Kyoto (京都) means “capital city”, a reflection of its significance when it was the capital of Japan. It houses quite a few historical and spiritual sites.

How long to stay?

Ultimately how long you should plan on staying in Kyoto depends on what kinds of day trips you’d be looking to do from the city. As a start, I’d think four nights is a pretty good amount of time to give yourself an initial taste of the city. If you’re looking into daytrips like the absolutely beautiful Arashiyama or to visit the deer in nearby Nara, it might be worth tacking on an extra day or two. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend using Kyoto as a base to explore Osaka, as there is enough to do there to make a full trip out of it.

When we visited, we spent a total of six nights divided up evenly between Arashiyama and Kyoto. We used Arashiyama one day as a base for exploring Kyoto, so it’s likely more accurate to say two nights in Arashiyama and four in Kyoto is essentially what we did.

What we did in Kyoto

Kiyomizu-dera

Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple that is popular for its views overlooking the city and surrounding areas. It’s so popular that you shouldn’t be surprised if it’s very crowded during your visit. In our experience, the main place of worship and the platform overlooking the city were where you’d most likely encounter heavy crowding. Venture off a bit further to explore the area around and you’ll get some more breathing room.

It is still an active temple and offers a place for praying and paying respects to Kannon, an entity who might just bestow good success upon you. But before you get there, you’ll pass through Kiyomizuzaka, which has plenty of small shops and food stands. (Reminder that if you purchase a snack, you’re expected to stand there and eat it and not walk around.)

You’ll eventually make your way over to the Niomon Gate. I’ve long been a fan of pagodas, and loved to spend some time admiring them here.

As mentioned, the views from up here are surreal. When down on the streets of Kyoto, everything looks like a modern city. But there are spots from up around the Kiyomizu-dera where the city fades into the background and you can return to nature.

Kinkaku-ji

You’ll find a theme to your stay in Kyoto where many of the popular sites are visiting temples. Kinkaku-ji is no exception as it’s a Zen Buddhist temple. Technically, the site is formally known as Rokuon-ji, but everyone knows it by Kinkaku-ji. What you’ll surely notice about the temple is its strikingly gold color. Yes, that color does come from the gold leaf used to adorn the top two floors of the temple.

Before you get your hopes up, I’ll warn you that you can only observe the Golden Pavilion from afar. You won’t be able to tour the inside.

The site is home to a little more than just the golden temple. You can venture around to see plenty of nature, the rest of the temple grounds, and perhaps the White Snake Mound.

Fushimi Inari Taisha

What’s one of the most iconic symbols of Japan (aside from Mt. Fuji)? I’d argue it’s the red torii gates found all throughout the country. Perhaps the most iconic site to see them is the Fushimi Inari Taisha. Yes, this is another place to pay spiritual respects, but this is a Shinto shrine and not a Buddhist site. You’ll find hundreds of torii gates lined up in a row. Torii gates represent the transition from the everyday world over to the sacred world, which is why you’ll see them at many important sites.

So with that in mind, this isn’t the only spot you would be able to see the torii gates lined up in a row. Of course, with the convenience of being so easily accessible from Kyoto, this one gets all the tourists. We were able to get some pictures mostly without others in them, but with the number of crowds it’s hard to get that break in the sea of people. So if that’s a bother to you, take a trip to a different Shinto shrine to get some breathing room.

The whole area isn’t covered with torii gates, and again you’ll get to stroll through nature. I think by now you’ve discovered that the best place to see natural beauty in Kyoto is around the shrines and temples.

Nishiki

Let’s get out of the spiritual areas of the city and return to its modern appeal. First up is Nishiki, which is home to many, many vendors. I’d posit that one of the better places to get a souvenir is from one of the stores inside. Is it touristy? Perhaps a bit, but it certainly felt less touristy than the shops leading up to the shrines and temples mentioned above.

It’s also home to an extremely cute Snoopy Cafe, which we’ll talk about more further down this article.

Kyoto City Zoo

One of the cutest zoos we’ve been to was the Kyoto City Zoo. This zoo is not open on Mondays (or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday), so plan accordingly if you’re intending to come here. At a price of only ¥750 for adults and no charge for children, it’s a very affordable zoo to experience.

You’ll find many of the usual zoo suspects here (and plenty of signage in both Japanese and English).

What makes the zoo so cute? The animals on display was a big reason. Who wouldn’t like seeing this cutie resting on a scale?

And don’t forget to see all the guinea pigs. Why are there so many guinea pigs? Because they’re so cute, obviously. This is the only zoo in the world that I’ve been to that houses guinea pigs, but it’s fun to see so many of them hanging out together.

I’ve always been a fan of funny signs at zoos, so add this one to the list.

Where we ate in Kyoto

Kyoto Station

We stopped off at Kyoto Station (more than once) to have a meal here. If you’re on the go and want some meat pies that remind us of our time in Sydney Australia, check out Pie Face. There are delicious meats inside those warm pie pockets. Yeah, it’s a chain, but it does hit the spot when you need it.

Of course, it was right next to a donut shop. When in Rome…

Ramen Street (at Kyoto Station)

Also at Kyoto Station is a place casually known as Ramen Street, home to many ramen restaurants up on the 10th floor. You might wonder whether the food here at the train station is any good–but it is. You’ll find ramen restaurants at many train stations because it’s a quick dish to make and plenty of people here are in a rush. The food at Ramen Street is quite delicious, with each restaurant specializing in a slightly different variation of ramen.

The typical process for ordering is to select your meal outside the restaurant at the vending machines, then you hand your coupon to staff. Don’t worry if you don’t know Japanese–the vending machines have English buttons and the process is pretty efficient (you’ve already paid before you sit down so there’s no need to wait for a check at the end of service).

Snoopy CHA-YA

We’ve always been a fan of themed restaurants that offer up good food to go along with the theme. An example of one such restaurant is the Pokémon Cafe in Tokyo. Snoopy CHA-YA (translation: Snoopy Tea House) is another.

Found inside Nishiki Market, Snoopy CHA-YA is a fun spot where you can find all things Snoopy. There are so many cute Japanese knick-knacks out there, and Snoopy is perhaps my personal favorite cartoon, so the combination for me holds a lot of weight. If you’re in the mood to eat, head upstairs to where the restaurant is located.

All the dishes are themed like Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts characters. The food is also legitimately tasty, so it offers more than just a pretty face. Thankfully, it wasn’t crowded when we dined, but given the small space, don’t be surprised to find a wait. I’d call this a must-do if you’re a big Snoopy fan like I am.

Where we stayed in Kyoto

Hyatt Regency Kyoto

The Hyatt Regency Kyoto is a decent option if you’re looking for a stay within the city. But there are some pros and cons to staying here.

On the bright side, you do get a free taxi ride from Kyoto Station to the hotel when checking in. And there is a three-a-week Maiko performance that’s free for all hotel guests. On the down side, the hotel’s location isn’t exactly by any of the major sites in the city. We also found the service to be just OK, a bit of a letdown after hearing how perfect others found the hotel to be. Overall, I’d say the hotel is fine albeit a tad on the sterile side.

We did eat here for dinner one evening and it was pretty good. The bountiful seafood was quite fresh and very tasty. The steak had good flavor as well with a perfect portion size for what we wanted. Dining here isn’t a bad choice by any means. Plus, we came here on the night of one of the Maiko performances, and were graced by her presence at our table. That made the night quite memorable for us.

What do you like to do in Kyoto?

Suggested reading:

• Other destinations we’ve visited
• Pro Tip: Exchange Currency at Your Destination
• The Travel Gadgets That Make Our Travel Easy