Say you have a full week to be in Japan. After spending three days in Tokyo — where the main theme is modern Japan — like most other first-time travelers to the country you would naturally want to visit Kyoto, a hub for traditional Japanese culture.
The first time I went to Kyoto, I realized three days were not enough – there are just too many places to see and too bad to miss. And you would want to enjoy the old capital of Japan in a leisurely pace, not as though you had to keep an ambitious count of places to visit. So, if possible, I recommend 4 days in the city. You can keep other places in your next visit list (yes, Japan definitely deserves more than one visit!). It’s no fun visiting too many places in a short amount of time anyway.
Kyoto is roughly divided into five regions: Southern, Western, Central, Eastern and Northern Kyoto. Check out this Japan tourism site for details on sightseeing spots in each region: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2158.html. I found it really helpful. They have maps to access tourist hot spots and everything.
But of course it’s impossible to visit all the tourist spots. Kyoto has countless temples, shrines, historic and nature sites that you simply have to decide which you want to see the most – and let the rest of your visit flow (somewhat) naturally.
So, here is my itinerary recommendation for a 4-day tour in Kyoto. The list is based on personal experiences/preferences from my two visits there in 2015 and 2016, and taking into account factors such as proximity between places and to near public transport options. If you can afford 3 days only, just scrap the last one.
#Day 1 – Fushimi Inari-taisha & Gion (Southern and Eastern Kyoto)
I would suggest arrive the night before, or early in the morning in Kyoto, so that you can kick start your Kyoto tour as early as possible and have 3 or 4 full days in the city. In the two visits that I made, I took a night bus from Tokyo to Kyoto, an 8-hour ride, pretty cheap and decent if you travel on low budget. Well, at least you don’t have to pay one night at a hotel, though I would suggest that you bring your own sleeping mask — the street lights can be pretty distracting. I went to the JR Bus ticket counters in Tokyo Station to purchase the tickets a few days prior to both departures. Another overnight bus option is the Willer Express – but I haven’t tried this one. For bus options: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2366.html\
We arrived at Kyoto Station (the central station) at 6 a.m. After cleaning up a bit in the restroom and buying some onigiri rice and yoghurt for breakfast and some other stuff for lunch, we immediately took the train to Fushimi Inari-taisha in southern Kyoto. The Shinto shrine is famous for its thousands of red torii gates, which go all the way up to the top of the hill. Climbing to the top seems too ambitious, though, and we didn’t want to spend all of our time in the shrine. So we only climbed a bit, went off the beaten track a bit (during which we encountered a quiet, peaceful bamboo grove where we enjoyed our brunch), before going back down through a short line of souvenir shops offering some souvenirs unique to this shrine, such as the fox and torii gate keychains (my favorite; couldn’t find it elsewhere in Japan). We also stopped by shortly to enjoy ‘takoyaki’ (octopus balls) at a street stall.
There is actually a large Buddhist temple complex near the shrine, Tofukuji, but it’s quite a walk and soon you’ll find many similar temples in Kyoto. So I would recommend skipping this place and take your next train ride to: Gion.
Gion is the famous Geisha district. Drop off at Kawaramachi Station or Gion-Shijo Station and explore the area eastward until you meet Yasaka Shrine. Or, drop off at the bus stop near the shrine and explore the area westward until you meet Kawaramachi or Gion-Shijo Station. Don’t just walk the main avenue – explore the famous alleyways where you’ll feel transported back to the past with the lines of old ‘machiya’ (traditional wooden houses) now mostly functioning as restaurants. Names of the most prominent alleyways/smaller streets: Pontocho, Hanami-koji and Gion Shirakawa. I wouldn’t recommend Yasaka Shrine itself. It is very similar to many Shinto shrines you’ll sooner or later spot in Japan. And the large park behind it, when I visited in summer last year, wasn’t that good either. It was too hot. You’ll probably find better lucks with the park in spring – heard it’s quite a popular cherry blossom viewing spot.
While in Kyoto, it is best if you can find a place to stay in Gion because it means you can leisurely explore the place every evening with an array of options to dine. I personally like Gion better at night than daylight. The lights and lamps of the old machiya-turn-restaurants are just so charming after the sun goes down; many of them face Kamo River or smaller canals. And the geishas or the trainees are usually only spotted walking hurriedly through Hanami-koji at night. I wasn’t able to take good night shots, though. So, sorry, no photo to publish on the charming evening scene.
I happen to stay just across from Kamo River last summer. And I really enjoyed strolling along the riverbank, such as that one time when my sister and I sat on one spot, watching the sun go down as we sang our hearts out (we lowered the volume when people passed by :P, but later didn’t care), and ended the day by munching the meals we bought from one of the convenience stores (don’t worry, it’s a clean river and so a nice place to have lunch by. You can clearly see rocks on the riverbed). The riverbank is a popular spot to just hang around, and also for jogging and biking.
This is the hostel we stayed in last year in Gion: https://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/jam-hostel-kyoto-gion.id.html . It has a very, very strategic location — near the river, near the train station, literally in the heart of Gion. Unfortunately, the room condition is the worst I’ve experienced for the duration of my two visits in Japan in 2015-16. It has stains on the floor, and there was bathroom stench and there were only 2 bathrooms for the whole 2nd floor where we stayed — meaning a queue to take shower.
During my first visit to Kyoto in April 2015, I stayed in Hostel Mundo Chiquito https://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/hostel-mundo-chiquito.id.html?aid=337862;label=postbooking_confemail;sid=8bf61507cc30d863648c1e4246ee53f7;dist=0&sb_price_type=total&type=total& — a much better stay. It’s one of those nice traditional Japanese wooden houses with tatami floor and futton bed in the rooms (don’t expect a TV, though). And it’s in a short walking distance to some bus stops – some of which will lead you straight to Gion or Arashiyama. It is also a walking distance — though a tad bit farther — to Nijo-jo Castle and Kyoto Imperial Palace. I found the former boring, though, and I wasn’t quite interested in the latter. And other than that, the area surrounding the hostel, though has quite some options for restaurants, is really pale in comparison to Gion.
#Day 2 – Higashiyama & Philosopher’s Walk (Eastern Kyoto)
Higashiyama is an area between Yasaka Shrine and Kiyomizudera temple, one of the most prominent Buddhist temples in Japan, in Eastern Kyoto. I found the first half around Kiyomizudera much more appealing than the rather lame second half toward Yasaka Shrine. So I only recommend the former. To do this, get off the bus stop nearest to Kiyomizudera (warning: it’s a steep climb from the bus stop to the temple), pay an entrance fee to explore the ancient temple, and then explore the surrounding area, which is one of the city’s best preserved historic districts. As japan-guide.com nicely puts it:
“It is a great place to experience traditional old Kyoto … where the narrow lanes, wooden buildings and traditional merchant shops invoke a feeling of the old capital city” – to which I completely agree.
You’ll find souvenir shops crowding this area, especially along the main road toward Kiyomizudera’s entrance. So this place can be your best bet to find good souvenirs to bring home – ranging from every thing with matcha (green tea) flavor, cute-looking traditional confectionery (though they don’t taste as good as they look) to traditional Japanese hand fans and Hina dolls.
After that, don’t go along the route toward Yasaka Shrine. Instead, go back down the slope to the bus stop, and get into the bus toward Ginkakuji, or the Silver Pavilion, a Zen temple in the north of Higashiyama. The buildings inside the complex are small and there is nothing really special about them in terms of appearance. But the garden is one of the best examples of Japanese gardens I’ve seen. It’s one of my most, if not my most favorite Japanese garden. You also have to pay an entrance fee into the complex.
Leaving the temple, go to the northern edge of the famous Philosopher’s Path, which is of course best experienced during the cherry blossom season (late March/early April; check the ever changing cherry blossom weather forecast to be sure). But even if you can’t get into Japan on time for cherry blossoms, the stone Path, with its clean canal, shady trees and old traditional wooden houses along the bank – plus a forest at one point – is just very nice and pleasant. They said the path got its name from an old philosophy professor who practiced meditation while walking this path on his daily commute to Kyoto University. I can totally understand how the path can inspire people to be somewhat philosophical. I got inspired to write a prose (sort of) again after a long while when sitting on one of the benches along the path – more specifically the one facing the small forest. The peaceful atmosphere (when tourists were not flocking the path), the breeze, how it ruffled the leaves, and the sound of the distant, chiming temple bells just made you feel poetic.
At the end of the path, there didn’t seem to be a lot to see. So just go into the nearest bus stop and back to the town center or wherever you stay (assuming it’s already late in the afternoon as you finish this walk).
#Day 3 – Arashiyama & Kinkakuji/The Golden Temple (Western Kyoto, Northern Kyoto)
It looks like many people mistakenly think Arashiyama as a mere bamboo grove. But the famous bamboo grove easily popping up on Google when you search for “Arashiyama” images is actually just a short patch in the middle of an area also comprising a charming turquoise river with shady trees along the bank on one side; and a street lined with old traditional houses and temples on the other side.
Get off at Arashiyama or JR Saga Arashiyama Station. Make sure you arrive at the bamboo patch before 7 am; because after that tourists would swarm the area and it’ll be difficult then to get snapshots of an idyllic bamboo grove as you’ve seen on the internet. From there, go to the nearest bank of Hozu River. Walk along the bank to Togetsukyo Bridge, and then you can easily go back to Arashiyama Station. The JR station (for those who travel with JR Pass) is a bit farther from this bridge.
If you have a whole day to explore Arashiyama (meaning you stay longer than 3 or 4 days or will just skip one of the aforementioned places), taking the boat tour, exploring Saga-Toriimoto preserved street (where you can find the Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple with its own solitary bamboo grove), and enjoying the Sagano Scenic/Sagano Romantic train ride are recommended.
Otherwise, after munching lunch by the river or in the park between the bamboo grove and the river, take your next train ride to: Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion.
The golden Zen temple is probably one of the most familiar images of Japan you’ve seen in calendars or elsewhere. The mainstream status of the place among international visitors may discourage your from visiting, but I suggest not to feel discouraged. The place is indeed worth visiting. Not exactly because of the golden temple itself, but the combination of the temple (the golden color is indeed unique to Japan) and its beautiful surrounding. The garden is not as beautiful as Ginkakuji (the Silver Pavilion)’s, but the idyllic pond and the mountain on the background can really make you feel like you were transported into a magical calendar image – well, at least that was how I felt when I was there, despite the local student tour groups swarming the place.
#Day 4 – Kuramadera & Kibune (Northern Kyoto)
This Northern Kyoto itinerary is basically nature themed. So if you feel like all the city tour – albeit a culturally-rich traditional one like in Kyoto – is too suffocating and you need to sort of liberating yourself and feeling one with nature, then do go up to the north. It’s a mountainous area, though not yet that high up in the mountains, and the train ride is pretty scenic.
For the tour, I recommend go first to the northernmost part, Kurama Station, the last station on the Eizan Kurama Line from central Kyoto. From there, go up to Kurama temple, and then take the hiking trail behind the temple which will bring you through a forest with tall trees.
From the highest point after one-third (or even one-fourth) of the forest walk, you’ll start descending until you meet the Kibune river. During summer, wooden platforms are raised over the river by some restaurants dotting the bank. You have to opt for a full course menu to get seated on one of those wooden platforms, though, otherwise they’ll just place you inside the main restaurant building.
Walk along the river – you can dip your feet in some shallow sections – until you meet Kibune-guchi Station, from which you can ride your way back to central Kyoto. The sound of the flowing river and the green mountainous forest on the other side of the street makes for a pleasant, refreshing walk. It’s quite a long walk, but rather descending and it’s still a good walking distance. That’s why I don’t suggest going to Kibune first before Kuramadera; if so you would basically have to climb, and I saw people doing this route looking very exhausted when we met them in the forest.
I put Kuramadera and Kibune at #4 place because the nature theme is not exactly unique to Japan; so you can scrap it if you like. Nevertheless it’s a nice, short getaway from the city tour. It’s far less crowded than other tourist hot spots in Kyoto.
Note:
- Kyoto is also a good base for day trips to neighboring towns such as Nara, an even older capital of Japan, or even Osaka and Koyasan if you don’t want to stay there. From Kyoto, you can board the train, have a ride for less than 2 hours and take your flight home from Kansai Airport outside Osaka; rather than going back to Tokyo.
- Kyoto, Nara and Koyasan have UNESCO World Heritage Sites all over.
- If you’re a Muslim traveler, download Halal Gourmet Japan application on your mobile phone. It’s pretty useful to find halal-certified or at least Muslim-friendly restaurants while in Japan. We found a favorite halal ramen resto in Gion.
- All photos are taken by me, unless stated otherwise.
Other posts on my Japan trips:
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