Hi, this ist my planning for 1 week in Kyoto in september. First week will be spend in Osaka and the last week in Tokyo. Will be traveling with my chinese girlfriend, I can speak english and she can read most japanese (traditional) things – good team I suppose. We’re coming from Germany.
If you found some problems or have any advice or sugestions, I would like to hear it.
Food and eating will be inbetween as we are not into fancy restaurants anyway – we like konbinis or the regular japanese chains like Yoshinoya
Info:Kyoto Bus Day Pass 700Y (worth it if you take more than 3 rides a day)
Day 1: Monday 11.9.23regular train from Osaka to Kyoto (Is it okay with lots of luggage? Will avoid rush hour)explorer Kyoto Station as our hotel is close by (hotel doesn’t keep luggage so use coinlockers or baggage room at station)Check in at hotel at 3pmPokemon Center Kyoto and areaKyoto Tower (Ticket valid for 3mon. after purchase)Aeon Mall
Day 2: Tuesday12.9.23- Gion district with Hanamikoji Street- Yasaka Shrine- BOOKOFF PLUS Kawaramachi OPA Store (look for retro games)
Day 3: Wednesday 13.9.23- Nara Daytrip (With Kintetsu Kyoto Line Exp. from Kyoto Station to Kinetzu Station 640Y)- Rent a bike in Nara (ebike 2000Y, normal 1000Y)- Deer Park- Kofukuji Temple- Todaiji Temple- Nara Visitor Center (Photos with costumes, Origami etc)
Day 4: Thursday 9/14-23- Nishiki Market: A traditional market with many food stalls and stores.- Seiryu-e Dragon Festival at Kiyomizu-dera Temple from 2pm- Higashidaimonjicho – shopping street Teramachi Street- Surugaya Kyoto Ebisunocho Branch Gaming Store (look for retro games)
Day 5: Friday 15.9.23- Fushimi Inari Shrine- Ojamakan Fukakusa Store – Gaming Store (VERY cheap retro games I hope)- Photo at Nintendo Headquarters (once in a lifetime)- free roam
Day 6: Saturday 9/16-23- Sagano Romantic Train ( from Saga torokko to kameoka station (bookable 1 month in advance, 880Y)- Hozugawa River Cruise ( Directions: 300Y Bus from Kemeoka Station, 4500Y)- Kinkaku-ji Golden Temple (9am-5pm 500Y)- Ryoan-ji Temple (8-17 h 600Y)Day 7: Sunday 9/17-23- Sanjo Meitengai- GEAR Show 12:00pm (be there 30min before! 5200Y)- Buy tickets for train to Tokyo at the station (book seats with extra space for big suitcases!)- free roam
Thank you very much in advance for any sugeestion, information or mention of a problem in my planning!
5 comments
hey.
speak english, read chinese, breathe german. perfect 🙂
– bus day pass: is on the way out, but it will still be sold in september. you used to be able to buy them when getting off the bus with the driver. I must assume that the likelihood of the driver not having them is rising. you can buy them in advance when you can find them. there is (was?) a vending machine for them at the bus stop near the kyoto station.
when you have a day pass (maybe you bought it the day before) when you exit the bus, you give it to the driver. the driver will put it in the machine (prints the date on it) from then on, you can show your daypass and exit the bus no issue for the whole day
– day 1: you can use the regular train to kyoto with luggage. you wont make best friends, but nothing is saying you cant. if the train is not too full, it wont be an issue…
– day 2: dont… dont spend a day gion and yasaka. you can do that after 5, 6pm – and you should. gion during the day is… not what you expect, especially the hanamikoji street. lets get back to that day
– day 3: that sounds okay. maybe you can make a stop at fushimi inari on your way in or out. your plan as is (tofukuji, todaiji, deer park, visitor center) is not a full day. if you can, see isuien Garden. Not sure you need a bike for that, its all pretty compact and in the park. are you even allowed to bike in there? not sure.
– day 4: yes, that sounds okay. higashiyama is big, and there is much more to see, it could be good to put nishiki at another day, and spend the whole day in higashiyama…
– day 5: I suggested doing fushimi before nara, so it can go away here. i see you want to go to nintendo. ok thats down there… still you could do nishiki that day. you could also try nijojo, and in fushimi visit the sake brewery and or visit the sake izakaya
– day 6: you are missing tenryuji, maybe bamboo forest. there is more to see in arashiyama. ryoanji and kinkakuji can be done at the cost of time spend in arashiyama. if you can move that to another day, i see potential there…
– day 7: pretty much no free time?
– reregarding day 2: maybe day 2 can be ryoanji, kinkakuji, nishiki
– regarding day 3: fushimi inari stays before nara
– regarding day 6: arashiyama can be a full day
– regarding day 5: and you get a fushimi visit for ninentdo pics, sake, and either head to uji or get back and see more of higashiyama (or what else you feel like you missed)
its awesome you get to spend a week in kyoto.
if you want/miss Brezels you can go visit the (real) German Bäckerei Perkeo in Kyoto (higashiyama)
if you find time on location and are near kitano hakubaicho (randen station) (day2?), dont miss kitano tenmangu shrine. there is also the yokai street, its a nice little gag to walk through. do not go there for that, but if you happen to be there anyway, dont miss it…
if you have more questions, ill try to answer.
It is not called “traditional” Japanese. If you want to make a parallel with Chinese, the traditional kanji are called kyujitai and the simplified are called shinjitai. But nobody use the kyujitai kanji anymore. So while she might be able to understand the meaning of many kanji, many are simplified a different way in Japan compared to China. Also some kanji have a completely different meaning than in Chinese.
You know that the former Nintendo headquarter is now a hotel? Ok, yes, not a cheap hotel, but still.
Disclaimer: I haven’t been to Japan but I am currently planning my 10-day Japan trip in April and I’m an good travel planner (my friends and family always have me plan their trips for them!) So you will be in Japan for 3 weeks total? I feel like a full week in Osaka and a full week in Kyoto is too much time in that area. I would opt to shave off 2 days in Osaka to do a ryokan somewhere like Hakone, Takayama or the Izu peninsula.
Only thing i would recommend is renting a car. They are surprising cheap and you have the freedom to do what ever. I have rented a car $150 and traveled from tokyo to kyoto and kyoto to tokyo. Its like a 6 hours drive but its alot of fun you get to stop anywhere you want and see alot more of japan .
Nishiki market is pretty much closed after noon so be there early to see the bustle. The torokko in arashiyama is nice, but don’t miss the bamboo forest and at night (at least when I lived in arashiyama) during September, they’d have cormorant fishing in the katsura river which you can watch from togetsuko. Also keep in mind kinkakuji is NOT very close to arashiyama and buses are sparce, so it might be better to drop 3000 yen for a taxi after taking the JR back from kameoka to sagano station.
Have fun!