Things to do, Where to eat!
Hello there!
Back with another itinerary! Here is what my 3 day itinerary (kind of) looked like in the historical cities of Kyoto and Nara. I say “kind of” because my boyfriend and I decided to change hotels in the middle of our Kyoto trip to get a machiya experience, which was definitely worth it. However, picking up our luggage, taking the bus to the check-in building, and actually checking in to our machiya really ate up our time. So I highly suggest choosing one place to stay OR extending this trip to 4 - 5 days if you want to change hotels like we did. In this itinerary, I did not include our hotel change. Hence, this itinerary reflects what it would ideally look like so that you can make your trip stress free, efficient, and perhaps find more time to explore this beautiful city.
We made a side stop to Nara on my way from Osaka to Kyoto. I recommend doing a day trip to Nara while you stay in either Osaka or Kyoto. However, visiting the deer at the Nara park is not the only thing you can do there. If you want to have a full experience in Nara, consider spending at least 2 days.
Kyoto and Nara used to be the old capitals of Japan...
Yep that's about the extent of my history knowledge. But get yourself a significant other who can do the reading, learning, and tell you all about it. My boyfriend read the history at almost each place we went to on his phone and told me as if he was my tour guide. Besides that, I would definitely say that Kyoto is one of my favorite city in Japan. You can really feel and experience traditional Japan in such big city, unlike Tokyo and its surrounding metropolis areas.
Since there is a lot of information in this blog, I consolidated the itinerary into a document here.
Now, let’s jump into the itinerary!
Day 1 Kyoto + Nara Day Trip
En route to Kyoto, arrive at Nara around late morning/noon.
From Osaka, take the Nara or Kintetsu-Nara Line for Kintetsu-Nara Station (local line).
From Tokyo, take a Shinkansen to Kyoto Station and from there, take the Nara line for Nara Station (JR Station).
From Kyoto, take the Nara line for Nara Station (JR Station).
If you are arriving at Kintetsu-Nara Station, it is walking distance to the main attractions.
If you are arriving at Nara Station, take a bus (~¥200) towards Todai-ji or Nara Park. Once we walked out of Nara station and headed towards the bus terminals, it was very easy to find the correct terminal because it was in English.
If you have any luggage or belongings that you’d like to store, use the coin lockers available at the station. I was able to fit at least two carry-ons and two backpacks in a big locker. They typically cost ¥700 for one time use.
Grab lunch near Nara Park. Expect to pay between ¥1200 - ¥2000 per meal. Here are some places that we tried and were recommended:
Naraya Todaiji [Japan, 〒630-8212 Nara, Kasuganocho, 16 夢風ひろば内] – A humble place with comfort food. I had chirashi-zushi here.
Izasa-Nakatani-hompo Yumekaze-hiroba – Another restaurant in the same plaza. It serves local Nara food.
Kamameshi Shizuka Kouen-ten – Clay pot/Stew dishes.
Isuien Garden
A beautiful Japanese garden with teahouses.
¥1200 (Adult)
They are open from 9:30am to 4:30pm
Check out their website to see what is blooming! https://isuien.or.jp/en/index.html
After strolling through the garden, have some green tea at one of their teahouses.
We didn’t get to come here because we were in a time crunch… we missed our train stop transfer when we were travelling from Osaka to Nara.
Nara Park
This park is free. You can find deer roaming and sleeping all around the park.
Buy a stack of crackers from the small food stalls scattered throughout the park for about ¥200. Tip: Break the crackers into smaller pieces so that you don’t have to keep buying more.
Be cautious of the deer! All of them are wild. Some may be aggressive and cause injury to you. Once you take out the crackers, expect a swarm of deer to be attracted towards you and have a couple nip your booty.
Nandaimon Gate
The entrance to the Todai-ji Temple.
Marvel at the two wooden sculptured guardians known as Kongō Rikishi.
Todai-ji Temple and Museum
A Buddhist Temple housing one of the largest bronze Buddha statues in Japan.
Adult: ¥600 for Great Buddha Hall, but ¥1000 for both the Great Buddha Hall and the Museum.
There are other halls that you may enter but you may have to pay a separate entrance fee at each place.
There are not many English information available at the sites, so visit the website to learn more about it: https://www.todaiji.or.jp/en/
After you visit the Todai-ji Temple, be sure to visit the Todai-ji Museum as well.
Kasuga-Taisha Shrine
Stroll through the southern end of Nara Park and visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Kasuga-Taisha Shrine.
Free
Head back to Nara Station or Kintetsu-Nara Station to travel to Kyoto
If you have a JR Pass, take the Nara Station to avoid paying another ticket for the local Kintetsu-Nara line
Don’t forget to pick up your luggage!
Arrive at Kyoto and check-in at your stay.
Here are the two places that we stayed at:
Hotel TAVINOS – {$42.24/night, booked through Airbnb} A manga themed hotel. Clean rooms with private showers. Includes free breakfast, mangas to read (though most of them are in Japanese), free luggage hold, and coin laundry. This is located near Kiyomizu and Gion. Budget-friendly hotel. We stayed here for one night.
Kyoto Machiya Residence Inn – {$269.94/night, price depends on each individual machiya} Stay at a machiya, or a traditional Japanese home all to yourself! We booked out machiya from this company: https://www.kyoto-machiya-inn.com/. We stayed at Sumihotaru Oboro Machiya. Beautiful interior design and had a relaxing time soaking in a hot tub. You may add a breakfast/dinner service ahead of time.
Dinner Recommendations
Kichi-Kichi Omurice - If you ever saw the eccentric old man wearing a red hat while cooking up a mean omurice all over social media, then this is the place! However, he was on vacation during the time we were there :’) You must make a reservation about a month out online. https://kichikichi.com/en/menu/
Chao-Chao Gyoza - Various types of gyoza/pan fried dumplings all for a great price!
Day 2 Western and Eastern Kyoto
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
Wake up early to beat the crowd!
No entrance fee.
Stroll through the forest and be sure to also visit Tenryu-ji Temple.
Tenryu-ji Temple Entrance Fee: ¥500 (Garden only), ¥800 (Garden + Building), plus ¥500 to see the Cloud Dragon Painting in the Dharma Hall.
We only went to the garden.
Walk along the Katsura River
Take a rest by the river and grab a cup of coffee from % Arabica Kyoto Arashiyama.
Cross the Togetsu-kyo Bridge for a more scenic view of the river.
Arashiyama Monkey Park
Here, you can get up close to the monkeys and feed them (but don’t get too close).
Warning: It’s about a 15-20 mins hike up a small mountain, so be sure to wear good walking shoes.
Entrance fee: ¥600 (Adults)
In the following attractions, follow this order to make your walking more efficient!
Gion
Walk around Kyoto’s geisha street. There are endless amounts of restaurants and bars.
And if you want to, rent a kimono for the day!
Yasaka Shrine
A Shinto shrine that is well known for hosting the Gion Festival every summer.
On your way to Hokan-ji, have afternoon tea and dessert at a Michelin rated (Bib Gourmand) café, Kikunoi Salon de Muge.
Hokan-ji
Snap a pic of this picturesque 5 story pagoda.
If you want to enter and learn more about this Buddhist temple, the entrance fee costs about ¥400.
Walk through Ninneizaka and Sanneizaka
Food stalls, souvenirs, and boutique shops.
Be sure to swing by the Kyoto themed Starbucks
Kiyomizu Dera
One of the most popular temples in Japan and an UNESCO World Heritage site.
Entrance fee is about ¥400
This order is totally feasible going in the opposite direction. We did this because we started late afternoon due to our hotel change. I would avoid starting this route late afternoon because most of the stores will begin to close up for the day. Start earlier in the afternoon!
Dinner and Bar Hopping in Pontocho - After a long day of walking around the city, it’s time to relax, eat, and get some drinks! Travel back in time in this traditional style neighborhood along the Kamo River.
There are so many bars and restaurants to choose from. I wish we could’ve tried more but the jet lag and general travel exhaustion hit us earlier than expected :( Go out and just hop in a place! But as a heads up, expect to pay a cover (~¥300 or more) at the bars.
My boyfriend and I actually did this the first night. I am placing this activity here on the second night so that you can actually get up early to go to the bamboo forest the next day. We got up a little later and had to join the crowds.
Dinner recommendation:
Suba - A creative twist on Soba dishes.
Not in Pontocho, but it’s on your way out of Kiyomizu-dera. Once you get yourself a yummy bowl of soba, just walk north up the Kamo River and start your night at Pontocho!
Take Matsubara-dori to/from Kiyomizu-dera and cross the bridge over the Kamo River.
You might have a hard time finding this restaurant because there are no signs. It’s a red brick building with sliding doors. It may look closed on the outside (open 1200-2300), but I promise you just need to slide the door open!
Here are two bars we went to in Pontocho:
Bar Fish
Bar Alchemist - If you can’t find this bar… You have to push a bookshelf lined with alcohol bottles. That’s your hint for you. Loved their drinks!
Day 3 Northern & Southern Kyoto
Morning hike at Fushimi Inari
Hike through the mesmerizing torii gates.
The earlier you get there, the less crowded it is.
Free
Kinkaku-ji
Hop on the train and bus to travel north to see the Golden Buddhist Temple.
In order to get to this place, the easiest way is to take the bus, which costs ¥200. I followed Google maps to get there and had no issues. The bus stops and times are pretty easy to follow and correlates with what Google maps says.
Entrance fee: ¥400 (Adults)
Return home in the late afternoon/evening
These are all the places we hit in Kyoto and Nara in 3 days. If you want to have more time and not feel so crunched, I would definitely extend 4 to 5 days in Kyoto. There are so many other places that I wanted to visit in this big historical city... But I guess that means I have a reason to come back here!
Other attractions that you should visit that we didn’t get to visit and are not included in this itinerary:
Nijo Castle
Nishiki Market
Kyoto Imperial Palace
Fushimi Sake District
Ginkakuji
Other Restaurant and Café Recommendations that was on my bucket list and you should eat for me!:
Hirobun [87 Kuramakibunecho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 601-1112, Japan]
Kaiseki
Gontaro [Japan, 〒604-8053 Kyoto, Nakagyo Ward]
Soba
Inoda Coffee [Japan, 〒600-8007 Kyoto, Shimogyo Ward, Tachiuri Nishimachi, 66]
Umezono [234-4 Yamazakicho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8032, Japan]
Japanese Sweets Shop
Kazariya [96 Murasakino Imamiyacho, Kita Ward, Kyoto, 603-8243, Japan]
Japanese Sweets Shop
Lorimer Kyoto [143 Hashizumecho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 600-8187, Japan]
Breakfast
WEEKENDERS COFFEE ROASTERY [682-7 Ishifudonocho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 600-8047, Japan]
Maeda [Japan, 〒605-0074 Kyoto, Higashiyama Ward, Gionmachi Minamigawa, 570-118 1F]
Kyoto style restaurant
Nishikawa [Japan, 〒605-0825 Kyoto, Higashiyama Ward]
Kaiseki
HAPPY STAND KYOTO [2 126, Ishiyacho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8002, Japan]
Bar + Small eats
Wajoryomen Sugari [471-1 Kannondocho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8222, Japan]
Ramen
MACCHA HOUSE Kyoto Kawaramachi [Japan, 〒604-8026 Kyoto, Nakagyo Ward, Komeyacho, 382‐2]
Japanese Sweets Shop
Tousuiro Gion [Japan, 〒605-0812 Kyoto, Higashiyama Ward, 東大路松原上る四丁目 毘沙門町38−1]
Tofu Restaurant
Look out for my next vlog that covers my Kansai trip! See you soon!
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