Each adventure starts with the first step

Kyoto in December

August 5, 2024

Kyoto is a beautiful city full of buddhist temples and formal Japanese traditions.

Takeaways

Kyoto feels like a sleepy, small town compared to Tokyo

Finding an inexpensive accommodation close to the train station was easy

Kyoto has a very good network of local buses

I traveled to Kyoto from Tokyo with the Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) and it was once in a lifetime experience. Read my full post about traveling in Japan here.

It took 2 hours and 15 minutes to travel between Tokyo and Kyoto.

Accommodation

In Kyoto, I stayed at M’s Hotel Sanjo Omiya. It was around 15 minutes walk from the train and bus station. Everything was perfect and clean. The hotel had an electronic self-check-in, even though there was a person to help me when I arrived. The hotel definitely had high standards in the room Japanese are known for.

Traveling

I traveled around Kyoto either by train or bus. The tickets were quite cheap, usually around $1-$3. For the train, you could buy a ticket directly at the train station in a machine. In the bus, you would pay the driver when exiting the bus so you need to have some small coins on hand. Surprisingly to me, in both cases, you could buy tickets only using cash.

From my accommodation, everything was around 45 minutes with the train.

I recommend spending 5 to 7 days in Kyoto.

Things to do in Kyoto

Kyoto has 1600 temples so there is much to see. The famous Nara park is a must. It is 1 hour away by the train. The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is one of Kyoto’s top sights and for good reason: standing amid these soaring stalks of bamboo is like being in another world.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple

I highly recommend visiting this marvel of Japanese culture early in the morning as it opens. I didn’t have enough time and came 1 hour before the temple closed and it was still so crowded.

You can get here from Kyoto station by bus #100 or #206 heading to Gojozaka or Kiyomizu bus stop. From there, it is a 10-minute walk to the temple. The road to the temple is quite steep and you will find yourself surrounded by a variety of souvenir shops and traditional Japanese food. You can rent kimonos or buy the Japanese umbrella, which is very expensive everywhere around Kyoto, except for here, where I paid only around $17 for the Japanese umbrella (wagasa). It was a nightmare to find one that wouldn’t cost an arm and leg – I hope this helps anyone with an artistic spirit looking to get one.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple offers brilliant views across the entire city and you need at least an hour inside this gorgeous complex. It visited in December and the area was surrounded by colorful trees.

Fushimi-Inari-Taisha Shrine

Fushimi-Inari-Taisha is the most important shrine in Kyoto and I highly recommend spending a few hours exploring it.

You can get here by train to the Fushimi-Inari station which costs only around $2.

I highly recommend arriving as early in the morning as possible (6 am) to avoid big crowds, which start gathering around 8-9 am. The entrance is free.

There are several temples in the complex and the main attraction is hiking to the top (ca. 12,000 steps) of Mt. Inari-san through a series (10,000) of torii gates. I started the climb around 7 am and there weren’t many people going all the way to the top, even when I was going back down.

I absolutely loved the environment and the nice hike and if you are a little bit active, it is a great place to visit.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Arashiyama bamboo grove (or Sagano bamboo forest) is an iconic Japanese attraction. The forest is made up of thousands of tall bamboo stalks.

I wanted to avoid the crowds, so I hopped on the bus at 5 am in the morning to enjoy the whispering bamboo by myself.

I was not disappointed and was able to walk through the “Bamboo Alley” pathways uninterrupted and take some nice pictures.

Early in the morning, it is a very meditative place.

Eikandō Temple

Eikandō Temple is a major buddhist temple in Kyoto known for its 3,000 maple trees resulting in gorgeous autumn scenery. It has a beautiful garden and wooden stairs.

Entrance fee is 600 Yen. To avoid crowds, I recommend visiting in the morning when they open at 9 am. It is easily accessible by bus.

Nara Park

Nara park is a very special place. I loved it so much. It is a very large city park with freely roaming little Bambi fawns.

You can get to Nara from Kyoto by train. It takes around an hour and the train runs through picturesque Japanese countryside. When in Nara, you need to take a bus outside of the train station to reach the park. It takes only a few minutes.

Once in the park, you can buy snacks to feed the deer. They are so used to people that they approach you and are very comfortable hanging out.

I highly recommend visiting Nara, it is an unforgettable experience.

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