2016 Kyoto Trip
- Okutan 奥丹: a full-on tofu meal
- Kanei かね井: one Michelin star restaurant specializing in soba noodles
- Sarasa Nishijin さらさ西陣: cafe housed in an renovated public bathhouse
- % Arabica: the prettiest cafe in town
- Bar Bunkyu バー文久: hidden bar of only 9 seats about the table
- Hirokawa 廣川: unagi rice worth the 1.5-hour wait for
- Oimatsu 老松: hundred-year-old traditional Japanese confectionery shop with the most delicious summer citrus jelly, ever
2012 Kyoto Trip (some content might be outdated)
- Itinerary: a rough guide
Temples / Shrines
- Kinkaku-ji 金閣寺: lavish golden temple, beautiful in the sun
- Kiyomizu-dera 清水寺: huge wooden verandah, match-making shrine
- Ryoan-ji 龍安寺: dry landscape garden, very zen
- Tenryu-ji 天龍寺: top five zen temples in Kyoto, UNESCO World Heritage
Neighborhoods
- Gion 祗園: linger around in hope of spotting a geisha
- Uji 宇治: a tranquil town 30 minutes away from Kyoto; go for the temples, the shrines, and the green tea
- Arashiyama 嵐山: a tourist town on the outskirts of Kyoto; temples, shops, cafes, and restaurants
- Fushimi Inari Taisha 伏見稻荷大社: a mountain with thousands of torii shrines
Eat
- Nakamura Tokichi 中村藤吉: green tea noodles, green tea desserts, green tea everything
- Okutan 奧丹: amazing tofu meal, you will never look at tofu the same way
- Tsujirihei Honten 辻利兵衛本店: green tea castella honey cake!
Hi, i’m planning a trip to Japan end of September and this is my first visit to the country. My flight is to Tokyo (Haneda Airport). And i wouldn’t want to miss the cultural sights of Kyoto. I have gone through your sharing on Kyoto. It’s so helpful, but i have only 6D5N (included the day spends on flight). Would it be possible to squeeze everything in kyoto into 1.5days?
– Kiyomizudera 清水寺 & 奥丹
– Jisyujinja 地主神社
– Kiyomizuzaka 清水坂
– Sanneizaka 产宁坂
– Ninenzaka 二年坂
– Ishibekoji 石坪小路
– Yasakajinja 八坂神社
– Hanamikoji ST. 花见小路
– Gion Corner
– 白川
– Kyoto Tower
– Nishikichiba 锦市场
Do you think it is doable in 1.5days? Or i should take out any one of these to replace with other impressive place that i have missed out? Also, i have no idea which one to start with. Appreciate if you could share your experience with me:) thanks in advance^^
Hi Newell, I think it would be a bit tight. I would start with kiyomizudera/jisyujinja (they are in the same area) in the morning, have lunch at okutan, you can do sanneizaka and ninenzaka before or after lunch depending on how early you wake up and finish touring kyomizudera/jisyujinja. In the afternoon you can visit kanamikoji/gion area. For dinner you can go to Nishikichiba to see the food stalls and perhaps one of the restaurants. I only passed by yasakajinja and kyoto tower, didn’t actually go into these so I’m not familiar with them.
As far as “more impressive places”, there are many temples in Kyoto that are really worth going to, like kinkakuji and ryuanji, but considering that you only have 1.5 days, it’s impossible for you to hit them all, and it’s probably better if you just enjoy the few spots you can visit rather than trying to rush everything. Hope this helps :)
Any kaiseki in Kyoto that has impressed you and that you would like to share with us? Also: did Kyoto impressed you more /or as much as Tokyo as a foodie destination?
It seems to me that Kyoto and Tokyo are quite different in terms of cuisine. When I was in Kyoto, I tried restaurants that are more focused on traditional Japanese cuisine (e.g. tofu) whereas in Tokyo I tried both Japanese and foreign cuisine (e.g. French). To answer your question – both Kyoto and Tokyo are very impressive as a foodie destination.