Hi,

I will be travelling from Nagoya to Kyoto for an overnight excursion (arriving around 9-10am on 30th and leaving say 7pm on 31st August). Could someone familiar with Kyoto suggest an itinerary for me? I know this sounds as though I am too lazy to do my own research, but the fact is, I have and I feel overwhelmed trying to squeeze in all the sights within that short time (and I know it's gonna be hot and humid too). Also, I haven't yet figured out which sights are within walking distance to which or how to avoid excessive backtracking in routes etc. My friend and I hope to walk, take the subway or bus. A couple of taxi rides are ok.

I'm interested in:
selected temples
scenic trails/gardens
not-to-be-missed Kyoto sights
unique shopping streets (as opposed to departmental stores)
food markets/flea markets
good photo ops
night-time or evening places to go
reasonable eats

I'd be arriving on the Shinkansen from Nagoya.

Thanks very very much!

Hi-

I brought the "Osaka to Nara" post up for you. Go to it and read down to my posts "CWN" on our days in Kyoto. I highly recommend you print out the JNTO Kyoto Walks- they are very detail and easy to do in 1/2 day sections- especially the one called "Along the Old Canal" and "Higashiyama Area". These two are about the best for seeing some of the best of Kyoto on foot.

Appreciated!

Diane Durston's book, "Kyoto: Seven Paths to the Heart of the City," lists several excellent walking itineraries. I especially enjoyed the walk from the Kiyomizu temple to Gion, and I'd recommend it to anyone going to Kyoto.

Not sure if I can find the book in a local library but I'll give it a go. Thanks!

Does anyone else have other recommendations to chip in? If I only want to hit 2 temples/castles/shrines, which should this be? What exactly is the Philosopher's Walk?

The philosophers' walk is a walk along the canal which has side paths to various temples along the way, also has various shops - takes you between 45 - 1 hour if you don't stop. It is well worth with.. well at least my husband and I found it so...

If you're only going to see 2 I'd start at Kiyomizu-dera then walk the Philosophers Path up to Ginkakuji. Should you wind up with an extra couple of hours --Fushimi Inari shrine. Love that place.

Bonjour JannaG,

One thing you don't say is where you're going to stayin Kyoto. If possible, try to stay in the center (Nakagyo-ku), close to the square defined by Oike-dori on the North (dori = street), Shijo (South), Karasuma (West, the avenue going North straight from the station) and Gion (East). This will allow you to cover quite a lot of ground on foot.

There won't be any fleamarket on the two days you'll be there,

The Kyoto Visitor's Guide gives a calendar of events and a list of gardens, some less touristed than others (see here http://www.kyotoguide.com/index/index.html ) - pick a paper copy once there, good maps and lots of infos on shopping etc.

- Nishiki food market connects with the covered Teramachi street, and Sanjo street gallery. The whole area is full of trad shops and restaurants.

- stroll along Takase canal from Gion up North (prestigious restaurants and neighborhood) or South (prestigious restaurants, geishas or maiko strolling especially at dusk, then nice quiet neighborhood down Gojo street). It is safe at night.

- Craft Gallery not far from Gion in Shijo avenue (not to be confused with Handicraft gallery near Heian Jingu - rather a tourist trap).

- All of Shijo for traditional and less traditional shopping.

- above Shijo and under Sanjo Keihan bus terminal, on the East side of the river (Kamo-gawa), is the "antique district" (Furumonzen and Shinmonzen streets), full of antiques shops for all budgets and tastes.

Go on food (or better, rent bikes) in the small streets as much as you can. Zillions things to see and taste that are not mentionned in guides, and given the plan of the city, very little risk of getting seriously lost.

I'm looking at booking a 'free plan' 2-day Shinkansen package by JTB.
http://act.jtbgmt.com/itdt/scripts/s...&t_no=E810

The package gives return shinkansen tickets and 1 night at Karasuma Kyoto Hotel for 11900 yen or New Miyako Hotel for 14900 yen. Are these hotels well-located? Is this a good deal?

Thanks everyone for your help.

Try calling the 800 # for JTB and asking what they can do on a room for you. The room rate for Karamuma on the internet isn't bad, so not sure the package you found is that good a deal. That hotel seems like a fair central location. We got our room at Hotel Okura from JTB- best I found anywhere. Plus the hotel -next to the river is well located for walking to lots of sites.

CubeNY's plan is good-you will have lots of options and the JNTO map I sugested will cover that area. It would be easy to reseach from The Karasuma Hotel by subway. One other place yuo might enjoy and it is easy to get to by subway is Nijo Castle.

I priced a reserved ticket on Hyperdia for Nagoya to Kyoto and it costs 11000yen for a return journey. Wouldn't this make the JTB package a good deal (even if it is based on twin sharing, it'd mean that my friend and I are paying altogether like 2000-3000 yen for a room). Or am I missing something?

I've saved the JNTO maps. Thanks!

My sums are obviously not accurate looking at the figures I typed (3am syndrom). But the gist (and hence, query, remains).

We went from Osaka to Kyoto and back, plus our round trip to Hiroshima on the train. Thats the only pricing I know, didn't realize how much you would be paying for a train ticket.

I would still call JTB direct on the 800# and get some hotel room prices with twin beds- this is a popular room arrangement in Japan- add 1/2 of this to the train fare for your cost. Also make sure the train ticket in the package is for a reserve seat and a time you want, so you are conparing apples to apples. Though the package price does sound good. I found the Karasuma Hotel on my map, and it is not that far from where we were. Our location was excellant as I said. And you would be close to the shopping area and the subways at that hotel.

I've just been reading an interesting travelogue, including a few days in Kyoto. http://www.teleport-city.com/departu...n/japan02.html and http://www.teleport-city.com/departu...n/japan03.html and http://www.teleport-city.com/departu...n/japan03.html - they seemed to cover a lot of attractions in the three days! I'm sure you'll get some ideas... I know I'll be visiting a few of these places when I get to Kyoto.

This information is excellent. I am going to Kyoto in January. Thanks so much.