Hello! So basically, I’m spending 14 day in Japan, but for now, what I’m looking at specifically are the two days I’m going to be in Kyoto. For the other places, I feel like I was able to (mostly) sort out major things in particular areas I wanted to be in, and then am content to sort of spend time wandering around, but for Kyoto, everything is so spaced out that I’m worried it’s going to be a checklist of going from point A to point B with significant time just spent travelling. Unfortunately, due to timing, there aren’t any other days I can allot here.
**Tuesday August 8 (Day 0)**
Technically I’m not in Kyoto this day. My plan is to check out of my hotel in Osaka, leave my luggage with a courier to take it to my hotel in Kyoto, and spend the day at Universal Studios Japan. I do not anticipate this to take the entire day, as really my main priority is Super Nintendo World, which I’m ticketed to go into at 1:00pm. Depending on how things go, it’s possible I leave the park as early as 4pm and get to Kyoto sooner, but right now, the absolute latest I plan to get to my hotel in Kyoto and check in is 8:00pm. Technically this allows myself some time to see things in the evening, but I’m not sure if I want to slot in an activity (like visiting Fushimi Inari at night) or just use it to rest.
**Wednesday, August 9 (Day 1)**
Morning to Afternoon – Fushimi Inari. This is the big thing and a “must see” for me. For those who have done the full hike though, how long is it? From what I read, it’s supposed to be 2-3 hours, but it’s not clear to me whether that’s the time to get to the top, or if that includes the return trip. If it takes 4-6 hours round trip hiking (not even including spending time at the top), I’ll probably settle for just seeing the gates and walking partway. It will also depend on the weather that day since it’s likely to be very hot.
Afternoon to Evening – Nishiki Market Area. Honestly, this isn’t so much my thing, but my friend wants to go. I’m not sure how long going through the entire thing will take. I personally want to stop by the Pokemon Center that’s right there, but I doubt that would take more than 20 minutes. It’s like 5 minutes from where our hotel is so I wouldn’t mind skipping Nishiki Market entirely and just going to the Pokemon center real quick on my own in the morning if it means freeing up this time for other things.
Overall, I this day has a lot of leeway with not many major things planned, and the more I think about it, the more I think moving something like Ginkakuji to this day makes sense, since it seems to be kind-of close to the Pokemon Center if we take a taxi. I plan on packing everything I don’t need for the next this night and having it ready to send to my next hotel, so I don’t need to worry about it at check-out.
**Thursday, August 10 (Day 2)**
This is the day where I’m concerned, I’m going to have problems.
Early-ish Morning – Arashiyama Bamboo Grove + Monkey Park. This is about 30 minutes from my hotel. I’ve read that there’s a lot to do in Arashiyama, and that if the only reason you were going was to see the bamboo grove, it’s worth skipping, but honestly, it seems very pretty and like the type of thing I’d enjoy. I want to see the Monkey Park as well, but it’s not a huge priority if it needs to get skipped. Overall, I’m not sure how much time to allot here.
Late Morning-Early Afternoon – Kinkakuji. From what I saw on google maps, it’s going be around 45 minutes to get from Monkey park to here, which is a lot of travel time. While this isn’t a “must see” for me like Fushimi Inari was, Kinkakuji, along with Ginkakuji are places I’d like to visit. The problem I have with going so far out of the way to see it is that with time so tight it feels like I’m going to get there, take a couple of pictures, and leave without really taking the time to appreciate it. If I cut Ginkakuji there’s less to worry about though.
Mid Afternoon-Evening – Ginkakuji. From what I saw on google maps, it’s going to be around a 30-minute bus ride to get here from Kinkakuji, which again, is a lot of time to travel. This is the most likely to be cut if I find myself running out of time. Since my intention is to be on a shinkansen to Yokohama at around 9:00pm or so, and depending on how long I spend at the other two places it may not be feasible, especially since we will need time to eat lunch and dinner as well at some point.
Basically, I’m looking to see if these activities are feasible, or if it’s too much travelling, or if there are recommendations on maybe moving stuff around. Thank you!
3 comments
Hi,
on your first day you can, if you feel like it explore Gion if your hotel is close enough for walking
second day. it took me 3.5h from entering to leaving the fushimi inari area. that includes strolling through the shrine at the bottom, making a lot of pics, exploring every nook and cranny on the way to the top, more pictures at the viewing platform, a rest there, going all the way up, and then back down again.
going to the top is not a necessity. i was hoping for a great view, but the best view is at the viewing platform. and one can certainly be faster with less picture taking. if there is less traffic, youll be faster too.
nishiki is not that bad. I really enjoyed it every time I go. But I eat and drink there, if its only looking or wanting bargains, then its not so good.
I think starting early, you may have time to do more stuff. I am hopeful you can make the pokemon center
day 2/third day. arashiyama is a truly great area. but yeah, just for the forest I would not go there if you have other things you could be doing.
I do not understand the monkey park.
I would suggest you see tenryuji, exit on the backside behind the garden, then you are standing right at the entrance of the bamboo grove. then arashiyama makes sense
you can take the randen train to kinkakuji from arashiyama. thats not the worst idea. after that you can go to ginkakuji. that should work.
yeah, its normal that you spend a lot of time in kyoto getting from a to b, especially when you can not spend half or full days in one area.
>Day 0
Planning anything after Universal Studios is probably not a good idea. You could be spending long hours in line, which is exhausting.
>Day 1
2-3 hours is including the return trip, though I personally never made it to the top. There’s a point halfway (so about 30min-ish up) where people usually turn back.
>Day 2
Arashiyama feels a bit… touristy for tourist’s sake, if you know what I mean. It feels like there’s a lot for a tourist to do, but none are actually all that special. The bamboo grove is still rather exotic and has this oriental vibe though, just… short. My favorite activity in Arashiyama is the Hozugawa river ride, but that’s quite a commitment of time you’re probably unable to spare.
The main problem with Kinkakuji is that it’s only accessible by bus, which means you’re at the mercy of routing and bus frequencies. Arashiyama isn’t geographically that far from Kinkakuji, but there are no direct bus routes (IIRC), so you’ll need to transfer a bit, adding to the time. With that said, I still think Kinkakuji is more recognizable and therefore more “worth it” than Ginkakuji. Ginkakuji is more about the gardens
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My biggest question would be… No Kiyomizudera? Unless you have some other traditional Japanese town in your itinerary, there’s absolutely no reason to skip Kiyomizudera, Ninenzaka, and Sannenzaka. Probably place it in day one after Fushimi Inari, or replace Ginkakuji with it. But beware that Kiyomizudera is itself a fairly long hike up a hill.
Ft5t