4 days in Kyoto / Nara, told via Google Maps reviews (part 3/5, 34 reviews)
I recently went to Japan for an unbelievably excellent 3-week holiday! Here’s the first half of the third location visited, Kyoto (plus Nara), told via 34 Google Maps reviews.
Note: This is a series of posts, with Tokyo Part 1, Takayama Part 2, Kyoto Part 3 (this article) and Part 4, and Tokyo again Part 5.
Day 1 (30th August): Arrive
Our first afternoon in Kyoto, we spent most of it in Nishiki Market, with a dinner reservation we’d booked before any other activity on our trip! A total of 12,949 steps (5.59 miles).
Good Nature Hotel ★★★★✰
A hotel in an excellent location, close to various transport networks to get around Kyoto. Rooms themselves are spacious and well laid out, although the circular layout can mean quite a long walk to your room if on the opposite side to the elevators.
Breakfast has a good array of western and Japanese items, although it can get a bit busy so going early is recommended. I experienced my half-finished drink + food being removed twice before I’d finished (despite having a “table in use” card down) as I went to get refills etc, which was a little annoying.
There are unfortunately no self-service laundry facilities available (except very expensive hotel-provided laundry, 500 yen for a pair of socks!), an inconvenience during longer stays. The TV has internet, Netflix, Prime etc, and air con is controlled via a tablet.
Overall the location makes this a good hotel, with floors dedicated to an expensive organic / natural food store, massages, etc.
Nishiki Market ★★★★★
Definitely a Kyoto highlight. This very long market is full of all kinds of meat, seafood, desserts, drinks, souvenirs, and snacks. Stores are densely packed in, and you’ll see new ones every time you walk through!
It can be very crowded, but it’s the best place to go if you’re after a snack and not sure exactly what. Shop owners don’t try to convince you to come in, letting you take your time and pick which shop to go into.
Maisen-Do ★★★★★
A small shop offering various souvenirs and fans. The helpful staff can engrave your fan with Kanji for a small fee, and the comes in a very attractive gift box, making it the perfect present!
Food court ★★★★★
As with much of Nishiki Market, it’s almost impossible to know exactly which shop you’re ordering from, but luckily this food court has something for everyone! We ate at the large tempura shop by the entrance, getting some additional snacks from further down inside the food court.
Eating space is quite limited (you’ll need to stand at various small table spaces), but this is more than worth it for being able to try lots of different foods all in one place. Some stalls work using a handheld “beeper” when your food is ready, others will hand a pre-prepared item to you directly. We didn’t go too far in, but I think there may be seating available.
Ochanokosaisai ★★★★✰
A quite busy store selling seasoning and snacks. We purchased some very popular spicy rice seasoning, at checkout we spotted photos of it being tried on a Japanese TV show!
KUMONOCHA ★★★★✰
A surprisingly spacious and calm seating area within Nishiki Market, primarily selling very sweet snacks and drinks (we had warabimochi). The food is very aesthetically pleasing, so be aware you’ll pay a premium for this!
Samurai Ninja Museum ★★★✰✰
A mixed experience, the somewhat odd combination of being guided through detailed exhibits as part of a tour meant not quite being able to listen fully, and also not being able to read fully. I’d have preferred looking through in my own time, but understand it’s an interactive experience! Our tour did not include the dress-up experience, so this might be time-dependant.
The tour included background information on ninjas and feudal Japan, sword making, armour, and similar topics. An opportunity was given to hold real and replica swords & spears, as well as a friendly (plastic) shuriken throwing competition within the group of 20 or so. Booking in advance is recommended, we luckily found last minute seats at a desired time.
There’s a small shop at the end, mostly selling things that would not be legal to carry in many countries!
Hikiniku to Come ★★★★★
An excellent experience that is worth the hype! After booking a month in advance and entering after a short queue (make sure you don’t accidentally enter via the side exit!), we had a seat at the round eating area.
3 burgers are provided one at a time to you, along with unlimited rice, an egg for one “course”, and 8+ toppings and seasonings in shared pots in front of you. You can watch the burgers being cooked, and the simple method doesn’t reveal how they manage to taste so juicy!
The atmosphere is friendly and bustling, with chefs shouting hello & goodbye to patrons, and each seat feeling somewhat private whilst still having a great view.
Day 2 (31st August): Kawaramachi
A very busy day, with perhaps some overscheduling of walking-based activities! After the Philosopher’s Path in the morning, the afternoon consisted of an equal parts terrifying and relaxing Kimono tea ceremony, followed by a walking tour of the area. In total, this resulted in 24,382 steps (10.36 miles), quite a lot in the heat!
Ginkaku-ji ★★★★★
A lovely zen temple, featuring a small sample of everything you’d expect in a temple! This includes manicured sand, large mossy areas, waterfalls and natural springs, and viewpoints over the surrounding area. There are plenty of opportunities for photos here, and it’s hard to overstate how peaceful and beautiful it is here.
I highly recommend coming early before it gets too busy, the small entry fee (cash only) is well worth it. There is also a good-sized souvenir shop, water misted seating area, and drinks vending machine by the exit.
Approach to Ginkaku-ji ★★★★✰
A direct uphill path to the Ginkaku-ji temple, full of shops selling typical tourist snacks and souvenirs. Luckily coming here on a Sunday, especially early, results in a mostly empty street!
Philosopher’s Path ★★★★★
A beautiful riverside walk from near Ginkaku-ji all the way down to Eikando and near Nanzen-ji, with plenty of temples, shrines, and viewpoints along the way. The walk is mostly 1 or 2 paving stones wide, with a wider road nearby. It was fairly quiet when we visited on a Sunday, especially the southern half of the walk, with most people only doing the top section.
The walk is shaded, with benches and drinks machines along the way, so definitely worth doing when in Kyoto! Various buses go from central Kyoto to the northern start of the walk, which is clearly signposted.
Hōnenin Temple ★★★★✰
An unusual Buddhist temple, with an approach from the Philosopher’s Path making it hard to even work out where the temple starts and ends! Regardless, the peaceful grounds surrounded by nature are worth a walk through.
Nanzen-ji ★★★★✰
A large and airy reward for completing the Philosopher’s Path, with free scenic gardens and unique aqueduct archways alongside plenty of trees.
An underrated and empty path from here is up on the aqueduct at the south end, then follow the path to the south-west, down to Keage Incline.
Sanmon Gate ★★★★✰
An attractive gate within the Nanzen-ji complex, great for a brief rest from the heat and people-watching down the quiet avenues. It’s possible to pay to climb up the historical steps, we did not.
疏水分線 ★★★★★
This functional aqueduct with a walkway from Nanzen-ji down to Keage incline via an old power station and park is a hidden gem of Kyoto! The path can be entered from Nanzen-ji, and the fast flowing water alongside provides a relaxing air.
Careful with your footing here, since there’s a few loose stones, no handrails, and nobody else around!
Nejirimampo ★★★★✰
A briefly interesting tunnel with an intricate spiralling brick pattern inside. This is primarily a way to get from Keage Sosui Park to Keage Station, and not worth visiting unless on the way.
Keage incline ★★★★✰
Even without cherry blossoms, a fairly satisfying but short walk along old railway sleepers from Keage Sosui Park down to Kyoto City Zoo. The walk features irregular paving stones that can be followed, eventually running under a bridge and emerging on the busy Niomon-dori road.
It’s far better than walking along the road, but not worth visiting unless cherry blossoms are on display. Careful with your footing too, as even by yourself you might need to give up on the paving stones and resort to the gravel.
Kaiten Sushi Onodera ★★★★★
This chain sushi restaurant was a highlight during our Kyoto trip, with a simple ordering process (via a multilingual iPad at the table), fast and easy delivery process (the food zooms along a 2-tier conveyor belt to get to you), and of course tasty yet affordable sushi.
Hot green tea can be self-served at the table, with each sushi item clearly being high quality. Note that the restaurant is sometimes too busy in the evening, and you may find it no longer accepting any guests.
Tea Ceremony Maikoya ★★★★★
A varied experience, with the two parts of the experience (kimono & tea) feeling like totally different processes! Upon entering, you will be in a small room with other people in your group (for us, all couples). There then follows a fairly chaotic changing room process (for men at least, women go across the road) where your socks and shoes are taken off and put in a bag, your valuables in another smaller bag, then you enter the main changing room.
In this room you’ll undress and be provided an undershirt and undertrousers, and a professional will help you pick and fit a kimono. This is necessarily a fairly intimate experience, and it all happens in quite a whirlwind of activity! Once dressed, you’ll need to find sandals that fit (my UK 11 was 3XL!), and awkwardly wait in a room next to the initial entrance room, trying not to make eye contact with the guests dressed in normal clothes. It’s hard to overstate just how chaotic and confusing this process is, occasionally not quite being sure how many items of clothing you’re meant to have on.
Finally (if you’re in a couple) your partner will appear from the other building, and you can take some photos outside in the garden. When everyone is ready, you’ll enter the tea ceremony, a completely different atmosphere that converted my rating from a 3 into a 5.
This ceremony contains your group (around 12 people, more than I expected) and features a detailed explanation of all the green tea paraphernalia involved, the stages of the ceremony, the meaning behind various related zen concepts, and much more. This was deeply informative, from something as simple as how to sit, to small zen concepts that genuinely changed my mindset.
After these explanations, you will make your own green tea, although the proper whisking technique was beyond me and I needed help! Regardless, the final result was absolutely excellent, and convinced us to buy green tea when we returned home. There are also a couple of small sweet treats included. Overall the ceremony took around 20 minutes (far less than the real multi-hour one!), and was a completely unique experience.
Once finished, there is another opportunity for photos, and an even more chaotic process of changing back into day clothes! Something must have gone wrong for our group, as we were somehow all split up and abandoned. During this, me and another guy buddied up to figure it out together, since there was no guidance on where to go or when to change! We eventually made it out with only minor confusion (what do we do with these socks..?), something of a relief!
Overall it was a truly unique experience, and so long as you can handle a little confusion at the start and end, is well worth the time and cost.
Gion Night Walking Tour ★★★★★
This tour provides a great opportunity to explore the Gion district, and see the major landmarks in an efficient route. Our guide (Sho) was upbeat and informative, answering questions throughout and ensuring everyone in our ~8 person group was always able to see and hear anything relevant.
We saw a Geisha (well, the head of one getting into a taxi!) during our night tour, and thankfully Sho had already explained the importance of treating them with respect and space so none of the attendees did anything rude. As well as Geisha information (including the presence of the nearby Geisha museum with actual show), the guide also provided historical and religious context on all the places visited.
This included the opportunity to partake in traditional praying techniques, observe locals doing them, and overall understand a lot more about the local area. I’d definitely recommend going after sunset to avoid the crowds and embrace the otherworldly vibe.
Make sure to wear comfortable shoes, there’s quite a few steps!
Day 3 (1st September): Arashiyama
A busy day, featuring a scenic train, a 2-hour river rapids ride, and a riverside meal! A total of 13,279 steps (5.89 miles).
Sagano Scenic Railway ★★★★★
The bumpiest and noisiest train ride I’ve ever been on! It’s the best way of getting from Arashiyama to Kameoka (for the boat back!), but it’s not necessarily worth doing by itself otherwise. Make sure you book a seat on the RIGHT (as you travel to Kameoka), facing the direction of travel, as this will provide the best views. The first 20% will be out the left window, but after that the right is far better!
After waiting for your train in the spacious and clearly signposted station, you’ll be instructed to stand by your train carriage, and make your way to your seat. These are quite small (and very hard!) seats, so you might consider buying an extra seat for any bags / extra space. The train will likely be full (some people join at later stations), so make sure you’re sitting in the correct seat.
The train conductor was having a great time, singing along to himself, providing a commentary (almost entirely in Japanese), and helping provide an upbeat atmosphere despite the cramped conditions. Everyone on the train was a tourist, and walking towards the station from Randen-Saga you’ll clearly be able to see your fellow passengers!
Once you get to Kameoka you’ll be funnelled out of the station, and whilst there are signposts for a train, you definitely want the free & regular bus to the boat ride area (accessed via the underpass). These are scheduled around the train rides, and have plenty of capacity.
Hozugawa River Boat ★★★★★
A once in a lifetime experience, the absolute best thing we did in Kyoto!
This 2-hour trip down the Hozugawa river has something for everyone, with the ride varying between long, calm sections of peaceful water and surprisingly violent but brief rapids. These are always warned about in advance, and there’s never much risk, but it can be very disconcerting hearing rocks bumping against the bottom of the boat and having water splashing over the side.
You’re unlikely to get too wet, but if you’re on the outside there’s some light splashing (playfully assisted by the oarsmen!), all quickly drying during the summer. The 3 boatmen we had were genuinely funny and witty throughout, mixing clearly routine jokes with improvised ones based on guests answers. Their constant rowing and steering for 2 hours in melting heat, combined with making conversation and showing landmarks throughout, was truly unbelievable!
Throughout the trip, you’ll see lots of landmarks, beautiful vistas, and we even saw a large group of monkeys, some turtles, frogs, herons, and even rafts with more intrepid explorers! There’s a very endearing tradition of Sagano Scenic Train passengers, Boat Ride passengers, and people rafting to all wave hello to each other along the way, with a positive atmosphere throughout.
There’s an opportunity towards the end to even take photos during a quiet patch, with the boatmen taking photos on your phones. Surprisingly, towards the end a food boat pulls alongside, offering freshly cooked food alongside drinks (including beer!) for cash-only purchase. This is a great end to a truly unique experience, that HAS to be part of any Kyoto trip.
As a tip, when you get off the bus from the Sagano Scenic Train, there’s a consistent flood of people up to the boat station. There’s not really any need to rush, with regular boats. You’ll end up in a queue where staff will take your basic information (such as prebooking) to speed up the final ticket exchange process. After waiting a few minutes, your boat will arrive, and you’ll be fitted with lifejackets and cram yourselves into the small boats.
Overall it felt exciting yet safe, with both children and the elderly included in our boat, and a unique way of viewing the area.
Original review (25 photos, 2 videos)
Arashiyama Itsukichaya ★★★★✰
Pre-booking is required here, weeks in advance, especially for the river view. This quite expensive (for Kyoto) cash-only restaurant was undoubtedly good food (we attended on the first day of a new menu), however the atmosphere was not great.
We were initially greeted with an assumption that we hadn’t booked, but once the prebook was confirmed, we took our seat and received our drinks. 5 minutes later, we were asked to move over despite being fully settled, into a slightly worse seat. This was evidently to make space for a group, but still a disruptive experience. This (American) group proceeded to be quite noisy with relentless talking and walk around lots, forcing us to essentially stop our conversation due to the volume. This obviously isn’t the restaurant’s fault, but they could have intervened.
The food itself was good, although perhaps not excellent enough to necessarily justify the price, especially as I finished all of it! For a meal like this, I would expect to be full afterwards.
It’s also worth noting the restaurant offers a free gift in exchange for reviews (I wrote this afterwards instead), and there is an expensive no-show fee. The entrance is down the side of another restaurant serving more casual street food.
Enman Rice Cake ★★★★★
Came here for a quick matcha ice cream on a very hot day, it was good! There’s a shaded area outside with a bin, nice and quiet away from the busy main road.
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest ★★★★✰
A uniquely towering area of bamboo, although always completely full of tourists trying to take selfies. Worth a quick walk through if nearby!
CoCoNe Laundromat ★★★★★
Very convenient as a tourist, this 2nd floor laundromat just requires asking the receptionist for a gate key then you can access the washing area. The 4 washing machines automatically add detergent, and the 8 drying machines do a good job, requiring 40 minutes (500 yen) to dry a full load. There is a coin exchange machine next to the machines, and all machines etc have English available.
I visited here twice, once it was entirely empty the entire time, the other time it was completely full, so it definitely varies! There’s some manga and notebooks around, and a drinks vending machine, but you’re given a pass so you might as well leave and do something else whilst you wait.
Menya Yukou ★★★★★
This cosy ramen place is open very late at night, and serves simple cheap comfort food. There’s often a short queue outside, with a menu provided so you can order before entering. The pork is great, and it’s a very introvert-friendly restaurant with all guests just eating their meals quietly.
Day 4 (2nd September): Nara
A day trip to Nara! Quite a bit of train travel, so only 15,023 steps (6.52 miles).
Nara Park ★★★★★
A massive park with multiple high quality temples and museums, plus of course the hundreds of tame deer! The deer are very friendly, bordering on aggressive, just remember to open your hands if threatened so they can see you have no food for them.
Throughout the area you’ll get used to seeing deer standing guard near shops, hanging out in waterways, and harassing any tourists who reveal they have crackers. They have no fear of humans, with even the young deer happily wandering over.
Tōdai-ji ★★★★★
This stunningly large Buddha statue with a dedicated building is worth the entry fee, with plenty of options for blessings and related information elsewhere inside.
Kōfuku-ji ★★★★✰
A complex of 3 enterable buildings with a shared ticket: Western hall, Central hall, and the clear highlight: the treasure hall. I’d recommend just buying tickets to the treasure hall, unless you’re particularly interested in more niche Buddhist statues there is limited value in the two halls.
Kōfuku-ji Treasure Museum ★★★★★
No photos are allowed within, hence the lack of any here! This rule (along with no phones / technology, no loud talking, etc) is strictly enforced by many guards inside, providing an almost silent environment to appreciate the many statues inside.
Unfortunately as a non-local, an inability to speak Japanese meant around half of the exhibits were completely unexplained, and the other half had a very simple one-line description, leaving unclear what I was looking at. Regardless, the statues were very imposing, and the quiet cool atmosphere was much appreciated during a very hot day.
Looking around will take around 15-25 minutes, and there is a small gift shop afterwards selling typical souvenirs.
Miyama ★★★★★
This restaurant’s convenient location means there’s typically a small queue out front at lunchtime, however it’s definitely worth the wait!
Very large portions are selected from the menu whilst you wait inside, with even a small (e.g. meal no. 2) easily being enough to fill an adult. These come with instructions for eating, helpful due to the number of different bowls involved! The food is clearly high quality, and there’s a lively but private atmosphere inside, with a mixture of adults, families, couples, locals, and tourists.
Y’s Burger ★★★★★
We came here for an easy comfort dinner, and were very impressed by the cream cheese wagyu burger! A unique combination of flavours, it definitely deserves more attention. The combos are good value, with a big burger, thick fries, and a drink for around 1500 yen, a good size for dinner.
There’s a table outside we sat at for people-watching, before realising there’s actually a much more comfortable upstairs dining area that we should have used, oops. Staff were friendly, and the food arrived quickly.
Conclusion
We loved Kyoto! The mixture of shrines, temples, natural rivers and forests, animals, busy malls, and excellent food meant we always had varied and full days. It felt much more varied than Tokyo, with the outskirts having a completely different feel to the centre just a short walk away. Next up, another 4 days of Kyoto, with just as much variety…
Nara was also enjoyable, although a day felt like enough to experience most of the park’s contents. Another day or two could easily be spent within the city proper, but there’s so many other unique places to go within Kyoto nearby that I’m happy with our decision.
Overall the Hozugawa river boat ride was easily the highlight, although the many many many excellent meals and snacks come a close joint second!