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Kyoto itinerary

Every place in “12 Top Places to Visit in Kyoto, Japan”. Save places in the guide to make this list yours.

  1. 1

    Fushimi Inari Shrine - The 10,000 Torii Gates

    Fushimi Inari Shrine is Japan's most photographed Shinto site - the head shrine of Inari, god of rice and prosperity. Around 10,000 vermilion torii gates form covered tunnels that wind 4 km up the 233-metre Mount Inari…

    Address
    68 Fukakusa Yabunouchicho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto 612-0882
    Nearest transit
    Inari Station (JR Nara Line, 5 min from Kyoto Station) or Fushimi-Inari (Keihan Line)
  2. 2

    Kinkaku-ji - The Golden Pavilion

    Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion) is the most iconic image of Kyoto - a three-storey Zen pavilion completely covered in gold leaf, reflecting in a still pond ringed with pine trees and meticulously raked white-pebble…

    Address
    1 Kinkakujicho, Kita Ward, Kyoto 603-8361
    Nearest transit
    City Bus 101 / 102 / 204 / 205 from Kyoto Station, ~40 min
  3. 3

    Arashiyama Bamboo Grove - The Sagano Bamboo Forest

    The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is a 500-metre stone path through dense moso bamboo so tall (up to 18 metres) the canopy turns daylight green. The Japanese Ministry of Environment has recognised the bamboo's distinctive…

    Address
    Sagaogurayamatabuchiyamacho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto 616-8385
    Nearest transit
    Saga-Arashiyama Station (JR Sagano Line, 15 min from Kyoto Station)
  4. 4

    Kiyomizu-dera - The Pure Water Temple

    Kiyomizu-dera (literally 'Pure Water Temple') is a UNESCO-listed Buddhist temple founded in 778 AD on the slopes of Mount Otowa. The main hall (1633) is built on a wooden platform 13 metres above the hillside, supported…

    Address
    1-294 Kiyomizu, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto 605-0862
    Nearest transit
    City Bus 100 / 206 to Kiyomizu-michi or Gojo-zaka, then 10-min uphill walk
  5. 5

    Gion - Kyoto's Geisha District

    Gion is Kyoto's most famous geisha district (in Kyoto, geisha are called geiko and apprentices maiko). The narrow lantern-lit streets - especially Hanamikoji, Shimbashi, and the willow-fringed canal at Shirakawa -…

    Address
    Hanamikoji Street, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto 605-0823
    Nearest transit
    Gion-Shijo Station (Keihan Line) or City Bus 100 / 206 to Gion stop
  6. 6

    Ginkaku-ji and the Philosopher's Path

    Ginkaku-ji (the Silver Pavilion) was built in 1482 as a retirement villa for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa - intended to be silver-leaf clad like its golden cousin Kinkaku-ji but never finished. The wabi-sabi austerity of…

    Address
    2 Ginkakujicho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto 606-8402
    Nearest transit
    City Bus 5 / 17 / 100 to Ginkakuji-michi stop, 5-min walk
  7. 7

    Nijo Castle - The Shogun's Kyoto Residence

    Nijo Castle is the 1603 Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. The Ninomaru Palace contains 33 rooms with painted gold-leaf walls by the Kano school - including the audience hall where…

    Address
    541 Nijojocho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto 604-8301
    Nearest transit
    Nijojo-mae Station (Tozai Subway), 1-min walk
  8. 8

    Ryoan-ji - The World's Most Famous Zen Rock Garden

    Ryoan-ji's karesansui (dry landscape) garden is the most famous Zen rock garden in the world - 15 stones arranged in five groups across a 248 sq m rectangle of raked white gravel, surrounded by a low clay wall. From any…

    Address
    13 Ryoanji Goryonoshitacho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto 616-8001
    Nearest transit
    City Bus 59 from Kinkaku-ji (5 min) or City Bus 50 from Kyoto Station
  9. 9

    Nishiki Market - Kyoto's Kitchen

    Nishiki Market is a 400-metre covered shopping street known as 'Kyoto's Kitchen' - 130 small shops, most family-run for 4-5 generations, selling everything that ends up in Kyo-ryori. Look for tako tamago (baby octopus…

    Address
    Nishikikoji-dori, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto 604-8055
    Nearest transit
    Shijo Station (Karasuma Subway) or Hankyu Karasuma, 3-min walk
  10. 10

    Sanjusangen-do - The Hall of 1,001 Kannon Statues

    Sanjusangen-do is the longest wooden building in the world - 120 metres of cypress, completed in 1266, holding 1,001 life-sized standing statues of the Thousand-Armed Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy). The central…

    Address
    657 Sanjusangendomawari, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto 605-0941
    Nearest transit
    City Bus 100 / 206 / 208 to Hakubutsukan-Sanjusangendo-mae stop
  11. 11

    Tofuku-ji - Zen Temple and Autumn Maples

    Tofuku-ji is one of Kyoto's five great Zen temples - founded in 1236 and famous for the Tsutenkyo Bridge that spans a maple-filled valley below. In mid-November, the 2,000 maple trees turn vermilion and orange and the…

    Address
    15-778 Honmachi, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto 605-0981
    Nearest transit
    Tofukuji Station (JR Nara Line / Keihan Line, 10 min from Kyoto Station)
  12. 12

    Pontocho Alley - The Riverside Geisha Lane

    Pontocho is a narrow stone-paved alley running parallel to the Kamogawa River between Sanjo and Shijo bridges - just 6 metres wide, lined with 17th-19th-century wooden buildings now housing 80 restaurants and bars. From…

    Address
    Pontocho-dori, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto 604-8001
    Nearest transit
    Sanjo or Gion-Shijo Station (Keihan Line), 5-min walk

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