Travel Guide To Kyoto

After enjoying sitting for almost 3 hours in the Shinkansen from Odawara (my trip to Mount Fuji and Hakone ) I finally arrived in Kyoto city, the city that was once the capital of Japan.

If our image in the photos is that Kyoto is a traditional Japanese city, that image immediately disappears when we arrive at Kyoto train station. The station building is no different from those in Tokyo: modern and large, a terminus for the subway and shinkansen, and also integrated with the city bus terminal. Exiting the station, there are no signs that this city can be classified as traditional. Kyoto is also a modern city, the streets are wide, and of course crowded.

Right in front of the station, there is even Kyoto Tower which looks like it towers alone among the other buildings in Kyoto city.

Since I stayed at ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel , there was a free shuttle bus from Kyoto station to the hotel, which saved me quite a bit on transportation costs for 2 nights here. Moreover, this hotel is located right across from Nijo Castle, which is a plus.

Itinerary in Kyoto

Gion

Kinkaku-ji

Nijo Castle

Sidetrip: Fushimi Inari Shrine

Side Trip : Nara

Kyoto can be your base if you don't want to stay in Osaka. The distance between the two cities is only about 23 minutes using the shinkansen train (covered by the Japan RailPass if you have one). You can also take a direct train to Osaka Kansai Airport (KIX) from Kyoto. In addition, Kyoto is also close to several small cities that are tourist attractions such as Nara and Inari.

To enjoy, we need at least 3 days to be able to visit the must-visit tourist attractions in Kyoto. Here I summarize it in one page, but actually I did it in 3 days (including Nara).

Transportation in Kyoto

To get around Kyoto city, there are 2 modes of transportation that we can use: subway trains and buses.

If you have IC Cards (Pasmo/Suica/ICOCA) you can use them on Kyoto buses or subways.

Subway

There are only 2 subway lines: Karasuma Line (north-south direction) and Tozai Line (east-west direction). Mostly covers downtown area and is not very useful for tourists.

A one-day pass for the train is available (¥600). If you are traveling for more than 2 trips, it is best to purchase this pass at the station counter.

Bus

City buses are marked with Orange number plates. Besides Orange means it is a private bus with less frequent schedules. Because there are only 2 subway lines and they do not cover all areas, mostly we have to rely on city buses when visiting temples or tourist attractions. For bus numbers from where to where, I use Google Maps.

The way to get on the bus is like in Tokyo, so we enter from the middle door, take a ticket. Then when we want to get off we pay the driver, usually a flat fare of ¥230.

There is a one-day pass for city buses (¥500). The way to buy this one-day bus pass is to simply get on a city bus (from the middle door) and then buy it from the bus driver. Later, this card will be validated/printed with the date on the back of the plastic card. For the next trip, just show this card to the bus driver.

Gion

After checking in to the hotel and getting my luggage, it was already dark around 6 pm. The first destination was Gion and to find dinner.

Not far from Gion-Shijo station, we found a small restaurant called Issen Yoshoku , which sells Kyoto-style Okonomiyaki. The food is quite okay, the decoration of the dining table is more creepy. We were accompanied while eating by a female mannequin doll wearing a kimono, as well as 'interesting' wall decorations.

Gion is a district famous for geisha and maiko. Btw, this is a halal and honorable profession in Kyoto, very different from what is depicted in Hollywood movies.

These geiko and maiko work in tea houses or restaurants that are mostly gathered on Hanami-koji Street , accompanying guests to eat Keiseiki style which certainly costs one million rupiah per person. The sign of a restaurant that has geisha is the presence of a red lantern in front of the entrance. People say we need extra luck if we want to meet geisha again walking here.

Shijo Dori

One of the main shopping streets in Kyoto is Shijo-Dori. It is located just a few hundred meters east of Gion. We can get here directly by subway (Shijo Karasuma station or Gion Shijo).

Kyoto's main merchandise is not far from traditional fans and macha (green tea). Whatever snack you want, it seems like there is always a macha flavor: kitkat, candy, chocolate, and even ice cream. Several alleys (small alleys to the north) have shops selling these souvenirs, such as Shinkyogoku and Teramachi.

Kinkaku-ji

Kinkaku-ji (Temple of Golden Pavilion) is arguably one of the must-visit places to visit in Kyoto. The place is beautiful and when photographed, it is truly beautiful.

I came from the ANA Crowne Plaza hotel, so just take bus number 101 or 12 for about 20 minutes from across from the hotel (stop in front of Nijo Castle).

It seems like this building has been standing for a long time, but in fact this Zen Temple was only rebuilt around 1955, and the addition of the gold layer was completed in 1987.

The entrance ticket is ¥400 per person, we will be given a ticket in the form of a talisman paper :) This area is quite large, so prepare your feet to explore.

The road is made one way, so we just follow the crowd. The first building that comes into view is this golden pavilion. Then we will walk through the park to the tea garden , where you can enjoy macha and a piece of cake (pay again) in a simple Japanese ceremony.

Behind it is the Fudo Hall where local residents make wishes.

Nijo Castle

Nijo Castle (二条城, Nijōjō) although it looks like a fortress, was actually the residence of the Tokugawa Shogun in the Edo period.

The main building here is the Ninomaru Palace , which is the home of the Shogun. It is actually several houses connected together. Inside we cannot take pictures, so this is just an eye experience. Moreover, we have to take off our shoes to explore the contents of this building. What is interesting is that the wooden floor here is made so that it can creak if stepped on, so if there are criminals the Shogun is ready to be alert.

The Nijo Castle area is very large, especially because of the design of the castle, so it was made 2 layers of defense walls, and there is only one entrance gate. The garden area itself is very beautiful, so prepare 3-4 hours to enjoy it.

Fushimi Inari & Nara

If you are in Kyoto or Osaka, you can do a daytrip to Inari and Nara. I wrote about the trip to Fushimi Inari Shrine in a separate article:

Fushimi Inari

Nara

Both are recommended to be included in your itinerary.

Next Trip

My trip after Kyoto was to Osaka. Just click if you want to read the itinerary and tourist attractions in Osaka.