Hi!
This is a sketch of my plan for Kyoto, if anyone can help me figure out if this plan is okay to do it in one day or it’s too dense that’s better to split it into two days.
**MORNING:**
*Train JR: Osaka > Kyoto > Saga Arashiyama (45 min)*
1. Footbath (Onsen) of Arashiyama Station
2. Arashiyama bamboo forest
3. Okochi Sanso Garden
4. Jojakko-ji Temple
5. Nisonin Temple
6. Gioji Garden (moss garden)
7. Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple
8. Saga Arashiyama Station
*(total walking distance 3.5km, 45 min)*
​
**AFTERNOON:**
*Train JR Arashiyama > Inari (45 min)*
1. Fushimi Inari Taisha (walking path)
2. Higashiyama-ku (ancient district)
3. Higashiyama Jisho-ji (Silver temple)
4. Tetsugaku No Michi (philosopher path)
5. Chion-in Temple
6. Maruyama Park
7. Sanneizaka (Ancient district)
8. Kiyomizu-dera (Temple with panorama view)
9. Nishiki Street market
10. Hotel for the night
*(total walking distance 15,6km, 3 hr)*
​
Can I make it one day or it’s better to split in 2 days and add some places to visit to fill the time better?
The next day I’ll be visiting Nara, so I will be leaving early in the morning.
**Thank you for your help!**
11 comments
You could walk all of that in a day. But not see anything. That’s way too much for one day. Almost two or three days. Especially if you want to actually see things instead of race past them.
Fushimi Inari is a pretty big place. If you just do the senbon torii gates, you can get in and out pretty quick. But I would recommend going a bit further on the trail. The whole area is so beautiful
There is no way you can do that in a day.
Realistically you see 2-3 locations a day at a comfortable pace.
It takes a very long time to catch a train to and from each sight PLUS the walking. A lot of the sights are very far from each-other. Also it can be very crowded, making walking and train time take even longer than expected.
Don’t forget you need to allow the time spent at each spot too.
Assuming you spend 30 mins at each spot.
+ You have 10 locations, that’s 5 hours total.
+ Include walking time, let’s estimate 2-3 hours.
+ Time to eat and rest. 2 hours total.
+ Taking the train to and from accommodation. 2 hours total.
That’s 12 hours of travelling at a very rushed pace.
Oh I didn’t see that you had an afternoon and morning list…. So you have 18 locations not 10.
Okay then we add in another 8 locations.
+ Let’s give those 30 mins each. That’s an additional 4 hours.
You need 16 hrs+
Then
+ Calculate travel time
+ Walking time
+ Eating and rest time
Each of those halves of a day would be a very full day on their own. You’ll need at least two or three to do all of them to any satisfaction. I hesitate to say anyone could do kyoto in only one day unless they’ve been many times; you’ll always find other things you wish you had had time for.
I did Kyoto in one day. Do less though
That is not very doable. It would be wise to pick a part of Kyoto and hit a few sights there. I’d recommend doing Kiyomizu Temple and Sannenzaka. You can also see Kodaiji and a few other places near those areas. You will wear yourself out by trying to cram all that in.
You can see if they have one of those bus tours and tick off some of those boxes that way. I rented a bike and got more than I expected in one day, but I wouldn’t have had the time for all that. Walking would take way too long.
Nishiki market closes at 5 pm I believe so that would be difficult to have last. Would do WAY less as everyone else suggested but also look up opening hours in addition to geography to adequately plan
It is possible, but I would throw in some taxis, they’re easy to grab, the drivers are kind, and while they cost about 1000 yen for a short trip, worth it. A 15-20 min walk is doable, but they can add up. Save your walking for the sites themselves.
We to Kyoto from Osaka yesterday, left around 11 and arrived around noon. We explored Sannenzaka, Ninnenzaka, and did a kimono rental and tea ceremony which finished around 4 PM. We got snacks, then returned our kimono, and went to Kiyomizudera at 6 PM. By the time we returned to our hotel it was 9 PM.
We felt like we got to experience a lot and were very tired just from those few things!
Everyone has already commented this already but I’d definitely split these into two separate days, each of those half day activities were two days of activities for us (and were full days) on our recent trip. Also if you want to experience Nishiki Market fully then I’d definitely recommend visiting during the day time, my friends and I made the mistake of checking out Nishiki market around 630pm and almost all the places were closed or in the process of closing for the night.