How do my Kyoto days look like?

10 comments

1. This might be the first post where someone doesn’t want to visit all major attractions in Kyoto in a single day. Looks good to me. Personally I didn’t find the bamboo grove that special but the rest of arashiyama was beautiful (I particularly enjoyed the tranquil jojakko ji temple). Speaking of temples, very close to higashiyama ward is ryozen kannon temple with a huge sitting Buddha statue. It can be quickly visited while on the way and seeing an immense Buddha is always impressive

2. Totally doable. My wife and I were in Kyoto for 7 days last month and this is very feasible. I’d also have to agree completely with another commenter about the bamboo forest. You can skip it and not miss out on anything.

3. day 1: i would try to see kodaiji after kiyomizudera, even if that means pushing yasaka to after the checkin.

   day 2: not sure why you want to go the the incline in december. but feel free to explore the area and along the path, there are nice temples to explore. pontocho alley is more a “dinner” area than a explore during the day. funaoka onsen is quite a bit way north. there are closer ones to the train station. i must assume its because of tattoos?

   day 3. if you get up to otagi nenbutsuji and you were to also see adashino nenbutsuji you could totally forget about the bamboo grove. tenryuji is worth it though, and to be fair, it will lead you to the bamboo grove. in the bamboo grove is a great garden, not sure about it in december though.

4. Don’t miss out on eating at Menbaka Fire Ramen. It’s a tiny place just north of Nijo Castle (which is also very lovely and worth a look). Best ramen I’ve ever had, and an intense and extremely fun experience and the owner videos your reaction to them creating the Fire ramen so an absolutely worthy keepsake. The owner is very lovely and is super passionate about his city. He’ll give you loads of tips and ideas for other places to visit and see. Hands down one of my favourite memories from Kyoto.

5. I enjoyed the monkey park in Arashiyama.

   I’d recommend starting your day at Kiyomizu. Then you can walk from there through the sannenzaka and stuff past Kodaiji and Kanon Ryozen temple and then through Maruyama Park and then Yasaka Shrine. It’ll put you right at Gion. This will also allow you access to the Shijo Kawaramachi area (lots of shops and restaurants).

6. I don’t know how crowded it will be in Dec, but I don’t enjoy the crowds overall in Kyoto. So my strategy is to get up an hour or more before sunrise and hit the best spots as the sun is coming up or soon after. A zen garden is amazing in the peace and quiet of early morning; mediocre when the crowd is shoulder -to-shoulder. When tourists take over the atmosphere, I step away for a siesta.

7. Keage Incline is very popular and picturesque during cherry blossom and possibly autumn leaf time. When you are there you will be seeing bare trees along an abandoned train line. I would consider giving it a miss.

   Bamboo Grove is another spot which has a completely different feel early in the morning before the crowds.

   Overall I like your plan.

8. I would absolutely go to the Golden pavilion (kinkaku-ji) same day as bamboo grove. It’s covered in the gold leaf from Kanazawa and it’s an incredible sight, imo. Plus, maybe snow covered during your visit (?), a must!

9. The massive Higashi Hongan-ji Temple complex is a five minute walk from Kyoto Station on the Kyoto Tower side, I recommend you see it.

10. For day 3… if you are already going to the south for Fushimi Inari, I’d consider continuing onwards to Nara. See the deer (maybe give feeding them a miss, they get… aggressive), see Todaiji (world’s biggest wooden building, with a giant Buddha statue), and climb up to see all the lanterns at Kasuga Taisha. You should get back to Kyoto with time to do some things in the afternoon / evening (perhaps Gion, or one of the closer-by onsen options people have noted?)

    I would consider swapping your Arashiyama focus to day 2. I absolutely loved the Philosopher’s Path, Keage Incline, and Ginkakuji in spring, but I think much of the effect would be lost without the cherry blossoms. In Arashiyama, as others have noted, the monkey park is great fun, and Tenryuuji had one of the best gardens of any place I visited. That also puts you on the right side of the city for a tour of the Katsura Villas, though note that if you want to see those you will need to make a request with the imperial household agency in advance. You could also squeeze in Kinkakuji – I didn’t like it as much as Ginkakuji personally, but the Golden Pavilion is a favorite for a lot of people.