travel very much. My guide is Ryoji, he made my days in Kyoto more wonderful. Ryoji is very kind and nice. Before I visit Kyoto, we had communicated through email. He listened to my needs patiently and therefore I had a prefect customized-made tour. Guess it’s true that what people say, there are many places where you will never know but local people do. I did visited Japan for many times, however I had a total different experience this time. Ryoji guided me to Mount Hiei (比叡山) and Miho Museum where I have never been to. Ryoji is well experienced and has good knowledges. He guided me Mount Hiei where the temple of Enryaku-ji is. It is the first outpost of Tendai, one of the Japanese sects of Buddhism, with over 1200 year’s history. I have never known it before! I enjoyed the view from Mount Hiei too. It overlooks Lake Biwa which is the biggest freshwater lake in Japan. Weather of the day I visited is so lovely that Lake Biwa sparkled in the sunlight. Besides, I had my first sermon in the temple, it is great experience too. I felt so relax there and refresh myself. Ryoji guided and introduced me about the history of the place. Finally, I had a vegetarian pot with this beautiful view. I enjoyed the trip so much! If any of my friends and family come Japan, I will recommend them using COCOMO Japan Travel and will find Ryoji for guiding again too. Thanks for all arrangement this time.

Last weekend of February 2017, I had a chance to visit Nara City with CoCoMo Japan Travel staff. We walked around Nara Park, feeding Nara deer with "Shika-sembe". Although Winter season is off-season to travel in Japan because the Weather is very cold and The flower is still waiting to bloom in near spring. Somehow, the tourists from everywhere still flowing to Nara because they would like to experience many beautiful scenarios of Nara Park itself and other historical places nearby. Since Nara City is the first capital city of Japan, many old empires used to live there before they move to Kyoto. Nara Park becomes a center of Japanese mind in this city. From Nara Park, we could able to walk to other historical places, many famous temples, and shrines. For example; Todaiji Temple, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Nara National Museum, Kohfukuji Temple etc. The highlight of this trip was an experience of visiting Sake factory called "Harushika". One of the last two famous Sake factory in Nara City. This trip I really need to thank you for CoCoMo Japan Travel staff who gave me an information of this event and also made a reservation of website of me. This factory will produce their Sake only in Winter season, that why I gave this place as a highlight of our trip. We could see the method of making Sake from the beginning and see how Japanese develop their traditional method to become a commercial product. We also tasted many kinds of Sake, both cold and warm Sake before buying back home as a special souvenir to our beloved family and friends. At the end of the trip, we visit Higashimuki Shopping area to eat and buy Nara famous products. I recommended "Narazuke", the pickle fermented with a remaining part of Sake. "Yomogo Mochi" is another recommended sweet in this area. Mochi in this shop is famous from TV champion because they make by hand and mix with good ingredients directly to our hand. Lastly, I would like to thank you again CoCoMo Japan Travel staff who took me around Nara City and hope to travel with them again next time.