Duration of Stay: 3 Days
Adventure
Stroll through Tenryu-ji
Just walking through the Arashiyama district and into Tenryu-ji, we immediately noticed the incredible traditional Japanese culture everywhere around us. Now registered as a world heritage site, Tenryu-ji has the important history, Buddhist architecture, and beautiful landscapes surrounded by water and the Arashiyama forests coming up next…
Walk in the midst of the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
Conveniently right outside of the Tenryu-ji garden exit, you can enter into an amazing forest of towering bamboo trees. If you have seen some of your other friends’ social media posts on Japan, they most likely have a post of this grove so you know this is worth the visit. Stunning and graceful.
Enjoy the beautiful scenery crossing Togetsu-kyo Bridge
In the same Arashiyama district, we crossed the bridge, and just gazed at the serene waters rushing down beneath as we sit next to the river and ate green tea ice cream. So peaceful and so happy 🙂
Visit the Kyoto International Manga Museum
We spent one of our free rainy afternoons in this museum. Even if you aren’t an anime or manga fan, it is such an important aspect of modern Japanese culture so it’s worth the visit. And if you are, you would LOVE this place. On every floor, there will be shelves of manga books and special artist exhibits. And in the main exhibition, you get to learn about the history, industry, and worldwide influence that stem from these comics in Japan.
Visit the Kiyomizudera and Otowa Waterfall
Another world heritage site, Kiyomizu is a beautiful temple towering above the city. As you walk up the historic streets of the Higashiyama District to reach the temple, you can be surrounded by wooden shops that sell traditional sweets and crafts (and give out a lot of delicious samples 😉). My favorite is this green tea mochi…bought 3 boxes just for myself.
Anyways, back to Kiyomizu, the highlight of the temple is the Otowa Waterfall where you get to pick one of three streams of water coming down to drink from. They are respectively for long life, success at school, and happy love life (but you shouldn’t drink from all 3 streams!).
Coming to this temple and walking along in this graceful district was almost transcendental…as if I was transported years and years ago in ancient Japan.
When you have ventured through the Higashiyama District, Gion District is another great place nearby to explore, where we ate Kobe beef and experienced a green tea ceremony.
Squeeze into the Pontocho Alley
Right along the Kamogawa River, there is a line of many restaurants and bars in this narrow street. We went into an indoor okonomiyaki restaurant, but I would definitely go back to try some of the restaurants with outdoor riverside seating at night–it sounds perfect.
Hike up the Fushimi Inari-Taisha
Yes. The classic orange gates. Just a 7-minute train ride from Kyoto station, the Fushimi Inari shrine is famous for its many many many orange gates (torii) towering up a mountain trail. As I was hiking up the trail, I wondered what the orange stood for, and apparently it acts as a blockage or obstruction to magical powers and evil spirits.
The hike to the very top takes about 2-3 hours, but we took that amount of time just to reach the middle at the Yotsutsuji intersection because we spent so much time taking pictures 😂. Apparently, this where most people stopped, so we stopped too (and because you would honestly think we just came out of a steaming shower with the amount of sweat on our bodies).
Thank you Shinto God of Rice for allowing us to visit this magical place!
Things I Wanna Do Next Time I come
Though Tokyo and its bustling city life was very fun, I personally am a bigger fan of Kyoto because just being surrounded by the history, nature, and its tranquility was so unique to me. I would definitely want to come back again and spend more days in Kyoto (and hopefully next time Osaka too!) There are still so many traditional experiences I want to try like wearing a kimono, going to a matsuri (festival), meeting a geisha, and…
- Walk through the Gion District more, since we just passed by for lunch
- Visit the Kinkakuji
- Explore the Nijo Castle
- Play with monkeys at Iwatayama Monkey Park
- Visit the To-ji area
Food
Takoyaki & Green Tea Ice Cream around Arashiyama District
If you saw this ice cream again and again walking around in Arashiyama, you would be tempted to get it too so treat yourself 🙂
Sushi at Sushi Naritaya
Crazy that this was our first sushi meal in Japan–simply because there are sooooo many other food to try. But in this quiet corner of Arashiyama, this is an incredible sushi place. Though it may be on the pricey side, the fish was fatty and fresh and melted in your mouth, and the chefs were so kind!
Curry at Higashiyama District
There were many restaurants on the street right outside of Kiyomizu-dera. Because we wanted something cheap and quick before our next kobe beef meal (and we were drooling looking at the plastic food displays), we decided to go into this chill place, sat traditionally on cushions on the floor, and ate donburi, soba, and curry katsu. YUM.
Kobe and Wagyu Beef at Itoh Dining
We just HAD to try Kobe beef while we were in Japan, so we found the most affordable place in the area. By “affordable”, it’s still pretty pricey but I would say definitely worth the experience. We split a kobe and wagyu lunch set (lunch is cheaper than dinner) between the four of us (pretty little food so yes we would not have been full if we didn’t just have a meal before). There is a reason why Kobe beef is THE Kobe beef. It just melts in your mouth…so tender so soft so good. It doesn’t hurt that you’re sitting next to a beautiful view of the Gion District either 😍
Snack at Nishiki Market
In this very long street of shops and restaurants, you’ll find everything from fresh seafood to traditional Japanese snacks, and from oyster okonomiyaki to soju tasting. When you exit the Nishiki Market, you think it’s over but you immediately enter another street of many more shops to buy clothes, cosmetics, and much more.
Okonomiyaki at Yasube
This savory Japanese pancake is a must-try in Japan. Here at Yasube, they make it with the toppings and protein (definitely recommend oyster) you want, place it in front of you on a grill at your table, and then you get to put green onions, mayonnaise, hot sauce, and so many other toppings to your liking.
Yakitori at Torikizoku
If you read my Tokyo post, I wasn’t lying that it wasn’t the last time I would talk about yakitori because I LOVE IT. Torikizoku is a popular chain restaurant that sell cheap and delicious yakitori. They serve various different types of chicken, pork, beef in salty and barbecue flavors. There were also alcohol options and delicious sides of veggies for the perfect meal.
Culture
So Many Traditions
Coming to Kyoto is exactly what I imagined so many aspects of Japanese culture and experiences would look like. Architecture. Mentality. History. Ceremony. Antiques. Lifestyle. Attire. Everything! Kyoto is a very popular destination even for Japanese locals to come and vacation to escape the modern city and experience the tranquility and purity this time-honored city has to offer, and also a city I would never forget.
Traditional Tea Ceremony
Japanese tea ceremony is a classic experience that involves preparing and presenting matcha green tea in a disciplined ritual. Different tea schools may teach different variations of the ritual, so there will be different movements, rules, etc. during the ceremony. It was incredible for us to attend one and learn the many details and components. Having freshly prepared tea and snacks were a definite plus as well! Thank you Mari for showing us the ropes 🙂
Kimonos and Yukatas
Right when we arrived in Kyoto, we saw many women and men dressed in traditional yukatas–some even with professionally done hair and makeup! Seeing all the traditional clothing with various patterns and colors were so beautiful. Turns out, there are many kimono and yukata rental places throughout Kyoto–which we unfortunately didn’t have enough time to do, but this is definitely the first thing on my list of to-dos when I’m back!
Scenic Natural Beauty
Probably just looking at the pictures, you can tell that Kyoto has some incredible nature and outdoor experiences. Surrounded by water and mountains, Kyoto shows the respect Japanese have for their harmonious relationship with nature. And coming here as a visitor, I felt one with nature and left all my worries behind.
Little Helpful Details
- Currency: Yen
- Tipping: No tipping, but places may have service fees added to your bill
- Electric Outlets: Same outlets for ones in USA
- Currency Exchange: Everywhere only took cash, so bring USD to exchange for some cash in Japan because it has better rates than in the US
- Language and Transportation: Read what I wrote in the Tokyo post
- Fun fact: We saw many houses with lines of water bottles right outside. We thought it was some ritual to honor the water gods…but turns out it’s a way to stop cats from peeing because apparently they get scared by their own reflection through the bottles? Someone please tell me whether this works 😂
- Another shout out to my favorite ice-cream-loving girl squad:
FACs of Life 