Kyoto is one of Japan’s most awe-inspiring cities, and one of the most unique travel destinations in the world. This guide is an itinerary for 3 days in Kyoto for first time visitors, based on our most recent trip.

This Kyoto itinerary includes UNESCO World Heritage List sites like Kinkakuji-Temple (Golden Pavilion), Ginkaku-ji Temple (Silver Pavilion) and Tenryu-Ji, the red gates of the Fushimi Inari Taisha, Arashiyama bamboo grove, the magnificent Nijo Castle and the historic neighbourhoods of Gion and Northern & Southern Higashiyama. It also includes some of the best food in Kyoto, including kaiseki cuisine at a two-Michelin star restaurant, the Nishiki Market and some of the best restaurants and bars in Pontocho.

I found planning our time in Kyoto the most challenging of any trip I’ve had in a long time, because there are so many spectacular sights scattered across the greater Kyoto area. I can’t quite believe how much we saw in three days, but with some careful planning we managed to see so much without running ourselves ragged!

Kyoto was the capital of Japan for more than 1000 years, and has preserved a sense of its imperial splendour, despite the capital moving to Tokyo in the 19th century. It is home to 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites and more two-Michelin star restaurants than any other city in the world. Unlike many major Japanese cities, Kyoto was not bombed during WWII, so it has one of the best preserved and most extensive old towns in Japan.

Our 3 days in Kyoto was part of our 10 Day Trip to Japan. We’d just come from spending 2 days in Osaka, and after Kyoto, we visited the sacred island of Miyajima.

Overview of 3 Day Kyoto Itinerary

• Day 1 – Silver Pavilion & Northern Higashiyama and Pontocho Precinct
• Day 2 – Kiyomuzidera, Southern Higashiyama, Kaiseki Cuisine, Nijo Castle & Fushimi Inari Shrine
• Day 3 – Arashiyama & Tenryu-Ji, Golden Pavilion, Nishiki Market & Gion

Where to Stay in Kyoto

We stayed at Hotel Resol Kyoto Kawaramachi Sanjo, a stylish hotel just a few blocks from the Pontocho Precinct. I really liked this area, as it was well connected by public transport and a short walk from the train station, but also was close to Pontocho and a short walk across the river to Gion.

Getting Around Kyoto

Kyoto has incredible public transport, thanks to an extensive bus network. The buses are frequent, on time and easy to navigate, even as a foreigner. I was surprised that we didn’t need to rely on Ubers or Taxis once, even when visiting sights on the outskirts of the city. There was always a bus and it was always a comfortable journey!

Is 3 Days Enough in Kyoto?

Yes, 3 days is enough in Kyoto, but only just. I’m really glad we could spend three full days in Kyoto, but I could have easily filled a fourth, and spent a lot of time re-working our itinerary in Kyoto to try and see as much as possible. You could spend weeks in Kyoto, but personally I get a bit of temple fatigue quite quickly, so I don’t think I would have got as much value out of a 5+ day trip, as I would by returning to Kyoto for 2-3 days another time in the future.

I’m really happy with everything that we did & saw in 3 days in Kyoto, and felt like I’ve seen enough for our first trip. Two days would have been very difficult to narrow down what to see and do.

Avoiding Crowds in Kyoto

Kyoto frequently suffers from overcrowding, especially at the most famous temples and shrines. Crowds will likely be part of your experience in Kyoto, but you can improve your experience by visiting the most over crowded places first thing in the morning, close to opening hours. 

If you’re lucky enough to get some rain in Kyoto, use this to your advantage, as it will chase away 90% of the crowds. We were very lucky that it rained when we visited Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion), and I think the soft rain only added to the atmosphere of the beautiful zen gardens.

Day 1: Northern Higashiyama

We arrived in Kyoto via Shinkansen (bullet train) from Osaka. After dropping off our bags at our hotel, we made a quick coffee stop Blue Bottle Coffee before heading out for the day.

Northern Higashiyama is one of Kyoto’s most important, and well-preserved districts. It is generally less crowded than Southern Higashiyama, and is home to many important temples and Kyoto sights, such as Ginkaku-ji temple, Honen-In temple, Nanzen-Ji temple and the Philosopher’s Path, to name a few.

Ginkaku-ji Temple (Silver Pavilion)

Ginkaku-ji temple, also known as the Silver Pavilion, is one of the most beautiful zen temples & gardens in Kyoto. It’s also one of the most popular, so we were very lucky that it rained on the day we visited, chasing away the typical crowds. 

The grounds were so beautiful and peaceful in the rain! Ginkaku-ji was intended to be covered in silver foil, but remains unfinished, thus representing the Japanese concept of wabi sabi – beauty in imperfection.

Ginkaku-ji was built in the 15th century as a retirement villa for the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. He modeled it on his grandfather’s villa, Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), which we visited a few days later. During Yoshimasa’s lifetime, Ginkaku-ji became a flourishing cultural centre, which influenced the culture of Japan, including the tea ceremony, poetry and Noh theatre. After his death, it was converted to a Zen temple, under the Renzai zen sect.

The landscaped gardens are some of the most beautiful that we visited in Japan. There is a meticulously maintained dry sand garden, with a towering sand sculpture, “the sea of silver sand,”, a moss garden, small streams and bridges, and a trail that winds up the hills behind the buildings, which has beautiful views over the temple grounds and the surrounding Higashiyama district.

Northern Higashiyama & Philosopher’s Path

You’ll find a string of shops adjacent to most significant temples and shrines in Japan. I particularly liked the street leading up to Ginkaku-ji, because it had so many excellent small cafes, restaurants and stores. 

We seemed to stumble over the best snacks of our life at every turn in Japan, and Northern Higashiyama was no different. Right outside the entrance to Ginkaku-ji is a tiny shop called Ginkakuji Matsubaya, which serves the most delicious pastry-covered cream puffs – I’m not sure why these aren’t popular all over the world!

One of the Japanese foods we were most excited to eat on our return to Japan was onigiri, Japanese rice balls, wrapped in nori, that contain a variety of fillings. We’d only had them from 7-11s in Tokyo, which were delicious, but had no idea you could buy fresh, warm onigiri from restaurants and dedicated onigiri shops in Japan. One such restaurant was on the high street outside Ginkaku-ji, so we planned to eat here for lunch.

Miyoneshi Fumiya is a traditional syokudo and teishoku restaurant, which means that it serves affordable, casual set meals. It serves delicious, warm onigiri as part of a set meal including miso soup and green tea.

Shortly after lunch, the rain became torrential, and we had to take cover. We stopped in a tiny cafe, AG Coffee, and watched the downpour while enjoying the most beautiful and flavourful green tea – and a coffee for David. There are many specialty, third-wave coffee stores in Japan now, so it is easy to find a perfect flat white these days!

The rain eased up a little, and we decided to make a break for it. We walked along the Philosopher’s Path, which is a famous sight in Kyoto during cherry blossom season, when it is lined with cherry blossom trees. It is a quaint spot, but in the heavy rain, we decided to find  a bus back to the hotel.

Dinner & drinks in Pontocho

The Pontocho Precinct is one of Kyoto’s most atmospheric restaurant streets, lined with a mind-boggling number of restaurants and bars. It’s very lively at night, and while it is crowded with tourists, it is not an exclusively touristy area. We returned several times during our time in Kyoto.

We started with a drink at Bar Rinto, a tiny bar, which is easy to miss from the street. It’s an elegant cocktail bar, sunken below street level, with a long window along the backbar looking across the Kamawa River to Gion. I trusted the bartender’s advice, and ordered a tri-coloured cocktail – something I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole in Australia, but in Kyoto, it was an expertly executed cocktail.

We crossed the river and spent some time exploring Gion, Kyoto’s most famous geisha district, which feels like the historic downtown. It’s a lively and busy area at night, with theatres, restaurants and traditional tea houses. It’s a beautiful area, but we didn’t find a restaurant, and instead returned to Pontocho to find dinner.

We decided on a restaurant called Gyukatsu – which is also the name of the dish it specialises in. Gyukatsu is just like tonkatsu, but uses thinly sliced steak rather than pork. The steak is breaded & deep fried, and served with rice, curry sauce and other condiments.

There was a wait for a table, so we wandered down an alleyway off Pontocho and found Bar Tonbo, a cosy bar with the most welcoming bartender. It was a lovely little spot!

Dining at Gyukatsu was fun – the beef cutlet is served already cooked to medium rare, but a small grill with a hot stone is provided, so you can cook each slice to your liking. Served with an array of condiments and sauces, you could customise every bite!

It had a much more casual and lively atmosphere than Butagumi, the elegant and old school tonkatsu restaurant we visited in Tokyo, on our last trip to Japan (which I highly recommend!).

Day 2: Southern Higashiyama, Kaiseki cuisine, Nijo Castle & Fushimi Inari Taisha

Our second day in Kyoto was huge, and was possible only because we started early. We experienced the most crowds at the sights on this day, but also saw some of the most incredible places and enjoyed perfect weather.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple 

Kiyomizu-dera is a UNESCO World Heritage sight and one of the most celebrated temple complexes in Japan. Kiyomuzidera is a Buddhist temple, from the Kita Hosso sect. It’s located in Southern Higashiyama, Kyoto’s most important and popular sightseeing district, so starting early was essential.

There are several buildings, including shrines, temples and pavilions on the grounds. The Main Hall is famous for its wooden stage, which juts out 13 metres above forest, and both are built entirely without nails! The view over the treetops from the stage and verandahs at the temple are incredible. Kiymuzi-dera was originally constructed in the 8th century, and the present-day buildings were built in the 17th century.

This is a large temple complex, so you could spend a lot of time here, depending on the pace you like to go at. I think you’d need at least 45 minutes at a minimum.

Tip: Entry tickets are cash only, and the nearest ATM is quite a hike – down at the main road, with the bus stop. We didn’t realise we were out of cash until we reached the ticket booth!

Southern Higashiyama

Kiyomuzi-dera is located in Kyoto’s famous Southern Higashiyma district – this is the Kyoto that you’ll find on postcards. It is much larger than the Northern Higashiyama precinct

It is definitely worth spending some time exploring this area, however it is extremely crowded – this is exactly the overtourism in Kyoto that you’ll read about. I imagine this area must feel magical when it’s quiet – maybe at sunrise?!

It’s still definitely a beautiful area to visit, but personally I was happy to spend around an hour walking around here before moving along to the rest of our day.

Kaiseki Cuisine at Roan Kikunoi

I always book one “special” meal when we travel, and in Japan I knew it had to be kaiseki cuisine, which is a multi-course meal of small, beautifully presented dishes. Kaiseki comes from Kyoto, and has roots in the city’s former royal cuisine.

After much deliberating, I chose Roan Kikunoi, which is part of the 100-year old Kikunoi restaurant group. Roan is a “newer” addition to the group, opening in the 1970s. It is a beautiful restaurant, and has two Michelin stars. The chef is the second son of the Kikunoi family, who still own and operate the restaurants today.

Personally, I love dining at lunch for any longer or special meals, as I don’t like a big meal in the evenings. Especially for a formal dining experience which tends to be longer, I get too sleepy in dimly lit restaurants, over a very long meal! It was convenient then, that the lunch service is also slightly cheaper than dinner.

We booked and paid in advance, and to be honest, I wasn’t 100% sure of what the experience would be. I didn’t realise that we would be seated in a private room, which really added to the experience. Initially, we were seated in a small private room, seated on tatami mats on the floor. We were quite happy with this, and I had dressed in trousers rather than a dress, in case we were seated on the floor. Lucky!

Halfway through the meal, we were guided into a second private dining room, which had a low table and chairs. Initially, we assumed this was a typical part of the experience, but now we suspect we were moved to their room for westerners and the elderly, after a waitress found us shuffling into different seated positions on the floor over the course of our meal. We are a bit embarrassed, but to be honest, we didn’t mind moving to a low chairs during the two-hour meal!

The seasonal menu at Roan is always changing, and every course was beautifully presented. It was expensive, but an extremely memorable and unique dining experience!

Nijo Castle & Ninomaru Palace

Kyoto’s Nijo Castle & Ninomaru Palace was one of the most beautiful buildings we visited in Kyoto, and yet the one that I had seen the least on social media. Photos are prohibited inside the palace, which makes it one of the least over-exposed places in Kyoto – such a blessing! It is so refreshing to visit somewhere, and not already have seen it online. For me, this is an unmissable sight in Kyoto.

Nijo Castle is a UNESO World Heritage site, and one of the most tangible reminders of the power that the shoguns (warlords) held over the Emperor in Imperial Japan. The site includes Nijo Castle, Ninomaru Palace and the renowned Ninomaru Palace garden.

Nijo Castle was built in 1603 during the Edo Period, as the home for Ieyasu Tokugawa, one of the most prominent figures in Japanese history. Ieyasu was the first of the Tokugawa shogunate.

He had the castle overlooking the Kyoto Imperial Palace, to remind the emperor of the power that the shogunate had, over the weakening emperor.  Another reminder is the luxurious decoration of the Ninomaru Palace’s interiors, which was in stark contrast to the simple interiors of the Imperial Palace.

The Ninomaru Palace is a series of five buildings, connected by covered walkways. No photos are allowed inside the palace, which is a blessing, as the chambers inside the palace are decorated with stunning screen paintings, which would no doubt cause enormous traffic jams and crowding if everyone was trying to take a photo. Like most sacred or historic buildings in Japan, shoes are removed at the door.

The Ninomaru Palace is famously squeaking floors, which creak under the weight of your footsteps. There is a false legend that these intentional “nightingale floors” were designed to alert residents to intruders, such as ninjas. It is an architectural flaw, and another example of wabi-sabi – beauty in imperfection.

The Ninomaru garden includes a traditional pond, with rocks arranged artfully throughout. We also visited the site of a former keep, which offers views over the grounds, however the main part of the Honmaru Gardens was closed for a private ceremony.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

The Fushimi Inari Taisha is one of the most iconic sites in Kyoto, and is often used as a symbol of Japan. Thousands of vermillion torii gates frame a network of trails that wind up Mt Inari. It is one of the most important shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice.

We visited in the late afternoon. It is located on the outskirts of southern Kyoto, some distance from any other sights we were planning to visit. Arriving late in the afternoon, it was extremely crowded. For the first section of trail, it was comically overcrowded and unpleasant, as large tour groups clogged the path and the views of the gates were obscured by hundreds of selfie sticks.

I’m not sure whether a majority of tourists lose interest after the first section or whether it was because of the setting sun, but eventually, the crowds dwindled and we had the trail nearly to ourselves. By this point, the sun had set, so we decided to turn back, rather than continue up the mountain in the dark.

Given its location on the outskirts of town, if you are short on time in Kyoto I would advise to either prioritise your visit and go first thing in the morning, or save it for another time. It is a beautiful sight, but the overcrowding detracts from the experience, unless you have time to venture higher up into the mountains.

Day 3: Arashiyama, Golden Pavilion & Nishiki Market

We travelled the most on our third and final day in Kyoto, out to Arashiyama and also to Kinkaku-Ji, Kyoto’s famous Golden Pavilion. The trekking was worth it, and straightforward with Kyoto’s excellent public transport.

Day 3 Summary:

• Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
• Tenryu-Ji Temple in Arashiyama
• Kinkaku-Ji, AKA Golden Pavilion
• Lunch at the Nishiki Market
• Evening stroll around Shirawaka Canal
• Dinner at a yuzu-themed restaurant in Pontocho

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

On our third and final full day in Kyoto, we got up early to try and beat the crowds at the famed Arashiyama bamboo forest. I have to admit, we both found it extremely underwhelming. It is definitely a victim of Instagram vs reality! Perhaps it is more awe-inspiring if you’ve never seen bamboo before?

It was already moderately crowded at 7am when we arrived. The path through the bamboo forest is not long, so I’m glad there was much more to Arashiyama than the bamboo forest. We walked along some trails through Kameyama-koen, a park which is home to monkeys – not that we saw any. There is a monkey park nearby, but we didn’t visit. There are some lovely views over Arashiyama’s forest and river from the park.

This is not to say that the trip out to Arashiyama was in vain. The highlight (and perhaps saving grace) of the excursion was the spectacular Tenryu-Ji Temple and gardens, which is up next.

Before we visited the temple, we had a quick snack at the kiosks clustered by the entrance to the bamboo grove. I tried a tanghulu, a popular skewer of candied strawberries and (enormous) candied grapes. Not a healthy breakfast, but insanely delicious. I don’t want to know what was involved in the intense transformation of strawberry and grape into tanghulu, but the result is perfection. 

Tenryu-Ji Temple

Tenryu-Ji is the most important zen temple in Arashiyama, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is ranked first among Kyoto’s five major zen temples.

The temple buildings are simple, and you can enter some of them. The garden is magnificent, and is the highlight of a visit. Tenryu-Ji was established in 1339, but the current buildings were built in the Meiji period, after various fires and earthquakes. 

The garden has survived in its original form, and was created by famous garden designer Muso Soseki, who was Tenryuji’s first head priest. It makes use of “borrowed scenery”, a technique where the views of the surrounding landscapes are intentionally framed by the garden, to create a “second tier of garden.” Magnificent!

Before we left, we stopped for coffee at ReUnion, a coffee cart parked outside a home in the residential backstreets of Arashiyama. They specialise in flavoured coffees, something that I’ve rarely seen (and probably wouldn’t order) in Australia, but was delicious in Japan. I had a popcorn coffee, which was so good!

It took us around 40 minutes to get from Arashiyama to Kinkaku-ji. Both are outside central Kyoto, but Kinkaku-ji is closer to the city. We took a train from Arashiyama, and then took a connecting bus (which was about a 5 minute walk from the train station), to get to Kinkaku-ji. Despite being in what seemed like a totally un-touristed part of town, there were several guides at the bus stop, guiding tourists onto the correct bus.

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)

Kinkakuji, known as Golden Pavilion, is one of the must-see temples in Kyoto, in my opinion. Located on the northern outskirts of Kyoto, it is extremely worthwhile the minor trek, and is well connected to Kyoto via the bus network.

Kinkakuji was built in 1397 as the retirement villa for the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. After his death, according to his will, it become a zen temple of the Rinzai sect. As I mentioned above, it was the inspiration for Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion), which was built by his grandson.

It is nicknamed Golden Pavilion, for the pure gold leaf which illuminates the top two floors of the namesake pavilion within the grounds. Perched on the edge of a beautifully landscaped pond, it is one of the most beautiful sights I’ve seen in Japan. A path around the pond offers visitors several different vantage points of the pavilion, and it seems to get more beautiful from every new vista.

Don’t miss the matcha and vanilla soft serve kiosk, towards the exit of the grounds. Like everything I’ve eaten in Japan, it was the best version of a soft serve I’ve ever tasted.

Nishiki Market

Looking back, I can’t quite believe that we squeezed in a trip to the Nishiki Market after such a big morning, but I guess the time in transit gave us a bit of time to recharge. Plus, we needed lunch!

The Nishiki Market is a large covered food market, and is very similar to the Kuromon Market in Osaka, but for one key difference: walking and eating is not tolerated at Nishiki Market, unlike at Kuromon Market in Osaka. Perhaps this is due to Kyoto’s royal roots as an imperial city – I don’t think it’s a bad rule, given the number of visitors, and the number of skewers available.

We had an excellent lunch here, starting with a meaty tempura prawn skewer at one stall, with standing room only. Next was a famous kobe beef skewer – an eyebrow-raising 4000 yen (40 AUD/28 USD), but a rare occasion to try kobe beef, so close to the source (Kobe is not far from Kyoto and Osaka). We also had some sashimi, gyoza, and more tempura, in a cluster of stalls that had an upstairs seating area. 

Before we left, we collected some more mochi. This included a large, supremely pillowy mochi covering an enormous wedge of mandarin, which we ate on the spot, and may just be the best thing I have ever eaten. I’m still thinking about it, months later. This was not my first mochi, and I wouldn’t say I’m particularly a mochi fan, but this was something else!

Shirakawa Canal & Gion

In the evening, we wandered around the picturesque Shirakawa Canal district, which is a traditional area within Gion. The canal is lined with weeping willows and cherry trees, traditional tea houses and restaurants, and some shops. It’s a beautiful area, and worth a wander.

We wanted to find a casual restaurant for dinner, where we wouldn’t need a reservation. We wandered for a while in vain, and ended up returning to Pontocho – and I am so glad we did! Our dinner was one of the highlight meals of our trip.

Yuzugen

We stumbled upon Yuzugen, a restaurant where yuzu, a citrus popular in Asian cuisine, is the star of the show. Unlike orange, lemon and lime, yuzu is perfect for cooking because it can withstand heat. Yuzu is my new favourite fruit!

The ground floor restaurant seating is along the bar, and we were lucky to get a spot. 

We shared a few starters and a steaming seafood and yuzu hotpot, which was one of the most memorable meals of our trip. We are still talking about it months later, and it’s inspired me to find some hotpot restaurants in Melbourne this winter. 

We left Kyoto early the next morning, as we had a full morning of travel time to reach Miyajima island. We had an amazing time on our first trip to Kyoto, and would happily return to continue exploring this incredible city.

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