Please advice on my Kyoto trip.
I’ll be staying just around Kyoto Station & will be spending 4 almost full days at Kyoto including 1 day to Nara. Below is the breakdown of my plan there. Each of the arrangement which I plotted is based on checks from Google maps on the location of each site. Do let me know if there’s an even better route which I should use. I also have some questions which I hope to get some answers.
1. Sagano romantic train – Can I board the train from Torokko Arashiyama Station instead of Saga Torokko? Is it advisable to purchase return tickets in advance?
2. I seem to have some free time in the evening after Sagano Train ride & Inari Shrine, is there any nearby attractions worth visiting?
3. Busses in Kyoto – When I plan my route via google maps, it list down a set of bus numbers, will those exact numbers actually appears on the front of the bus?
1/3/23
Nishiki Market
Kitano Tenmangu
Kinkakuji Temple
Kiyomizu-Dera
Yasaka Shrine
Gion
2/3/23
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
Tenryuji Temple
Sagano Train Cruise
3/3/23
Nara Trip
4/4/23
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Back to KIX by 8pm
2 comments
1) I believe you can, but I am not 100% sure. Be aware you only can purchase tickets at certain places, for example at Saga Torokko. So you may need to buy return tickets in advance, I dont think you can buy them in Kameoka. You could however use a normal JR train to go back…
2) Arashiyama is full of stuff to visit. Or north Kyoto?
3) that should be the case, yes. pay close attention to the direction the bus is traveling, that gives you an indication on which bus station you should be waiting for your bus.
Day 1: might be a bit optimistic, Maybe Kiyomizu, Higashiyama, Nishiki and then in the evening going into Gion/Asaka is enough
Day 2: here you could head over to Kinkakuji after Arashiyama, and then down to Kitano Tenmangu
Day 3: you could stop at Fushimi Inari on your way back from Nara if you are willing to hike it in the evening. might free up some time for Day 4 ?
I would mention that getting from Kinkakuji across town to Kiyomizudera is not that easy on public transport. If you really want to fit in all that on the one day I would suggest a taxi. Or shift some around to that last day.
Most places will take longer than you might think to visit. You can easily send 3-4 hrs around Kiyomizudera. It can take 2hrs just to walk the length of Nishiki market and that doesn’t even open until 10am. Also it looks like you’re there on a Wednesday so be prepared for a lot of the shops to be closed. Maybe do that on the 4th.