Hi all,
My partner and I are so excited for our first trip to Japan! We’re setting our itinerary for our time in Kyoto; we’ll be in Hakone and Tokyo as well, so while suggestions for those cities are welcome, I’m sure I’ll be back on this sub with their respective posts. Aside from seeing quintessential Kyoto, we also have pointed interests in Japanese art and crafts, horticulture/gardens, and video games (hence Editmode being on here). Additionally, my partner is vegetarian, so any recommended veggie-friendly spots would be greatly appreciated! Our trip is in early autumn. We are early risers, fast walkers and will get cabs if needed to make things quicker. Thanks in advance for any feedback, answers, or suggestions!
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**Day 1 (kind of):**
Land in Haneda Tokyo @ 2:30 p.m, Shinkansen to Kyoto.
Our hotel is close to Gion Kobu, so our first evening would be spent there + Pontocho Alley.
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**Day 2:**
Early morning at Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
Otagi Nenbutsu-Ji (Temple), preferably when it opens at 8 am
Gioji (Temple)
Lunch at Shigetsu @ Tenryu-Ji (Temple)
Ryoanji (Temple)
Kinkakuji/Golden Pavilion
Awamochi-Dokoro Sawaya (sweets shop)
Editmode Kyoto (retailer, video-game oriented)
(add in either Nijo Castle, Nishiki Market, or both if time allows)
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**Day 3:**
Early morning at Fushimi Inari Taisha
Tofukuji (Temple)
Sanjusangendo (Temple)
Kiyomizu-Dera
Higashiyama area
Philosopher’s Path
Hoping for lunch or dinner at Mimikou Udon
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**Day 4:**
Early train to Nara
Deer Park and Kasuga Taisha, Todai-Ji, and Horiyuji Temples
Nijo Castle or Nishiki Market if we didn’t get to them earlier in the day.
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**Things we’d love to add in:**
Tea Ceremony
Retailers for traditional arts/crafts/etc, particularly any that are specific to Kyoto.
My heart isn’t set on this at all since it could very well not line up with our dates or be a very exclusive thing, but if there’s an opportunity to see a Maiko/Geiko performance of sorts such as Miyako Odori, Kitano Odori, or Kamishichiken Kabukai we’d love to see that! If anyone has any experiences with that sort of thing let me know, as their websites don’t have a lot of information at this time.
3 comments
I would shift Fushimi Inari to the morning of Day 4 (it’s on the same train line as Nara).
Then on Day 3 go to Kiyomizudera first thing in the morning (it opens at 6:30am), walk around Sannenzaka/Ninenzaka/Gion, and work your way down along the Keihan line to Sanjusangendo finishing up at Tofukuji. This should be doable if you stick to a schedule and don’t linger too long at each stop. You don’t say when “early autumn” is but Philosophers Path is just an average footpath not worth a detour outside of peak sakura / peak foliage.
day1: okay
day2: you are doing a bit of backtracking there, but, I get it. you want to see the bamboo grove early morning. then head to otagi for its opening at 8am. that will work out. right next to gioji you may find one or two other POIs that may peek your interest.
dont you plan to see tenryuji with the lunch? maybe that would make sense, especially when you are back there before noon ?
adding ryoanji and kinkakuji works on paper, especially when you dont need to wait for a bus, even when you leave at like 2.30pm but later might be cutting it too close
The sweets shop you can walk to from kinkakuji, but its a good 15min, its next to kitano tenmangu (which if its still open you should see!). the video game store is next to the gojo subway station. thats significantly removed.
there is no way in hell you are gonna add nijo or nishiki to that day unless you give up on lunch at a specific place, dont explore stuff you dont plan for, and rush through arashiyama and ryoanji
day 3: that will work since “higashiyama area” can mean 8hours or 10minutes. but I think you wont make it far towards the philosophers path after kiyomizudera, maybe you can add kodaiji and entokuin and then the day will be more or less over. if it gets too late steer towards gion, and see yasaka shrine. both shines in the evening when higashiyama is closing / closed down
day 4: see here https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/14qia93/itinerary_check_12_days_in_september/jqo894i/ for my comment on half a day in nara. it will work, then you can add nijojo and nishiki to the day
there is some optimizing you can do when you look at the opening times. kiyomizudera opens very early. you could go there first. and fushimi inari can be done on your way to nara
edit: someone else said so too 🙂
Be aware of opening hours for your later stops – For example Nijo Castle closes at 5 and does last call for tours before that.