We spent 3 days in Kyoto, one of which we fully dedicated to Nara, so we only had two days to wander around the temple city. If you prepare well your itinerary, and move at a fast pace, you can see most sights in those two days, and maybe a bit more.
In this post we will share our itinerary, including some of the best times to visit the attractions based on opening times and crowds.
Because when we were in Kyoto there was a heat wave (try walking under the sun in 40 degrees Celsius), we were a bit slower than we usually are, so we missed some of the things we wanted to see, but we feel we’ve covered the basics.
KYOTO BASICS
When you think of Kyoto you picture zen gardens, ancient temples and tranquil alleyways. Kyoto is a lot like that, but it also three other things:
- Overcrowded: the amount of tourists is unbelievable. Try and go to the most popular places first thing in the morning or when they are about to close.
- Overpriced: most of the temples and touristic attractions have a fee payable. Tickets range from 300 to 500 yens.
- Overrated: we think Kyoto is a mandatory visit; no one can go to Japan and not go to Kyoto, but just know that not everything is like you see in the pictures (add crowds to it)
Kyoto Bus
Getting around
The train and underground lines are limited, so the best bet is by bus. Buses usually go to all the touristic places. Bus tickets are paid when you get off. You can pay the bus with cash (exact change is needed, but there are change machines), with a bus-pass or with an IC Card. IC Cards are unified in Japan now between major cities, so if you come from Tokyo and have a Pasmo or Suica cards, just recharge it and use it. This is what we did and it was very comfortable.
DAY 1
Our first day started around 11:30 am, since we arrived from Tokyo mid-morning. Sweating like crazy, we dedicated this day to Eastern Kyoto: the Higashiyama districts.
We took a bus to Ginkaku-Ji, the Silver Pavilion. We had read that this was one of the must-sees and, although a beautiful place, we were a bit disappointed. There is not much to see other than a garden (you will see plenty of gardens in Kyoto, so this one wasn’t particularly spectacular) and a wooden temple.
After exiting this place, we made our way through the Path of Philosophers, a walk by a water stream that connects a lot of the temples in the area. The walk is nice and, if you have the time and energy, there are plenty of temples to be seen along the way. We enjoyed the walk because the trees provided some cover from the scorching sun, and because we were already tired (yes after just one temple) we didn’t go into all the temples there are to see.
We walked straight to Nanzen-Ji, another one of the must-sees. You can wander around the gate and the stone archway for free, but you have to pay a fee to enter different parts of the temple. We paid and walked into a zen garden and then realized that wasn’t actually the temple.
We kept walking until we reached Chion-in in Maruyama Park. After the main gate, we found a set of stairs that would discourage anyone, but we climbed them, only to find that the main temple was under construction. If planning to visit this one, check before you go, because there is not much to see other than the main pavilion.
After reading all this you might feel discouraged. Truth is we were a bit disappointed by this time, as none of the must-see temples were very appealing to us. We’ve seen many temples in different countries and so far we hadn’t found anything mind-blowing in Kyoto. Fortunately our impressions were about to change when we got to the South Higashiyama preserved district.
After a quick lunch, we wandered the small alleyways in this area, all the way up to Kyomizu-dera Temple. This temple is very crowded but it is still beautiful to see. The main hall is also under repairs, but it doesn’t really affect your visit. The best part of the temple is the view from the hill: a red pagoda towering over Kyoto.
We exited the temple and strolled around the streets, full of shops selling snacks and souvenirs. We tried a green tea ice cream, which wasn’t bad, but we wouldn’t have it again.
This area is great to spot geisha-like girls (not real geisha). Lots of Japanese girls (and some tourists too) rent kimonos and get their hair done like a geisha and wander around Higashiyama and the temples taking pictures.
After an exhausting day, we went back to our hostel for a shower. We then went out to see a bit of night-life in Pontocho Alley, where we had dinner (a bit expensive and high-ended for our taste) and then wandered around Gion trying to spot a real Geisha. We obviously didn’t.
That was the end of our tiring but fulfilling day one.
DAY 2
This was undoubtedly our favourite day. We set off very very early: we were leaving our hostel at 6:30 am. At first it was mainly to avoid the crowds in the first sight we were visiting, but it also worked well to avoid the hottest hours.
We took a bus to Arashiyama to visit the Bamboo Forest. This is one of the must-sees and it is worth visiting without crowds. It is a short walk amongst the towering bamboo trees. It is completely free and it’s open all the time, so you can actually visit it in the evening.
Next to the Bamboo Forest there’s a famous temple, Tenryu-Ji, which we weren’t able to visit, as it opened at 9:00 am and by the time we finished walking the forest it was barely 7:30 am.
From there we took a train and a bus to Kinkaku-Ji, another one of the must-sees. We thought it opened at 8:30, but it was actually 9:00, so we were the first to queue.
The place is beautiful. A zen garden with the Golden Pavilion towering over the lake. This place gets very crowded. We were there at opening time and it was already crazy, so it doesn’t really matter what time you go; there will always be a lot of tourists. The good thing is that no one can access the pavilion so your pictures will look crowd-free.
There is not a lot more to see in this temple, as you can see the main feature as you enter the garden. The rest is just walking in the jungle until you exit.
From Kinkaku-Ji we took a bus to Ryoan-Ji. We would have walked but it was already 37 degrees and we wanted to save our energy.
Ryoan-Ji is another one of the must-see temples. It is not very impressive and a lot of people visit the place. The main feature is a “Rock Garden”, a type of zen garden created with rocks. Apparently it is famous due to the mystery behind the design of the rock garden, as we didn’t think it was anything special (we’ve seen more rock gardens in other places).
Next we walked to Ninna-Ji, which was 10 minutes away. It is not on the must-see lists, and honestly we don’t understand why. The place is beautiful, a lot better than most of the temples we visited in Higashiyama, with lots of pavilions and wooden walkways around a perfectly designed zen garden with a pagoda in the background.
Best thing is that there were no tourists at all, so we were able to wander around, sit down for a rest and enjoy the peace that one imagines when you think of Kyoto.
From this temple we took a bus to the downtown area of Kyoto and visited the Nishiki Market, full of stalls where they sell mostly food. Great place to have a snack.
We returned to our hostel to rest for a while. It was past noon and we had been wandering for hours, plus it was very very hot. In any other time of the year we would have continued sightseeing, but it was just impossible to go on under that scorching sun.
After we recovered some of our energy, we set off again and went to the Nijo Castle. It is a nice and interesting place, but we don’t consider it a must see. From the outside it looks like a huge temple, not a Japanese-style castle.
We took a train from there (a JR train to make the most of our JR Pass – for more information about the pass click here) to Kyoto Station, and then another train to Fushimi Inari.
This is another one of those temple complex that you just have to visit. It is open all the time, so you can choose the best time for your visit (to avoid crowds early morning or evening). We got there around 6 pm, when it was not as hot (temperature had decreased from 40 to 36!) and the sun was already setting, but we still found a lot of people scaping from the heat, same as us.
The place is just amazing. The corridor of toriis (the famous read gates) is just never ending. The whole walk is 4km one-way and we will be honest, we didn’t do it all. We probably just did less than half, we just kept walking until there were no more crowds. We would have liked to finish it, but the heat and humidity, the fact that it was getting darker and the mosquitoes put us off. We’ll have to do it next time!
We completely recommend the Fushimi Inari temple. Another good thing about it: it’s free!
Our day ended with a gigantic beer in a pub downtown. We had to rest for our daytrip to Nara the following day.
Have you been to Kyoto? What are your favourite places to visit?
Are you planning a visit to Kyoto? Don’t hesitate to let us know if we can help you!