Kyoto is only a couple of hours on the Shinkansen from Tokyo, but it is a world away from the bright lights, big city feel of Japan’s capital. Kyoto itself actually means Capital, named as such as the Capital of Calm and Peace when it was founded as the seat of the country; this was until the 19th century when the Emperor decided to move things to Edo and with the move renamed that city to Tokyo, meaning Eastern Capital.
With the high speed trains, Kyoto could be done as a day trip from Tokyo, so if you are pushed for time, take this option as a minimum to see this beautiful city; but if you have time then plan for at least 3 days to take in all what it has to offer as well as some of the key sites that surround the city.
We rolled out of Tokyo on the Hikari Shinkansen, making sure we had reserved seats on the Fuji-san side of the train (it will be on the right side of the train as you head to Kyoto) where you can be treated to some great views of this wonderful volcano.
If leaving mid morning, then also make sure you pick yourself up a tasty boxed lunch from the train station and some one cup sake from the 7-11 – a little bento on the go that puts European train food to shame. Another pleasure of Japanese rail travel is having your tickets check by the guard – who enters the carriage and bows, and then bows again as he leaves the carriage, a nice little spectacle that underlines the manners and etiquette of Japan.
Orientation
Kyoto is laid out in a grid pattern with the main north / south axis running from the train station in the south up to the Imperial Palace in the north. Crossing this about halfway between the two is Shijo-Dori (4th Avenue) which is where you will find most of the shops, market, bars and restaurants.
The western end is more modern where you will find the larger hotels, the eastern end of Shijo-Dori is where you will be exploring the historic area of Gion…so if you look to stay along here then you will not be too far from the central sights.
There are still some main sights a bit further from the centre, particularly the main temples and for these you will need to brave the Kyoto transit system, unfortunately not as connected as in Tokyo and where you will have to rely on buses…Matt’s least favourite form of transport as they never just go from A to B but you have to stop at all of the other letter of the alphabet first! But we’ll get to that in a bit, we’ll work our way outwards from the centre to start with.
四条通 > 祇園 – Shijo-Dori to Gion
Our hotel was the aptly named Smile Hotel at the western end of Shijo-Dori, nice clean rooms with great facilities, but as always in Japan once you see the size of the bed that two of you have to squeeze into then you will have to smile! Shijo is a long shopping street interspersed with many shrines for you to stop at and ward some demons away;
if you arrived around lunchtime then head to the local Nishiki market, a narrow street that runs parallel to Shijo for 5 blocks and is packed with stores and stalls for you to pick and choose a multi-course lunch; we had the freshest fatty tuna sashimi seated on stools at the back of the local fishmonger,
followed by matcha mochi from a nearby stall and some lava cake to finish things off! As you hit the Kamo river take a turn off to the right for a wander around Kawaramachi for small alleyways and picturesque little restaurants by the river (more like a stream).
Then cross the river into historic Gion, the geisha district of Kyoto for as much Japanese twee as you can take – cobblestones, wooden Machiya houses, bars, restaurants and tea houses. Usually best at dusk where you’ll get that twilight feel where the beautiful lamps come of and cast a beautiful light across the whole place.
For most of our stay in Kyoto we spent our evenings in Gion – being a bit cultural to take in a tea ceremony, flower arranging, an ancient comic play and Kyoto style dance at the Gion Corner Musical Art Foundation,
somewhat touristy, but it was the closest we would get to this level of Japanese culture…apart from spotting two Geisha stepping out of a taxi in the Gion area!
Temples & Castles
When you have done all that you can of Kyoto on foot, then it is time to brave the bus system to visit some of the sights that are a bit further from the centre. Nijo Castle – on UNESCOs famous list and is comprised of the Ninomaru palace and gardens, the palace is 3,300 square metres of tatami mats and…very little else;
however a highlight is to practice your ninja skills along the nightingale flooorboards – flooring that is specially made to emit chirping like sounds when walked on, allegedly to train ninja to tread softly…needless to say we would have been out of a job as it sounded like a bunch of starlings swarming at dusk when we walked through!
Ginkakuji Temple (the Silver Temple) is a 15th century Zen temple, where even with hordes of tourists and school kids you can still get a piece of that zen from it’s serene gardens and the temples set within it. From the pictures it looks like a really stunning place to visit in the winter when fresh snow has just fallen…one for a return trip.
Kiyomizu-Dera (Pure Water Temple), set in the hills that rise up above Kyoto where you will get some stunning views of the city below and with the temple pagodas in the foreground;
expect it to be super busy though and don’t get too excited if you see some traditional costumes, thinking they might be Geisha as it is more likely that they are being worn by tourists as this is the heart of local costume rental for pictures.
One of the main tourist sites of Kyoto is Kinkaku-Ji (Golden Pavilion), all the way across town on the bus to see this Zen temple that is one of the most pictured spots in Japan; be zen and patient and you will get that perfect shot that cuts out the masses that surround you all trying to snap a picture.
Eating in Kyoto
Food was the main evening activity: Kirara on the main street of Gion for a kaiseki dinner that was beautifully presented although still leaving us a bit peckish after, and Matt in pain from having to seat himself in the traditional way (cross legged on tatami mat).
If you want something more filling then there are plenty of other options to fill your tummy: Yakinku-Hiro is an excellent BBQ restaurant where you will be seated at a very large table along with other guests (unless you are a party with your own private table) and have your own personal little BBQ to cook the most perfect cuts of meat and wash down with sake;
some shabu shabu or sukiaki at Kyoto Shabuzen, Lyssa’s favourite; and our default goto for japanese food when we are feeling very hungry…ramen! Ippudo is one of the top ramen places in Kyoto, and you can verify this with the queue you will be faced with to get inside. Persevere and you will be rewarded with a slurpalicious experience…we both tried to eat with a slurp (as is done) but ended up with burnt lips and ramen soup everywhere…it’s somewhat trickier than it looks.
If you are waiting for a train at Kyoto station, then head up the zigarat of escalators to the top of the station where Isetan has a restaurant level and you’ll find some excellent Tonkatsu.
Day Trips from Kyoto
Once you are finished with the centre of Kyoto there is plenty to see on a day trip to the surrounding areas. First stop should be to Arashiyama,
a short trip on the train and you will get to walk along the iconic bamboo road, it’s shorter than you would expect, but makes for some great pictures and if you chance to get there with no other people or cars then it is quite serene.
Finish up with a visit to the Tenryu-ji Temple (Temple of the Heavenly Dragon) and its impressive gardens are some of the oldest in Japan. Surrounded by perfectly manicured and zen gardens where the kimono traffic is busy.
Nara is a full day trip which could easily be an overnight stay in itself. The main site is the Todai-Ji Temple, on the day we visited it seemed to be national school trip day and there were thousands of school kids that had descended on Nara so it was quite busy.
Nonetheless the site and temple is huge and its grand Buddha, one of the world’s largest towers above all that are passing by it;
don’t forget to rub the medicine man who guards the entrance to the temple (to rid you of ailments).
Surrounding the main temple you will also find many other temples to visit in the park that will fill your day – Kofakuji, Gangoji, Yakushiji to name a few, all lined by lantern filled routes that create a magical effect.
As you walk between the train station and temple (a good 20 min walk) you will meet many of the local denizens of Nara in the park – its deer;
they are not shy in coming up to you that’s for sure and expect that everyone will be carrying the tasty deer biscuits that you can buy from local vendors to feed them with.
It’s not just the deer that will get tasty treats in Nara, if you get hungry with this day’s tour then head to Katsukara for an excellent tonkatsu lunch, where you will make your own sesame dip.
Fushimi Inari, a unique walk up a mountain through thousands of red torii gates that are dedicated to the gods of rice and sake (a great combination!).
It was pretty crowded with pilgrims at the bottom but as you climb the 2hrs to the top you will have it more and more to yourself, a climb at the end of the day is great, as you’ll start in daylight and as dusk falls the torrii will start to magically light up to create a beautiful sight.
So that’s our little intro to Kyoto, next stop the gourmet delights of Osaka, enjoy!