My 60yr old mother and I are traveling to Japan next week and spending 2 nights in Kyoto. We want to see/do the following on our trip:

1) Fushimi Inari
2) Arashiyama (bamboo paths etc)
3) Golden Pavilion
4) Nijo Castle
5) Geisha makeover

We will be staying 2 nights in a ryokan in Gion area. Check-in is still at 3pm, but we can store our luggage at the ryokan. What time do you suggest we arrive from/depart for Tokyo to make the most of our trip. What is the best way to plan our itinerary so we can see/do the above? Is this feasible? Are we rushing?


I guess we can take taxis around central Kyoto - but for Arashiyama, Fushimi Inari is it still practical to take a taxi ?

Please help - leaving soon!!

Hi Daisy 88,
There are certainly people who may respond that have a lot more knowledge than I do about the areas you want to see, but that sounds like some big days.

we took the shinkansen train from Tokyo to Kyoto, it is about 2 hours. Then you get to your hotel and check in, that is already 3 hours of your day. The Nijo castle is beautiful, you could do a quick walk around and move on to the next place, but I think you would feel rushed. I am sorry I don't know the first 2 places you are trying to visit, we mostly stayed on the east side of Kyoto and we took buses and walked.

I guess your plan is doable but I would put your least important visit for last in case you want to just slow down and wander a bit.

Just my thoughts,we just returned 2 days ago.

You will have a lovely time, no matter what, it was enchanting.

Thanks Kent_and_debra!

How cold was Tokyo and Kyoto around this time? We are leaving soon, we live in Asia where the weather is around 30C normally (25C in Dec-Jan).
Want to be sure we are dressed warmly without packing too much!

Hi

Maybe you can find some useful information in my trip report with pictures http://gardkarlsen.com/japan_kyoto.htm . We rented a bike for a day and that was a great way to see the city

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

You are pushing it a bit with your itinerary, as your sights are widely scattered and some of your activities (e.g. Geisha makeover) would take around 4-5 hours.
Visits to Arashiyama and Fushimi would require about half a day each. Golden Pavillion and Nijo Castle about 3 hours each including travel from Gion. That would leave little time to squeeze in makeover - you must book in advance and it's a daytime activity as you'd want to take pictures outside. Another night in Kyoto would be better.
As for winter temperatures, Kyoto is definitely colder of the two, and in early January you can expect cold, damp weather with occasional snow/sleet and frost. Temperatures perhaps around 5C during the day, dipping below freezing at night. Coming from the tropics, you will really feel the chill! Make sure you are well wrapped up as insulation and heating in ryokans aren't the greatest. I'd take a woolen jumper, lined coat, thick socks plus scarf and gloves. You can easily buy suitable clothes in Japan, though the range is limited for bigger sizes.
In Tokyo, it's noticeably drier so the chill doesn't feel so bad. Dress similarly to Kyoto, but modern indoor areas are well heated (sometimes too much).

Hi, daisy88 -

Whether you can see all these places - and they are wonderful! - depends on your preferred pace.

One thing you might keep in mind is that Fushimi Inari is open 24/7, so you might be able to see it after other places have closed. I really enjoyed an hour there right around sunset.

I took trains and subways to most of these locations, so I can't comment on the availability of taxis.

Hope that helps!

daisy,

My BF and I went to all of the places you list, but did not do the Geisha makeover so I can't speak to that. We were in Japan in August '06, so the mosquitoes were TERRIBLE at both Fushimi Inari and in the bamboo grove in Arashiyama. Consequently, we cut our time shorter in each, but I think the real enjoyment of each place would be to have time to leisurely wander, appreciate and contemplate. I'm still glad we went, even for the short time as they were two of my favorite places in Kyoto.

Nijo Castle and Golden Pavilion were both beautiful. Golden Pavilion CAN be an easy "walk through", so not terribly time consuming. Nijo Castle will take a little bit longer because it's over a larger area. Again, it certainly would be possible to see these without spending too much time, but the greater enjoyment would probably be in appreciating them in leisure.

Fushimi Inari is VERY easy to get to by train (easy subway ride from Gion to the Kyoto train station), however, the other locations would probably be best by taxi. There is an unmanned train station in Arashiyama, but we didn't look into getting there by train since we were going to Arashiyama from Ryoan-ji. We took buses quite a bit, but with limited time, you might want to use taxis instead.

As far as if you can do all of this within two days (do you have 2 or 3 days?), I think it's certainly possible to do your first 4 locations. I would suggest going directly to Fushimi Inari when you first arrive in Kyoto since, as I said, it's a very easy (and quick) train ride from Kyoto Station. Just a note that although it would be possible to visit Fushimi later in a day, it would also begin to get colder with sunset. If you have luggage, you could store them in lockers at the train station when you first arrive and pick them back up again before heading to Gion to check into your ryokan. Unless you have something you want to do in Tokyo in the morning, I would suggest leaving for Kyoto early so that you can have the time to see the sites you want to see. Depending on how early you arrive in Kyoto and how long you spend at Fushimi Inari, you may have time to fit in the Golden Pavilion that first day.

Regarding Arashiyama, the amount of time required is going to depend on what you want to do there besides the bamboo grove. Do you plan to go to the monkey park?

Sorry for all my disjointed rambling. I hope I've been helpful. One last note, if you're able to fit them in, I would highly recommend visiting Sanjusangendo and Kiyomizu dera. Those two along with Fushimi Inari and Arashiyama were my favorite places in Kyoto.

jlaughs - Thanks for the helpful feedback! That's right I also have to see Kiyomizu dera!

This is our tentative sked:

Sunday
11am arrive Kyoto - lunch at the station, store luggage
12noon go to Fushimi Inari
3pm back to Kyoto - check in ryokan
4pm Golden Pavilion
7pm back at ryokan for kaiseki dinner

monday
10am Arashiyama
1pm Kiyomizu dera
3pm Nijo castle
5pm walk around Gion
7pm back at ryokan for kaiseki dinner
9pm walk around pontocho street

tues
10am geisha makeover
12noon check out of ryokan - leave luggage there
1-3pm walk around gion/higashiyama?
4pm train back to tokyo

Does this sound ok? I know it feels a bit rushed but we only have 2.5 days in Kyoto and I want to see those 4 sights.

Any suggestion were to spend the last remaining hours in Kyoto?

Really appreciate your feedback guys


Tentative itinerary
Sunday
11am arrive Kyoto - go to Arashiyama (how far is this by bus or train?)
3pm go back to kyoto - check in
walk around Gion area
7pm kaiseki dinner at Tamahan

Monday
10am Nijo Castle
11am Kinkakuji (is this really a must see considering we are short on time?)
12noon lunch (what area is most convenient?)
2pm fushimi inari
*** how much time here? are there lots of other sights? i like to take photos but my mother might not be up for a hike
730pm kaiseki dinner at Tamahan ryokan

Tues
- have to check out by noon
- geisha makeover?
- lunch at Nishiki market?
- can we leave Kyoto 3pm?

Does this look ok? Would really appreciate your help. Just so overwhelmed since we only have 2 days in Kyoto and so much wonderful sights!

Hi, daisy88 -

You might want to look at a map of Kyoto - I think your plans call for moving around more than necessary. For example, Kiyomizudera is reasonably close to Fushimi Inari and, as I recall, can be reached by the same train lines. You could spend hours and hours at Fushimi Inari if you want, but an hour or so would probably give you a memorable experience. And if your only reason for going to Arashiyama is to see the bamboo forests, you might consider going instead to Kodaiji, which is not too far from Kiyomizudera. It has a very small bamboo stand - not nearly as impressive as the one in Arashiyama, but closer to other things you plan to see. Also, if all you want to do in Arashiyama is walk the bamboo paths, a few hours (counting transportation) is enough, but if you want to see other things there, it might be cutting it close.

I would give Nijo-jo at least an hour, not counting time to get there or to get anywhere from there. Whether Kinkakuji is a "must-see" or not depends on you. I found it absolutely beautiful, and would have hated to have missed it. (Of course I felt that way about much of what I saw in Kyoto.)

Have you looked at japan-guide.com for more information about these places? You might find it informative.

Hope this helps!

you might want to check with your ryokan about having your meals so late. They usually require you to be there at the ryokan by 5:30 at the latest in order to be served a meal that evening

Aloha!

daisy,

WARNING - This is long. Hope it helps.

My initial reaction to your two tentative schedules was to go with the first one (with a couple of modifications because, as kja said, some of your itinerary has you going back and forth across Kyoto). In giving it a little bit more thought though, I think I would suggest the following instead:


SUNDAY
11am arrive Kyoto

NIJO CASTLE - approx 6 mins via JR Sagano Line (AKA JR Sanin Main Line) to Nijo Station, 180 yen
(I’m not sure how far the castle is from the station. You may need to take a short taxi ride)

ARASHIYAMA – approx 10 mins via JR Sagano Line (AKA JR Sanin Main Line) to Saga-Arashiyama Station*
*I would suggest double-checking this as I found conflicting Information on different websites (maybe another Fodorite knows?). According to the JR Sagano line list of stations, it lists both of the above stations. But, when I double-checked the route using Hyperdia, it gave a much more
roundabout (and longer) route from Nijo to Arashiyama and did not even list the above route as a possibility.

Back to Kyoto Station - check in

Will probably have time to walk around Gion/Pontocho (maybe see a geisha or maiko?) for a bit before your dinner.

7pm kaiseki dinner at Tamahan
If you’re not adverse to going out again after your dinner, you could walk around Gion at night. The main street (Shijo-dori?) is very busy and alive at night. For some reason, we ended up there almost every day and night we were in Kyoto.


MONDAY
I don’t know how much walking your mother is able to do. This is what we did, as recommended by our ryokan (they gave us a map), but it does entail a little bit of walking. We walked from our ryokan to Kiyomuzu-dera, but I’m recommending the opposite direction so that you can walk more downhill/stairs rather than up.

SANJUSANGENDO (opens at 9am if you want an earlier start) - Take a taxi or bus.

KIYOMIZU-DERA - From Sanjusangendo, walk to Kiyomizu-dera (about 15-20 mins). If your mother isn’t up for a LOT of walking, then take a taxi from Sanjusangendo to Kiyomizu or skip Sanjusangendo and go directly to Kiyomuzu-dera from your ryokan. (Kiyomizu-dera opens at 6 am if you want an earlier start again, but shops along the walk up to the temple may not be open this early).

HIGASHIYAMA "WALK" - After leaving Kiyomizu-dera, walk down narrow paths (Sannei-zaka) past another temple (can’t remember the name off-hand), small shops and restaurants. You’ll also go through Maruyama Park, which is behind Yasaka Shrine, and out to Gion. This walk is, I believe, what you’re looking for when you say “walk around gion/higashiyama” (well, not Gion, but certainly Higashiyama). This walk is more what I imagined “old” Japan to be like than the city that Kyoto is.

Depending on how fast you walk, how long you linger, whether you include Sanjusangendo or not, you might have time for your geisha makeover (about 2 hours?) when you return to Gion before your dinner.

730pm kaiseki dinner at Tamahan ryokan


TUESDAY

Kinkakuji (opens at 9am)
(is this really a must see considering we are short on time?)
Others will say yes, but I would say that it’s okay to miss if you’re got very limited time. I’m glad I saw it and it is very beautiful (I’ve got great pictures), but it wasn’t as interesting to me as other places we went. Maybe it’s because I’ve been to Thailand which has a LOT of flashy ornamentation in their structures (Wat Phra Keow, for example) and we went to plenty of other beautiful and tranquil park-like settings in Japan.

Having said that, I think you could go to Kinkaku-ji this morning or maybe spend some time at Nishiki Market instead. You might be able to fit them both in if you get to Kinkakuji early and don’t take too long (1-1.5 hrs). This time could also be used for your geisha makeover if you didn’t already do it.

Store your luggage at Kyoto Station.

FUSHIMI INARI – approx 5 mins via JR Nara Line to Inari Station.

As kja said, I also think you could spend an hour here and have a memorable experience. We spent about an hour (maybe less) because of all the mosquitoes and I still really enjoyed it (minus the mosquitoes, of course). But, I’d like to go back again someday and be able to spend more time, so if you could spend a bit longer, I think you might be happier.

Maybe you could plan for 2.5-3 hours at Fushimi-Inari. If you’re ready to leave after an hour, you could go back and explore Kyoto Station, which is an adventure in and of itself, before your ride back to Tokyo.

For some reason, my post left off my last line, which was:

Have a great time!! I want to go back now!

kja, hawaiian traveller, jlaughs - thanks for the very helpful feedback. so excited for my trip but also stressed since I dont want to keep running around town getting lost dragging my poor mother (although sometimes that's when you find those hidden gems!).

Thanks again!

Don't stress. Even if you don't get to do everything you'd like to do, you'll still end up having a great time. We ended up cutting big chunks out of our itinerary while we were there based on our energy level, timing, etc., but I'm more thrilled with everything we did and saw than disappointed over what we skipped. Besides, it just gives me a reason to go back again!

Have a great time!