As you may know, too many of us are going to Japan this year.
for Fall, we are having trouble securing guides for half day walks, etc.
if you have one to suggest in Kyoto or Osaka, please do!

The Japanese National Tourism Organization coordinates free volunteer guides throughout Japan. These “Goodwill guides” – who are generally knowledgeable and happy to guide you in return for practicing their English – can be excellent, but as I understand it, they are a bit of a luck-of-the-draw. I don't know how it works now, but in the past, you could communicate by email in advance to ensure that the plan meets your needs.

You pay any entrance fees and his/her meal if your time with the guide includes one. Do NOT tip these guides (or anyone else in Japan). My suggestion would be to make your needs regarding any meal (including price range and any particular dietary requirements or restrictions) very clear in advance.

I worked with only one, in Inuyama, and she was excellent. To my surprise, she gave me a gift at the end of our short time together -- a tiny, endearing silk mouse. I was prepared with a nominal gift that I gave her -- a little magnet showing DC's cherry trees (appropriate, I thought, since I live in the DC area).

https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/lis...unteer-guides/

We also used volunteer guides in both Tokyo and in Kanazawa which we found through the list of organizations in the link which kja posted above. We thoroughly enjoyed the experiences and recommend doing this highly. However, they are not trained tour guides, but volunteers who are willing to take tourists around. We met with 2 retirees who wanted to share their love of their hometowns.

Our guide in Tokyo was lovely, thoug his English was limited so he provided us with printouts of all the places we were visiting! We had very extensive correspondence prior to our visit.

In Kanazawa, we were very lucky to have a guide who was a retired HS English teacher. She was a delight and we were very fortunate to have met with her. We also had extensive correspondence with her, planning our itinerary, and it was great. She also gave us a token gift -- a set of origami figures that she had made herself. For both of the guides, I picked up a local photo calendar as a token "thank-you" gift, knowing that they don't accept tips.

I, too, used Goodwill Guides, for Kyoto and Kanazawa. The one in Kyoto took me to a moon viewing ceremony which was a highlight.

Have you found your Kyoto guide yet? We used Hiroshi Yano, who is a certified guide (hiroshiyano.com). His reviews are excellent (I'm one of the satisfied ones), he speaks English very well, and is very responsive by email. We told him where we thought we might want to visit and when (very early morning start). Since the sights in Kyoto are plentiful (17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites) and very spread out, we found it more efficient to have a guide who could drive us on a planned route. He gave us his suggestions and picked us up at our hotel. We have traveled extensively and have found that most driver/guides are good at one or the other (driving or guiding), but few are good at both. Hiroshi is one of those who is good at both. Additionally, we found his fees very reasonable. I would recommend him hightly.

We used Samaritan guides in Kyoto. They were free and we paid for admisson and lunch. They were both college students and I was with my college aged daughter so it was a fantastic experience. In addition to temples and shrines and parks, we went shopping and to some of the "younger" locates. When we dropped a hat on the bus a few days later, i reached out to our main guide and she contacted the bus company and found out they had my daughter's hat! We were so greatful.