I want to start off by saying that I am aware that this itinerary is probably too packed lol. I’m pretty certain that my group is going to struggle with this amount of walking (we also have a week in Osaka after this), so I know that I have to cut some things out. My main concern is figuring out *which* things I should cut. So I’m mostly looking for anyone who has visited any of these places and thought that maybe some of them were slightly less worth visiting than other things on their list. Also, these days were mainly grouped geographically.
**Day 1:**
* Land at Kansai International Airport ~7pm, take train to Kyoto, check-in to hotel.
**Day 2:**
* Ginkaku-ji, walk the Philosopher’s Path to Eikan-do Temple, Nanzen-ji Temple, Tenju-an Temple. Nishiki Market at night.
**Day 3:**
* Kiyomizu-dera, Sannenzaka/Ninenzaka, Kodaiji Temple, Chion-in Temple, Shoren-in Temple. Gion at night
**Day 4:**
* Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Tenryu-ji Temple, Ninna-ji Temple, Ryoan-ji Temple, Kinkaku-ji, Daitoku-ji, Kitano-temmangu Shrine
**Day 5:**
* Nishi Hongwanji Temple, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Nijo Castle, Kyoto Tower/Kyoto Station area
**Day 6:**
* Fushimi Inari, Tofuku-ji Temple, Rengeo-in Sanjusangen-do Temple, Kyoto National Museum (?), To-ji Temple
**Day 7:**
* Short “day trip”? Mount Hiei/Enryaku-ji Temple or Kurama/Kibune? Depending on how long it takes, maybe make another stop. Heian Shrine? Shimogamo-jinja Shrine? Kyoto Botanical Gardens?
**Day 8:**
* Check-out of hotel, not sure if there’s something else we should stop at before leaving for Osaka.
I know this is a lot of temples and shrines lol, I tried to hit the most popular ones but if there are any here that you would skip, I would appreciate your thoughts. Also I’m looking to take one “day trip” (even if it isn’t that far out of Kyoto) but I’m not really set on any options. Could possibly be a rest day instead.
2 comments
Also, random question but part of our trip is going to land on a Japan public holiday: Sports Day on October 9. Does anyone have any idea if that’s going to cause a lot of places to be closed?
okay. lets see
day 1 is okay
day 2 [northern higashiyama] thats okay. except, nishiki is not a night thing. it starts to shut down in the afternoon. at like 5,6pm its done for
day 3 [southern higashiyama] also okay. be aware kiyomizudera opens early if you were to want to go before the crowd/make sure you have the time you need
day 4 okay, that looks ambitious. not impossible, but certainly ambitious. maybe very. I see two potential problems. travel time (especially to Daitokuji) and it will all depend on how long you stay at each location. I would consider skipping Ninna-ji and also Daitoku-ji, depending on how late it is getting when you move forward during the day.
day 5 okay. I would suggest you start with the imperial palace, and move to nijo castle, and then to nishi hongwanji because its where you want to be next, tower/station area. – that day has the potential, (especially if you skip nishi hongwanji), for nishki market in the afternoon.
day 6: thats a bit spread out but should be doable
day 7: great daytrips from kyoto can be amanohashidate, kinosaki onsen, kurama/kibune. going up mount hieizan and down on the sakamoto site can be awesome. I do not recommend doing the Enryakuji up there.
heian shrine and Shimogamo-jinja, i mean. ive also done them “last day because I had not planned other stuff”, but i also found them… somewhat… meh. “one should have seen Heian” I can say okay, yes. And theres a nice garden there.
if the weather is good, kurama and kibune would probably be a much better day. also, its possible you could do both, kurama/kibune can be half a day, or a little more, which still leaves time to head to Heian
amanohashidate and kinosakionsen are, if you can pay for the train and “deal with the limited express”, absolutely gems of daytrips from kyoto.
[that being said, they can also be done from osaka, if you have free days there]
in summary I am not thaaat worried that you have too much in all days.
I am a little worried about the general week of full steam ahead temple/shrines.
there is a thing about becoming templed out. granted, some people dont get that.
but its still a week of following a “strict” plan and “hunting achievments” and I think the risk can be to concentrate too much on “good, finished, lets move on, not sure we can finish this day, lets walk fast” you will not concentrate enough on “ooh, that looks nice. whats that? lets see what happens”