My KYOTO Itinerary: Hits & Misses

What I did on my trip to Kyoto - highlights, and what I'd do differently if I went back. Plus tips on where to stay and how to get around.
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Kyoto is the old capital of Japan. It's full of historic buidings, picturesque streets, temples, shrines and beautiful Japanese gardens. Here's how I spent 4 nights in Kyoto - I'll talk you through my itinerary, the hits, misses, highlights and where I'd go if I went back. Including must-see major sights like Kinkakuji (the golden temple), Fushimi Inari Shrine, southern Higashiyama, Kiyomizudera, Gion (the geisha district), the bamboo forest at Arashiyama and day trips to Hiroshima and Miyajima. At the end there's advice about where to stay and how to get around on the trains, subway, bike and buses, and where's walkable in Kyoto.
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[@johnhaines4163]

I've walked along the Philosopher's Path twice now. Starts near the Silver Temple and passes several other temples and shrines so allow for detours. Quality souvenirs and some places to eat along the way. In October it wasn't busy, at cherry blossom time it's beautiful and very busy. A general rule at cherry blossom time, there and elsewhere, is that you don't so much photograph the trees as photograph people photographing the trees. There are some smaller gardens and temples which are less crowded. Sanjusangen-do is amazing. Not much to look at outside, inside there are over 1000 wooden statues. It's like a football terrace full of statues!

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thanks for the tips! Just looked up Sanjusangen-do - what a surprise on the inside! Maybe if I go back I could go to the silver temple and Philosopher's Path together. Totally agree about photographing the other people at cherry blossom time. When I saw the sakura at the Mint in Osaka, the crowds and the atmosphere were just as amazing as the blossoms!

[@alvinwhitehead1069]

Love the helpful info and tips.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thank you!! :-) I enjoy reading blog posts with trip reports, etc so I thought it'd make a good video!

[@RuRu5896]

I love your video! So informative and helpful, thank you amy!!

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thanks! Hope it helps!!

[@ilanitavi9648]

Your videos are very helpful, thank you!

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thank you!! I try and include the things I wanted to know before I first went :-)

[@samarthagarwal8313]

Your video series is totally awesome and informative. It made me one step closer to achieve my dream of going to Japan.(Arigato gozaimas)

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thanks so much!! Part of why I make videos is because I remember how many questions I had before I first went!! :-)

[@torakwarius]

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful travel tips and itinerary. I’m going to Japan at the end of May to see family and friends, and excited is an understatement. I haven’t been there since I was a child with my late mother, and your videos are always so helpful. I’ll be staying three nights in Kyoto at a ryokan, and I can’t wait to explore this beautiful city. The floor with all the ramen shops is a bonus!

[@cakeswithfaces]

That sounds amazing! I'm so glad you'll be going back after so long - I wonder how it'll seem compared to your memories! I'll be going back there really soon and visiting Kyoto again too!

[@etherdog]

Amy, I appreciate your candid comments, and the emphasis on planning to do too much in a short time. I think most people who visit Japan make it a priority in their lives to return.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Yes - everyone I've met who's been has wanted to go back! Sometimes it's difficult to remember the aim is to have a good time, not do EVERYTHING! :-)

[@philipbaker4003]

We stayed 5 nights in Kyoto on our second visit to Japan. Mount Hiei and the Garden Museum are well worth a visit. Steep and panoramic cable car up the mountain. We stayed at Sanjo Ogawa which is a small block of self contained rooms right in the heart of Kyoto, a 10 minute walk from Karasuma Oike Station. It was perfect as each room has ist own washing machine and the bathroom doubles as a drying room, it was good to wash our clothes midway through our 3 week stay in Japan!

[@cakeswithfaces]

Sounds good! I love how Kyoto's surrounded by mountains and you can see them in the distance. That must have been a great view!

[@194DAG]

This years Japan holiday is booked for September ( hopefully ) and I plan on visiting Kyoto for the first time. Great video as always.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Yay, hope you enjoy it! So many beauitful places to visit!

[@mmandeel7543]

Thank you very much, great video, well organised

[@cakeswithfaces]

Hope it helps! Enjoy planning your trip!

[@Astran0th]

I've recently been to Kyoto and we have decided to do one day just on the west side with Arashiyama and the surroundings there. We did not want to overdo it and prefered to take in a few things thouroughly instead of rushing things. We've been to Tenryu-ji, the Bamboo Forest and Jojakko-Ji. And a few smaller shrines along the way. Bamboo Forest was crowded, but in my opinion still worth the visit, just seeing the huge bamboo trees is pretty cool. Tenryu-ji is on the way and has a pretty nice garden, so it's easy to visit that one as well. I highly recommend Jojakko-Ji tho, a little bit north of the Bamboo Forest and it has been nearly void of people. I think we were less than 15 visitors on the grounds overall - and the grounds weren't small, we even got a small leaflet with a few infos of the different areas and things there - in English! Anyways, it was beautiful, it had a lot of things and even a really nice view of the city, since it was built on a hill.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Just looked up Jojakko-ji, it looks lovely! It seems to always be a good tip to visit places away from the main areas. Sounds like you had a great experience!

[@Yahriel]

10:35 OH that is so cool! Must be really relaxing, too, being right ON the water. Kawadoko, huh? I need to do that!

[@cakeswithfaces]

It sounds so nice! I'd love to try it one day!

[@Leidnix]

Had to cancel my trip in April and hope to get there in November instead. Appreciate the travel tips. And hey on the plus side i can get your travel guide in time for my trip now XD.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Ahh noo I'm so sorry. :-( It sucks to have to cancel your trip. At least there's a small silver lining! Stay safe, and it'll be worth the wait in the end.

[@nxhb]

Myself and my husband have decided as our holidays this year have been cancelled our treat to ourselves once things are stable again we are booking Tokyo the moment we're all safe again. Grabbing a book from the Kickstarter ASAP to start making a plan.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thanks for the support! Sorry your holidays got cancelled - hopefully your trip to Tokyo will make up for it, you'll have an amazing time! This crazy/scary time won't last forever 💪🤞

[@HoeheQuiznos]

Cool Video! it helps me learn about kyoto! 😀

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thanks! It's a beautiful place!

[@samanthasmith7885]

My favorite temple in Kyoto (so far) is Ginkaku-ji. It radiates peace, and the grounds are absolutely beautiful. If you go right when it opens, the crowds aren't too bad either. It also makes for a good place to start walking the Philosopher's Path. Also, I think you would enjoy Nara! The deer are really fun, and the great Buddha is an awesome sight for sure.

[@cakeswithfaces]

If I go back to Kyoto one day I'd love to go to the Philosophers Path and Ginkakuji! Thanks for the recommendations. :-) I'd love to go to Uji too - just south of Kyoto - the main temple there looks beautiful!

[@awesomeadamfrom2099]

Awesome tips Amy stay csafe.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thanks! Look after yourself!

[@awesomeadamfrom2099]

Cakes with Faces ok I will

[@rossb9984587]

Uji is on the same train line as Nara when you travel from Kyoto, so it's really easy to stop off there for a little while on your way to Nara. It's a bit of a long day, but it worked well for me.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thanks for the tip! I could tick off both places together :-)

[@johannakcrafts]

For me the Kyoto highlight was Kenninji temple. You actually get to see several different rooms and the Japanese rock garden is beautiful. I would also recommend visiting the less touristy sights. I went to Higashi-Honganji temple in the middle of the day and there was just a handful of people. That was the real "zen" moment of my trip.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Excellent tip! Just looked those places up and they look beautiful - glad you managed to find some moments of calm and have a great Kyoto experience! :-)

[@ChayatsujiKimono]

Love the video! So helpful as my boyfriend and I have been planning our trip to Japan for this autumn or next spring (depending on COVID-19 as well as the rescheduling of the Olympic games). I would like to add that Gion (Kobu) is not THE Geisha district of Kyoto. In total there are 5 of them but Gion (Kobu) is the biggest and most known of all. The others are Gion (Higashi), Miyagawacho, Kamishichiken and Pontocho. Kamishichiken is way up north-west next to Kitano Tenmangu shrine but all the other four are in very close proximity of eachother :)

[@cakeswithfaces]

Ah I didn't realise that, thank you! Maybe the less well-known geisha districts would be less crowded than famous Gion? Just had a quick look on Google Images, they look beautiful! Enjoy planning your trip, I hope the timing works out for you!

[@ChayatsujiKimono]

@@cakeswithfaces Kamishichiken is more like a ghost-town these days, not a lot of people go there but it's next to Kitano Tenmangu. Pontocho is pretty crowded because it's a narrow alleyway basically so it tends to get busier, and therefore crowded faster. I guess because only Gion Kobu is being mentioned in most guidebooks, not a lot of people are aware? On Instagram I see quite a lot of pictures taken in one of the other districts that are tagged as Gion.

[@ydalangin]

So happy I stumbled upon your videos! I really want to buy your book but I’m from PH and the shipping fee is quite expensive 😢

[@cakeswithfaces]

Welcome to my channel! My new series of travel videos is starting later today - hope you enjoy them! :-) I can send my book worldwide to any country. For PH it's £9 shipping, that's the cheapest I can make the shipping I'm afraid! (It actually costs me more than that to send it at the Post Office). www.cakeswithfaces.co.uk/product/japan-travel-guide-book/

[@FindecanorNotGmail]

I recognise that bridge in Gion. I have been staking out that canal so many times on Google Maps ...

[@cakeswithfaces]

Virtual tourism via Google Maps! :-)

[@IndianInJapan88]

Thank you for such an amazing video! BTW, What was the name of veg ramen restaurant? 6:25

[@cakeswithfaces]

Thanks! It's called Taishoken. It's in Kyoto Station - there's a whole floor of ramen restaurants if you go upstairs! An old video but there's more about it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIGmhJuopLZ6npY In Kyoto I'd also recommend Mimikou - their curry udon's delicious!

[@jwrappuhn71]

Excellent vid Amy, is your necklace a piece of toast? also, you look very nice with pigtails.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Yes it's toast! 😝 Made by my friend Little Miss Delicious (she sells them)

[@tomparmenter8665]

Great time to release a travel guide 😅

[@cakeswithfaces]

I know!! 🙈 But we can still plan/dream for the future, right? :-)

[@tomparmenter8665]

@@cakeswithfaces Yes. Can't wait to get it and the other goodies. I'm going again in may the flights are so cheap now.

[@cakeswithfaces]

@@tomparmenter8665 Thanks for the support! Fingers crossed for your trip - hopefully you'll get to enjoy places when they're less crowded (and all the things I said about crowds in this video won't apply!!)

[@badhammy]

Hey Amy, where is the location at 8:11? We spent a full day at Arashiyama but didn't get that view (although we never went to the Monkey Park).

[@cakeswithfaces]

That's in Arashiyama, the opposite side of the river to the monkey park (so the same side as the bamboo forest). You can find it if you go wandering in the paths through the woods! It really was a beautiful view :-)

[@Zakna]

So sad. Suppose to be on a flight out to NRT today :(

[@cakeswithfaces]

Ah nooo I'm sorry :-( Hope you can reschedule for sometime in the future when things are better in the world.

[@Naruto9tF0Xx]

Aren't the leaves supposed to be red/autumn colored around October? or was that back in Sept?

[@cakeswithfaces]

October's a bit early for autumn leaves in Japan, that's more November time. Seems quite late to me (coming from the UK), I guess it's because the winter in Japan's fairly short.

[@zero-cd9zs]

can you give a little list of historic places besides kyoto to visit? i want to move to japan one day and would rather live somewhere more historic, but before that i have to visit haha

[@cakeswithfaces]

Yes probably a good idea to visit first and make sure you like it!!! :-) There are lots of smaller historic places - many of them are known as "little Kyoto", so that's something you can search for to find them: www.tsunagujapan.com/little-kyotos-all-over-japan-check-out-these-kyoto-like-towns/

[@zero-cd9zs]

@@cakeswithfaces thank you!

[@mattkiz6128]

I was planing trip to Japan in June. Is it worth coming even if the situation gets better ?

[@LapisCyborg]

Matt Kiz if the situation improves enough to go at all, it shouldn’t be as busy, which might be a plus

[@tomparmenter8665]

Japan is a really clean country and people are alway considered to the 3rd degree. You are more likely to bring the virus with you than get it in japan. Plus flight are really cheap I'm going in may!

[@cakeswithfaces]

The situation's changing so much, so quickly that it's hard to know what's going to happen. Personally I'd wait as long as you can to see what happens.

[@vrakula]

@@tomparmenter8665 You better hope the mandatory 14 day isolation is not getting extended www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200318_50/

[@sugarsmakz2410]

The kickstarter is over, how do I get the book? I really want it for my trip in December. 😩

[@cakeswithfaces]

If you email me Amy (at) cakeswithfaces.co.uk I'll see what we can do! 😊

[@sugarsmakz2410]

Thank you!! If you can't thats ok too. But I sure hope you can haha!

[@anima6583]

can I get the book after the Kickstarter ends?

[@cakeswithfaces]

If there are any left I'll put them in my shop. The Kickstarter's on until 2nd April if you want to grab one now 😊 www.kickstarter.com/projects/cakeswithfaces/your-guide-to-japan

[@meriaawaz2151]

Can I get back the same day from Hiroshima to Kyoto?

[@cakeswithfaces]

Yes, I went to Hiroshima as a day trip from Kyoto on the bullet train. We went to the Peace Park & Museum in the morning, then on to Miyajima in the afternoon - although you could spend longer in both places if you want to.

[@melgordon2490]

How long did it take to walk through fushimi inari tori gates?

[@cakeswithfaces]

It takes a few hours - the trail's longer than you think, plus it's up a small mountain so it's a bit of a workout at times! Plus time to take pictures, etc as you go.

[@melgordon2490]

@cakeswithfaces so you will need to plan for a full day? What times are least busiest?

[@cakeswithfaces]

A half day really - I went to the Kiyomizudera area in the morning, then Fushimi Inari in the afternoon. Lots of people say you should go REALLY early in the morning. We're not morning people, but I found the crowds really dropped off as it got later in the afternoon and started getting dark. It was really atmospheric at night time too. They say you need to be wary of wild boars, but I didn't see any myself. At any time of day, it's also much less busy the further you go up the trail - most people turn back after the first few sections.

[@sagenelumbo7183]

Why you do not go to Kyoto from Kansai airport instead? It's closer and cheaper than from Tokyo. Or it does not have an airplane route to Kansai Airport in your country? JR Haruka is less than half price and time for travel to Kyoto station compared to Shinkansen from Tokyo.

[@cakeswithfaces]

Because I spent time in Tokyo on my trip as well, so it made sense to get the Japan Rail Pass to cover both trips. And I was in Tokyo for the last part of the trip, so that's where I was flying home from. The JR Pass also covered my day trips around the region - and I wanted the experience of going on the bullet train.

[@user-mi8tn2zz2k]

im going to osaka for 3 days and kyoto for 5 in the fall . hoping all the hanami travelers arent rebooking until next year

[@cakeswithfaces]

Just keep quiet about how beautiful the fall colours are... :-) Some will still want to see hanami and go for next year I'm sure. Enjoy planning your trip! :-)

[@user-mi8tn2zz2k]

Cakes with Faces i will also be spending some time around tokyo and nikko, but i have been to tokyo once before - not that tokyo could ever become boring

[@cakeswithfaces]

@@user-mi8tn2zz2k No, there's so much to do in Tokyo! And lots of great day trips too :-) Heard lots of good things about Nikko!

[@melgordon2490]

Which hotel did you stay at in kyoto?

[@cakeswithfaces]

Most recently I stayed at the Mitsui Garden Jokyoji - here's my room tour: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gX6mqZeDmdl0fac

[@melgordon2490]

Which hotels near kyoto station?

[@cakeswithfaces]

I stayed at an APA hotel near Kyoto Station (there are two with very similar names there!). I stayed in APA hotels a few times during that period and got tired of them in the end as they're all the same. They're a good price and usually good locations, but the morals of the hotel chain owner are also questionable, so I don't tend to book them now.

[@phanterleo]

No- stop telling people about Kanazawa ! I want it to still be relatively empty when I go 😂

[@cakeswithfaces]

Haha don't worry, I'm sure most people will stick to the original Golden Route anyway :-)

[@mwworldhistory23]

You are really cute

[@mPDC-gh8jy]

6:56 ありがとう。American KZbinrs NEVER say so, or they don't recommend to visit the museum (even if they think that it's worth to visit in there mind).

[@cakeswithfaces]

While it's in the past, it's important to remember and not let it happen in the future.

[@barryoneill7016]

How did you come up with "Cakes With Faces" ?.....are you a cake ?.....you definitely have a face....hmmm...

[@cakeswithfaces]

Strictly speaking it should be Cake with Face then, as I am but one cake. 😝 Cakes with Faces is the name for my business/shop - I'm a designer and cakes with faces were one of my fav things to draw.

[@djdrift71]

Please stop calling the Shinkansen ‘bullet trains’. They have a name. And it’s Shinkansen...........😌👍🏼 ‘Red gates’!!!???😩 They are called Torii

[@cakeswithfaces]

Just trying to make it understandable for everyone from all countries who might not know the terms. :-)