Kyoto 3 days Itinerary

8 comments

1. Day 1 seems like you might be templed out, but that depends on your own preference. For me I could only do 2 temples/ day max. Maybe split your days into;

   AM: sight, PM: temple (or the other way around)
   Kinkakuji is quite far out with the bus/ walk, but you can add it to day 3 prior to leaving for Osaka. Leave your luggages in the hotel/ station if you must.

   Arashiyama (bamboo groove) depends on how many attractions you want to see in town and whether you are willing to beat the crowds for photos. Because sometimes in peak season it will be just so crowded.

2. I don’t see how you can do your day 1 morning. You need to use Google maps to map out travel times to see if it can work. Depends on how much time you want to spend at each also. Golden Pavilion for example may involve a 30 minute wait to get in then a 30 minute shuffle around the grounds to a good viewing area and 15 minutes to escape.

   I also get templed out so 12 in a day would not work for me, ymmv. The Kyoto time you have is really only 2 days so I would pick your favourites and save the rest for if you ever go back.

3. Try to go at Fushimi Inari the earliest possible and don’t bother taking pictures at the beginning, make your way to the submit, passed a certain point most people stop to go back that’s where you can start the shooting session

   Edit: don’t stop whenever someone asks to step back so they can take a picture, there are gonna be hundreds of those people and you’ll just waste your time

4. Skip silver temple and philosphers path. Was there about a week ago and it’s not all that great. Philosphers path might be great during cherry blossoms, but it’s def. not worth it in the summer.

5. You’re gonna get sick of temples (at least I did). Try fitting Nara/Nagoya, etc. into your plans? Unless you just wanna do KYOTO itself.

6. day 1 looks very full. I mean, it is. it CAN be done if you dont get stuck somewhere. And I would recommend reordering things around. Kiyomizudera opens very early, that should be your first stop. it has the drawback that you could be moving on through the streets before most vendors are fully open – but that also means missing the crowd. from there work your way north along your POIs (you need to map them out for the correct order)
   You will get to eikan-do no problem, beyond that could become tricky.

   day 2 – be at fushimi inari early, nishiki can take some time too. i would suggest you head to nijo castle first, and then to the imperial palace. you may run out of time

   day 3 does not exist, its 2 days kyoto itinerary. i dont see how you can fit in kinkakuji or arashiyama in there, unless you come back from osaka. how long do you want to be in osaka? maybe staying one day longer in kyoto is possible

7. ho leee shitttt. when you get exhausted just from reading day one, and then, instead of day 2, AFTERNOON follows. like, wtf mate, just get on top of a mountain and bring a good pair of binoculars, you can tick things off easily, no need to do need for speed: kyoto if you dont want to actually *enjoy* the places.

8. I got tired looking at your day one morning… and you want to do more in the afternoon!?!

   You need to be more realistic, all of this is going to take time. More so if it’s crowded.