A practical guide to Kyoto

When to go, how to get there and what it costs, for Kyoto's temples, food and neighbourhoods. Plus a free planner that turns it into a day-by-day route.

Plan your days Read the guides

Rows of vermilion torii gates forming a tunnel at Fushimi Inari Taisha — Fushimi Inari Taisha. The gates are open 24 hours, and early morning is the quietest time to walk them.

Kyoto by season

When to visit →

March · April · May

Kyoto in Spring

Cherry blossoms along the Philosopher's Path, mild walking weather, and Kyoto's single most crowded and most beautiful season.

June · July · August

Kyoto in Summer

The Gion Matsuri's float processions fill July, and long daylight hours stretch sightseeing into the evening, if you can handle the heat.

September · October · November

Kyoto in Autumn

Koyo foliage turns the temple gardens red and gold through November, under some of the year's most comfortable walking weather.

December · January · February

Kyoto in Winter

The year's shortest queues and lowest prices, with an outside chance of snow dusting Kinkaku-ji's gold roof.

Guides

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Day trips

Best Day Trips from Kyoto

The best day trips from Kyoto: Nara's deer park and Todai-ji, and Uji's matcha and Byodo-in Temple, each doable by train in under an hour.

Practical

Getting Around Kyoto: Buses, Subway & Trains

How to get around Kyoto: city buses, the subway, JR and private rail lines for day trips, current passes and fares, and when walking beats all of them.

Itinerary

One Day in Kyoto: A Sunrise-to-Evening Itinerary

A realistic one-day Kyoto itinerary: Fushimi Inari at sunrise, Higashiyama's temple lanes at midday, Gion and Pontocho by night.

Where to go

The gold-leafed Kinkaku-ji pavilion reflected in its garden pond

Kinkaku-ji (The Golden Pavilion)

A Zen temple pavilion whose top two floors are covered in real gold leaf, mirrored in the pond in front of it. It was rebuilt in 1955, to the same design, after a 1950 arson fire destroyed the 14th-century original. One of the most recognisable buildings in Japan.

Landmarks

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Kiyomizu-dera

A UNESCO World Heritage wooden temple built out over the hillside on a stage of huge zelkova pillars, without a single nail. It is one of the classic views of Kyoto, especially in autumn foliage or cherry blossom season. The name means "pure water," from the Otowa waterfall below the main hall.

Nijo Castle

A UNESCO-listed shogunal palace whose Ninomaru Palace corridors have deliberately squeaky "nightingale floors": the boards chirp underfoot as an early-warning system against intruders. The palace's painted sliding doors and the surrounding moat and gardens are equally worth the visit.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

A quarter-mile footpath through towering bamboo stalks that creak and sway overhead in the wind, right beside Tenryu-ji temple in western Kyoto. One of the most photographed natural sights in Japan, and free to walk any time.

Museums

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A classical brick museum facade with an arched entrance

Kyoto National Museum

Kyoto's main museum of Japanese art and antiquities: ceramics, textiles, calligraphy, Buddhist sculpture and painting spanning over a thousand years, housed partly in a Meiji-era red-brick building and partly in a modern wing.

Kyoto International Manga Museum

A former elementary school converted into a museum holding around 300,000 manga volumes, including a 200-metre "Wall of Manga" that visitors can pull books straight off and read on the spot, plus rotating exhibitions on manga history and artists.

Kyoto Railway Museum

One of Japan's largest railway museums, near Kyoto Station, with over 50 real locomotives and train cars, including a steam locomotive roundhouse still in occasional operation, plus a running steam train ride and detailed model layouts.

Food & Drink

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Tousuiro

A yudofu (simmered tofu hot pot) specialist in a traditional townhouse setting near Gion, serving Kyoto-style tofu kaiseki: course meals built around house-made tofu, seasonal vegetables, and delicate simmered and grilled dishes.

The exterior of a traditional Japanese restaurant in Kyoto

Roan Kikunoi

The more accessible Pontocho branch of Kikunoi, one of Kyoto's best-known Michelin-starred kaiseki houses. Expect multi-course seasonal menus built on dashi and the classic principles of Kyoto cuisine.

Omen

A local udon institution near Ginkaku-ji, built around one dish: thick handmade udon served with a warm dipping broth and a plate of seasonal vegetables and sesame to add yourself. Simple and unpretentious.

Nightlife

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Bottles of Japanese sake lined up at a small Gion bar

Sake Bar Yoramu

A small, wood-panelled Gion sake bar with a rotating list made up entirely of Japanese sake, run by an owner happy to talk visitors through unfamiliar regional styles.

A narrow lantern-lit alley in a Japanese city at night

Kiyamachi Riverside Bar Row

The Kiyamachi canal strip running alongside Pontocho, lined with small bars and izakaya overlooking the Takase River. Expect original cocktails, cheap highballs, and a livelier, younger crowd than in the more formal Pontocho alley itself.

A dimly lit cocktail bar interior in Gion, Kyoto

Gion Aoi

A Gion cocktail bar with an unusually wide spirits selection, including rare whiskies, in a calm, low-lit room a short walk from Hanamikoji-dori.

Activities

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Iwatayama Monkey Park

A walk-up hill park in Arashiyama home to around 120 wild Japanese macaques roaming freely, with a panoramic view over Kyoto from the summit clearing. Visitors can hand-feed the monkeys from inside a caged feeding hut, the safe way round.

Food stalls lining the covered Nishiki Market street in Kyoto

Nishiki Market Food Tour

A guided walk through "Kyoto's Kitchen", a 400-year-old, five-block covered market street of roughly 100 stalls selling Kyoto vegetables, fresh-water fish, yuba (tofu skin), pickles, and skewered street food, with a guide pointing out what's worth stopping for.

A traditional matcha tea ceremony set being prepared on tatami mats

Traditional Tea Ceremony Experience

A hands-on introduction to chado, the way of tea: learning the etiquette of preparing and receiving whisked matcha in a traditional tatami-room setting, usually alongside a short explanation of the ceremony's Zen-influenced philosophy.

Events in Kyoto

Home fixtures for Kyoto Sanga FC (football) and Kyoto Hannaryz (basketball). Theatre and concert listings aren't included yet.

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