3 days in Kyoto
 

I will be spending three days in Kyoto on the end of a month-long trip in northern Japan. I would like some advice on tour guides and restaurants. Thanks

On my visits to the city, I found this website to be the most useful in terms of planning. https://www.insidekyoto.com

That’s very helpful, crellston! We’ll be there in November so this is great!

A few places I enjoyed:

Shunsai Imari for Japanese breakfast
Mr. Maurice in the Ace Hotel for nicely prepared western breakfast
Omen for fresh udon, the Honten (main store) is up near Ginkakuji and the Philosopher’s path, another branch just off Pontocho.
Owariya, fresh soba, their honten is in a nice older building.
Dai Ichi ramen, near Kyoto Station with a perpetual line.
Hachidaime Gihey, known for their high quality rice.
Katsukura for tonkatsu (pork cutlets).

My favorite in Kyoto is obanzai cooking, one of the famous Kyo-ryori styles. There is Kaiseki (high end), Shojin (vegetarian monk’s fare) and obanzai (home cooking). All follow the Kyo-ryori precepts of using the freshest seasonal ingredients, particularly Kyoto grown regional vegetables. For these, though others can be found all over the city:
Manzara Honten in Gion.
Menami
En Boca, wood fired pizza for a change up which I’m including as it follows the Kyo-ryori concept of using the freshest seasonal ingredients.

There are many great places to eat in Kyoto, with so many to choose from at every price point it’s hard to go wrong. A mediocre place just wouldn’t survive long.

Forgot to mention the obanzai places I listed are used to serving foreign guests with some English menus. Many smaller obanzai restaurants cater to locals and the staff speak little to no English which can be challenging for non Japanese speaking guests to navigate the offerings.