more discount ticket info for travelinmommy and for the mara/mrw book:

http://tinyurl.com/yeutsq

Also, no matter when you go to Kyoto, always check this monthly kyoto guide online before you go. It has good ideas for free events.

http://www.kyotoguide.com/

(Where is Florence these days? She was always the one who suggested that guide...)

mrwnrfl said "We need to get started on that budget book, Mara."

Fine, where and when shall we meet ;-)

um, your taking notes from emd, right? looks like she got us started.

if I'm going to be an author then i ought to spell "you're" correckly.

"Correckly"! lol
Sometimes after paying to enter the temple you have to pay again to get into the garden. Like the others before me think, it's worth the price. When we were in Kyoto last spring, the Heian gardens had beautiful weeping blossoms in full bloom. It was just magical.
If you are into zen, Ryoanji is also a must. The gardens there are beautiful too but no extra charges unlike Heian.

It's ok, mrw, I can help by editing.

You said you were not into museums, but the Kyoto Handcraft Museum, which is in the basement of the museum in the Heian complex is free.
We ended up staying there about twice long as we had planned. There were benches inside facing an indoor waterfall where I rested my feet for a while (sitting on the bench, not under the waterfall!)

Compared to the cost of your plane ticket and hotels, admission fees are very little--about $3 to $6 to get into these temples/shrines/gardens. Pick a top few--Kiyomizu, Kinkakuji, Ryoanji, Heian Shrine, etc. A few nice ones outside of Kyoto too. Go to Nara too if you have a chance. Also, check out the Nishiki market--good place to sample a vast array of interesting Kyoto pickled vegetables. And of course Gion, Ponto-cho, Philospher's Walk --all of these are free. Just walk around and absorb the atmosphere.

I think it's better to skim on lodging but definitely not on admission fees. Most of these places are World Heritage sites, so your admission fees go into their upkeep. Plus, you won't be able to see much from the outside. You'll be surprised from the outside, most of Kyoto looks very modern. But once you enter these temples/shrines/gardens, you're transported to another world.

Bonjour Travelingmommy,

I see Emd has already listed kyotoguide.com (Kyoto Visitor's Guide - get a paper copy - and even subscribe to it - as soon as you arrive in Kyoto or at the Tourist Info Counter at the airport: good maps, full of suggestions). I'll add http://raku.city.kyoto.jp/sight_e.phtml (Kyoto city tourism and culture info system) and Kyoto event web magazine http://kyotojoho.co.jp/english/

Near the station, Higashi Honganji and Nishi Honganji are two huge temples you can visit for free, both with gardens and airconditionned rooms where you can stay as long as you wish and even picnic in.

Myoshinji is also worth visiting, although you must pay to visit some of the buildings and gardens.

An excellent small souvenir you can buy is a small booklet with blank pages and decorated cover, that you have stamped and calligraphied at temples and sanctuaries (sometimes for a small fee).

I see we travel almost the same, although I never hesitate to pay for a good special exhibition in a museum of a particularly spectacular view - one you cannot miss is the view over almost all of Kyoto from the terrasse of the Kiyomizudera.

A few tips in order to maximize your pleasure: you may rent a bike through several organisations and hotels (ask at the TIC). Do explore neighborhoods not mentionned in guidebooks (one of the advantages of Kyoto is you won't get really lost because of the grid- like plan of the city). Keep your eyes open for small hidden architectural gems in smaller alleys, inbetween nondescript and sometimes ugly buildings; beauty is rarely immediately apparent in Japanese cities. Don't hesitate to enter small restaurants that look and smell "right" to you, or shops and workshops that look interesting (crafts people are usually thrilled to see a foreigner take a genuine interest - and some time - in their work).

Don't plan to far ahead, go to the tourism office at the station and inquire about special events (nothing worse than missing that special ceremony/tasting/local festival because you've already booked your train and hotel to somewhere where there's nothing special on that particular day ...). The TIC will book reasonnably priced hotels for you if you need a last minute change to your itinerary.

There are several fleamarkets (see list in Kyotoguide) where you will find good souvenirs; send the bulkier ones through the main post office near the station, they sell inexpensive boxes, packaging material, etc., and are used to foreigners packing their stuff on the spot - I do it all the time. Fleamarkets are also good places for good, inexpensive meals, including takeaway to eat later at your hotel.

Buy drinks from convenience stores (cheaper than vending machines).

For peaceful scenery, go to Arashiyama (although I wouldn't qualify the main street as "peaceful", especially on the weekend), or Ohara, Kurama, and other country places listed in Kyoto guide, all reachable by bus for around Yen 500.

Bonjour, Florence, long time no see. Are you getting ready for your Dec. trip to Kyoto, and Tokyo w/your sensei?

Bonjour Emd,

unfortunately not. My mother is probably due for shoulder surgery soon ...

In Nara, you could get dressed up in a kimono / Samurai outfit and participate in a tea ceremony--all free provided by some volunteer women organization. Ask the tourist office at the bullet train station about it. It was one of the fun immersion things that we did. Five women were working on me to get me wrapped up in a kimono and doing my hair. And the tea ceremony afterwards was interesting too.