Photo= Image of "Kyoto Robotic Guided Tour," in which RoBoHon serves as a tour guide around sightseeing spots in Kyoto.

MK Co., Ltd., a taxi company based in Minami Ward, Kyoto, and JTB Corp., as well as others, are offering a tour to visit sightseeing spots in Kyoto with "RoBoHon", Sharp Corporation's portable robot, from September 22 to the end of next March. This roughly-six-hour tour takes participants by taxi to the neighborhood of Kiyomizu-dera Temple and other places, with RoBoHon serving as a tour guide.

The tour's name is "Kyoto ROBO TABI TAXI," or "Kyoto Robotic Guided Tour." Participants can rent RoBoHon at MK VIP Station in Minami Ward in front of JR Kyoto Station, and depart on the tour in a large-sized taxi. In addition to the Kiyomizu-dera Temple neighborhood, the tour visits Nanzen-ji Temple and Shogunzuka Seiryuden. They can also observe Yasaka Shrine, Heian Jingu Shrine and Lake Biwa Canal from the car.

RoBoHon uses the global positioning system, or GPS, to track the tour's actual location, and provides an audio-guided tour. It gives information such as, "Go down the Kiyomizu-zaka slope and you will find a street called the Sannen-zaka slope on your right," or "(Eikando Temple's) principal image, the standing statue of Amitabha Buddha, is also called 'Amitabha looking back'." The robot can speak Japanese, English and Chinese. Thanks to its originally installed functions, it can also sing and dance.

It costs 6,000 yen for two or three people to rent a RoBoHon, and 7,000 yen for just one individual. For more information, call MK Travel at 075-662-1700.