Base 7 day Osaka/Kyoto/Nara Itinerary -Seeking Recommendations

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1. I just got back from a 2 week trip. First off, where in Osaka are you staying? There are ways to make your travel days easier by staying near a major station like Osaka or Shin-Osaka. Also, if I could go back and do things differently, I would probably skip staying in Osaka at all and stay near Kyoto instead. But that was just my experience. It was my second time to Osaka and honestly, Osaka did nothing for me besides Osaka castle. Seriously, one night and day in Osaka would be enough in my opinion. Here is my 2 cents: the day you arrive, you won’t be getting out of the airport until probably 6pm or later and will be wiped out, so plan on just getting dinner near your airBnB and crashing so you can be up early. What I discovered is that if you really want to enjoy things that are popular tourist spots, get there as early as possible. I didn’t do anything that is on your day 1 list, so I’ll skip that. But day 2, here are my thoughts. August is going to be ungodly hot and humid, I can’t even imagine wearing a kimono in that weather. Plus you wear these split toe socks and basically platform flip flops; not the best footwear for doing around 10 miles of walking, which believe me, you will do. You are going to want to wear your most comfortable and supportive walking shoes or you will regret it. And again, you will be sweating the entire time. Here is what I would suggest if you are trying to pack in as much as possible into a few days in Kyoto: get up super early, catch a 6am train to Kyoto, visit Fushimi Inari. That’s the thousands of Tori gates up a mountain. Absolutely wonderful, but you HAVE to get here early to avoid crowds. We got there about 7:30 and it was fine on the way up, but man it was packed by the time we were headed down. If you do the whole thing it will take you around 2 to 2.5 hours, and you will do somewhere around 77 flights of stairs up and several miles. I absolutely loved it, but if it had been more crowded the magic would have been gone. Then, head straight to Kyomizu-dera. This is a really popular temple that gets ridiculously crowded. We went around 3pm on a Thursday and it was absolutely packed. Kyo will take you about an hour, more if you decide to shop along the street leading up to it. Honestly, I wasn’t excited about the shops, lots of touristy souvenirs. Then head to Nishiki market. It also is crazy crowded, so just be mindful and courteous. If you buy something to eat, pull yourself over to the side near where you bought the food to eat it, don’t walk and eat. There is a great used Kimono store in Nishiki, Wargo, that has some yukata as well. They charge 1 yen per gram. I bought two cotton kimonos for 495yen and 595yen, so less than $5 USD. I did not go to Yasaka shrine, but if you are going to be there on the 21st of the month you can go to an amazing flea market at Toji temple. There were at least 6 different used kimono booths for 1000 yen per kimono, plus antiques, handmade goods, food…. It is a beautiful temple to visit anyway. [https://www.kyotostation.com/toji-temple-kobo-ichi-market/](https://www.kyotostation.com/toji-temple-kobo-ichi-market/)

   On your second day in Kyoto, again, getting to Arashiyama early early is the trick. It is a little bit of a trek from Osaka, again why I wish I had just stayed in Kyoto. I highly recommend visiting Kinkaku-ji, the golden pavilion. It only takes like 30 minutes to go through and is beautiful.

   I see you have multiple things planned for the day you go to Himeji. You might want to shorten that list. I recommend hitting up the castle as soon as it opens. From Himeji station, walk to the north side of the station to the buses, bus stops 8,9, or 10 will take you there. Although they are good at crowd control, again it gets super crowded. Buy the ticket that lets you into the Koken Garden next door, it is gorgeous. Then, have some lunch around there, and grab a bus from bus stop 10 at Himeji station to Mt. Shosha to the ropeway up to Engogyi. It’s worth it.

   I have been to Kinosaki, albeit in the winter, and it is well worth the visit.

   So, if you have any leeway in when you go and for how long, I would recommend going in October or November and giving yourself 10 days if possible, I’d only stay in Osaka for two days honestly.

   Since you have a year, use a language app to learn a little Japanese to make your life easier. Learn phrases that will allow you to order in restaurants, ask if this train/bus is going to xxx, ask what kind of XXX a restaurant has, ask a store if they have a certain item, ask for an English menu, ask where the bathroom is. Above all, learn “Sumimasen”- excuse me, “Gomenasai”-Sorry, Arigato gozaimasu-thank you, and Arigato gozaimashita-thank you when leaving a store. Oh, and gochisousamadeshita-it’s what you say after a meal when leaving a restaurant.

   Let me know if you have any more questions!