Kanto itinerary. Can anyone attest to the quality of this?

Going to Osaka, Nara, Kyoto for Golden Week
and I was researching things to do.
I ran into this

http://www.kyotosightsandnights.com/<BR><BR>1. Has anyone been on one of these walking tours before?
2. What's the verdict on this and/or Peter MacIntosh (the lead person)?
3. Also, anything interesting I should do whilst there
(other than attacking deer, Nanba, and the usual things)?

4. I heard about some ninja house that sounded good but I've got no details on that.
5. My friend wants to dress in geisha/maiko garb and makeup and get her photo taken.
Anyone got a recommendation on this? And about how much will this cost?
6. My other friend is into animation/manga. Anything specific to the Kanto region that relates to this and can be done as a Golden Week event?
7. I'm in pocky and other stick-related foods. I know Glico is in Osaka. Is there something Pocky or Glico related that we can do?
8. Any kind of region-specific or weird purikura available there?

1. Ninja house (skip the castle except to see it from the outside and photograph the toothy fish gargoyles).
   photos and some description
   More
   
   One way to get there
   more pics and info, and another way to get there
   
   <blockquote>Quote
   <hr>7. I'm in pocky and other stick-related foods. I know Glico is in Osaka. Is there something Pocky or Glico related that we can do?<hr></blockquote>Pocky has zillions of flavors. Any store selling food will have Pocky.

haha. silliness. i know pocky is sold everywhere. but are there any pocky tours available or pocky-related festivals/mini-conventions or whatnot? i feel very nerdy with all this pocky talk.

I haven't heard of Pocky tours, but make sure you pick up some Giant Pocky as a souvenir.

i've got giant pocky specific to yokohama.
didn't know there was giant pocky specific to osaka.
excitement!

btw, that sounds like your Kansai itinerary, not your "Kanto itinerary".

havent been to any of the tours by peter macintosh, but heard a little about it.
the tours he gives are supposed to be really good.

when i was in kyoto, i took johnnie's hillwalker tour: http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/people/h-s-love/<BR><BR>quite enjoyed myself...

I did the Johnny Hillwalker tour as well and quite enjoyed it.

Don't get me wrong, Pete knows his stuff about the geisha world, but, imho, he is not a nice guy and his trips do not warrant the money. I am a tour guide and have had many of my passengers go along on his walks. Most have come back complaining that it was a rip off and he is not nice. 1 in 10 have enjoyed it. I can no longer recommend people on my tours to go on his trips, instead I take people with me around the streets of Gion for free and use the knowledge I have gleened from books to answer 'the majority' of questions I get asked.

sounds good to me. from your experience and what you've heard, what were the major complaints from your passengers regarding his rudeness? basically, what does he do (or not do) that make him not a nice guy? just out of curiosity. actually, from what i've read on his site and his comments about books on geisha (on amazon), he seems a bit of a lesser degree of a self-righteous hoser. but i was still compelled to go. i guess johnny walker is my next option then, eh? i definitely dig his name. :)

1. Has anyone been on one of these walking tours before?
   2. What's the verdict on this and/or Peter MacIntosh (the lead person)?
   3. Also, anything interesting I should do whilst there
   (other than attacking deer, Nanba, and the usual things)?
   
   4. I heard about some ninja house that sounded good but I've got no details on that.
   5. My friend wants to dress in geisha/maiko garb and makeup and get her photo taken.
   Anyone got a recommendation on this? And about how much will this cost?
   6. My other friend is into animation/manga. Anything specific to the Kanto region that relates to this and can be done as a Golden Week event?
   7. I'm in pocky and other stick-related foods. I know Glico is in Osaka. Is there something Pocky or Glico related that we can do?
   8. Any kind of region-specific or weird purikura available there?
   
   1-2. No ideas about the tours, but you can get some walking maps on like the 9th floor of the station. The self-guided walking tours obviously lack the knowledgeable guide, but when your curiosity gets the better of you, as certainly did me, you can always just wander off down some neat little alley. Also, I might recommend bikes as a good way of getting around. It rained the day I was actually going to do this, but it seemed like a more efficient way of getting around that buses or trains.
   
   3. - In Kyoto, I'd recommend Sanjusangendo. It was probably my favorite temple and not one of the top tourist-pullers of the city. 1001 golden statues, every one of them different. You get a prize (or good luck) if you can find the one that looks like you. Also there are still arrows in the rafters from an old contest they had there back in the day.
   - If you make it to the west part of Kyoto where the monkey park is (it's alright, they're a little crazier than the ravenous deer of Nara, just don't look them in the eye and don't feed them unless you're inside the cage at the top of the hill), go one stop further than you're supposed to before getting of the train. I did this on accident and found this sleepy little station on a bridge overlooking a beautiful gorge. You don't even have to leave the station to enjoy it, just check out the view, get to the other side of the tracks and wait for a returning train, should only be about 10 minutes.
   - In Nara, don't leave until you've seen either A) a Japanese father with his arms full of photography equipment and at least on small child or B) a Japanese girl aged 25 or younger (preferably a pair of them) try and feed the deer. Preferably both. It's just about the funniest thing I've ever seen.
   - Also in Nara, at Todaiji, on the right side of the giant buddha, there's a hole the size of the Buddha's nostril that, if you can squeeze through it, you'll get instant enlightenment in your next life. I'm still waiting on the results, but in the mean time, it's great to watch all the oversized gaijin get stuck and make their buddies pull them through.
   
   4. I got nothin on the ninja house.
   5. One of my friends got the geisha picture done, didn't even recognize her, but I've no idea where she did it.
   6. More nothin.
   7. Now I can help you. Unfortunately, I've got nothing Pocky, but Pretz, the salty alternative, has specialty flavors all over Japan. Nagoya's got Miso, Kyushu (maybe just Fukuoka?) has Mentaiko, and Osaka/Kyoto has Takoyaki, otherwise known as Octopus balls. They're a famous snack in Osaka. Not sure if you're into that, but I think that's the best you're going to get. If you're not down with that, I'd recommend the Kinako Mochi. It's mochi with some kind of floury, slightly sugary stuff over it with a bit of molasses on the side. It's just about my favorite thing Japan has to offer.
   8. I don't know about purikura, but if you're in Osaka you gotta go get your picture with the kuidaore ningyo.

i'm totally going to fit inside that nostril!
if i get deported, i blame you.