Kyoto for 3 full days - help with itinerary suggestions!
 

My friend and I (both 30something women) are making our first ever visit to Japan. We will be starting off our trip with 4 nights (3 full days) in Kyoto. We both have done lots of traveling to Europe and South America but this is our first time in Asia and we know nothing about Japan! We will be in Kyoto May 12-16, in just a few weeks! Any suggestions of what to be sure to see/do while we are there? We are staying in central Kyoto. Thanks for any help!

My first recommendation is to read everything you can about Kyoto so you can choose the places you want most to see. Check out www.japan-guide.com as well as studying your guidebooks. There are endless numbers of things to see and do in Kyoto. If you polled all of us who have been to Kyoto about an ideal 3 day itinerary, no two recommendations would be alike. That said, Arashamaya Fushimi, and Higashiyama were among our favorite stops.

You might find photos more helpful in deciding. Here is a link to our Japan photos: http://www.marlandc.com/Japan-2013

I agree with Kathie -- you would do well to study japan-guide.com and your guide books and decide what most interests YOU, because (sigh!) you can not possibly hit all the highlights of Kyoto in just 3 or 4 days. That said, with some advance research, you CAN maximize your chances of seeing the things that most interest you!

@ Kathie: Arashamaya Fushimi??? do you mean Fushimi Inari?

I agree with Kathie and kja...also would highly recommend you making the extra effort to see the Moss Garden and get reservations to see one of the Imperial Gardens and temples (this latter you do when you get to Kyoto).

I'm in the process of planning my visit, but thought this article might be useful to you.

http://magazine.tripzilla.com/japan-...gs-to-do/19234

kja, sorry that got garbled, I meant Arashyama, Fushimi Inari and Higashiyama were our favorites.

@ Kathie -- Thanks for clarifying! Between autocorrect and my own blunders, I'm often surprised by how garbled my messages can become!

I agree with Kathie - those were three of our favourite Kyoto experiences too, all three on our first visit. We also loved Nishiki Market, fascinating foods there.

We found pretty much every temple we went to fascinating, I covered some of them in this series of 6 posts, this last one (which is not Kyoto) links to the others, 1-4 include Kyoto: http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/03/mes...of-love-6.html

I also write a guide to understanding what you see at temples and shrines: http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/12/kyo...-ema-tree.html

We also had some lovely food experiences such as trying yuba and amazake and warabi mochi. http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/05/jap...suke-jaya.html and http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/04/yub...e-delight.html

Oh and on the second trip, we went to Toji temple on the day they host a monthly flea market and we loved that, but then I love browsing markets and to do so in such a setting, with some interesting unfamiliar stuff on sale, was heaven for me. http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/10/ima...ket-kyoto.html

Hope you have lots of fun!

Thanks everyone!! I have lots of reading to do :)

Hi SAT28!

I agree that you will want to do a lot of reading, especially Japan-guide. In case it gives you a better sense of timing, here is how we spent our 3 full days in Kyoto last year. It will make more sense after your reading assignments :-).

Day 1 - Eastern Kyoto/Philosopher's Path

Taxi to Ginkakuji (Silver Pavillion), tour gardens and walk down Philosopher's Path, stopping to view temples and gardens along the way, to the end at Nazenji, lunch, walk along the canal to Heian Jingu Shrine.

Day 2 - Higashiyama and Southern Kyoto

Taxi to Kiyomizudera, tour temple and gardens and follow path downhill toward Yasaka Shrine, stopping to view temples and gardens along the way. Train or taxi to Sanjusangendo temple, taxi or train to Fushimi Inari.

Davy 3 - Taxi to Kinkakuju (Golden Pavillion), taxi to Arashiyama, train to Nijo Castle

These are packed days, but we did not rush through the sites. We took taxis to save time and our feet, and usually walked or trained back to our hotel. It leaves out a lot more to see (which is why we went back this year). Have fun!

I found the book "Kyoto 29 Walks in Japan's Ancient Capital" by Martin and Martin a very helpful resource. Their "Tokyo 29 Walks" was equally useful.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kyot...=9781462906352