The last two times I visited Tokyo happened to be during Golden Week, when the whole country takes vacation and loads of people travel around Japan to various tourist destinations. This means A. bullet trains leaving Tokyo get booked up SUPER fast and B. Kyoto is SUPER packed. So this time around, I made it my mission to finally check out Kyoto - and it was such perfect timing because I got to see some of the AMAZING fall foliage everywhere.

I took a 2.5 hour bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto and was able to see Mt. Fuji on the way! Because I was planning each day of my Japan trip a day in advance, I waited until the very last minute to book lodging. I wasn’t in the mood for a hostel but all of the private rooms within my made-up budget (<$200/ night) were lame, SOO I made the reckless decision to stay at the Ace Hotel, with nightly room rates averaging 70,000 YEN (~$450/ night) - and that was the sale price(!) While I wouldn’t normally stay somewhere for that price, I hate to say… it was absolutely worth it. I had a bathtub, a record player (with a lobby library full of records sorted by genre), a Stumptown on the first level, and three solid restaurants on-site (Kosa, Piopiko, Mr. Maurice’s). I was next door to a Le Labo and two steps from a train station. This was an expensive crash pad, but after a couple weeks living with three small children, I decided to treat myself with expensive silence.

There are a gazillion temples and shrines in Kyoto - temple/ shrine fatigue is REAL. But I did ~3 per day and tried to hit nearby attractions to prevent the fatigue. There are SO many cool things to do in Kyoto. I separated tourist spots into 4 general areas on my map (see map below). It's important to go as early as possible to most tourist attractions to avoid the crowds. I ran out of time to see Kinkaku-Ji (gold temple) and the nearby Ryoen-Ji in the north of the city, along with Kiyomizu-dera further south-east, but will prioritize it for my next visit (along with Osaka, which I also ran out of time for). I also did a day trip to the deer-filled Nara and highly recommend it! See my Nara blog post here.

Kyoto spots + My thoughts

Philosopher's Path - This was the best thing I did in Kyoto! It's a lovely path along a river and was especially great because of all the fall foliage. I would love to come back here for cherry blossom season. There are a bunch of temples nearby so easy to walk the path before/ after/ during temple-hopping. I stopped at Higashiyama Jisho-ji Temple, Eikan-Do Temple, and Nanzen-Ji Temple nearby.

Honenin Temple and Cemetery - Another one of the highlights of my trip. I was here during golden hour and it was just the most surreal experience. Most people visited the temple and then left the way they came, but I kept wandering and stumbled upon the cemetery next door. It was completely empty and silent except for some faint noise from the temple. I would recommend passing through if you’re in the area, though who knows if you would have the same magical experience as me.

Fushimi Inari Taisha - These are the famous orange gates that go up & up for ages. You climb a bunch of stairs to the top and there's a couple lookouts at various points. I was running short on time, so I didn’t bother climbing all the way to the top, but I read that the top is pretty anticlimactic anyways so no regrets. I stopped at a lookout about halfway up for some pictures. The higher you climb, the less people there are, so that’s the main advantage to making the trek all the way up. Plus the steps, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest - Looks amazing/ tranquil in pictures but is crowded and pretty loud so follow everyone’s advice and go super, super early. Or spend the money for a private ride through the side path. Or just skip altogether and look at pictures online, because the real thing is LOUD. Much like The Narrows at Zion, where pictures make it seem much more serene than it actually is.

Okochi Sanso Garden - A famous Japanese actor’s former residence. 1000 YEN entrance. Super bougey and worth a visit if you’re in the area and in need of some peace and quiet after braving the bamboo forest (hint: you probably will be).

Arashiyama Monkey Park - I read mixed reviews on the monkey park, but I tend to love (ethical) animal tourism and thought it was cute and interesting. You buy a ticket at the gate at bottom and then walk up ~20 minutes to get to where the monkeys live. There are rest points along the path. You can pay a lil to feed them. I thought it was a nice walk and I spent around 30 minutes feeding the monkeys and watching them interact with each other once I got up to the top.

glänta - You can get custom silver, gold, or brass rings here for decent prices. I was in the market for a couple new gold rings and these were similar to Etsy prices, so I bought 2. I paid a lil extra to engrave one of them with “Joan, Still” from my favorite 2023 movie Theater Camp because I’m on vacation and there are no rules… They also offer ring-making workshops where you can design and make your own rings.

Bonnie Eyelashes - In the unlikely event that you are in need of eyelash extensions while in Kyoto, I highly recommend this spot. I got a fill here and it was solid.

Booking bullet train tickets TO KYOTO

• You can buy bullet train (Shinkansen) tickets online in advance OR at the station. Guide to purchasing tickets at the station here.

• To purchase bullet train tickets online, set up a SmartEx account here. Once you have an account, you should be able to browse Tokyo —> Kyoto trains. Make sure you select a direct one! And try to reserve seat E so you can see Mt. Fuji (or if traveling from Kyoto —> Tokyo, reserve seat A). You can view the seat map to find the cars with available seats.

• You can use your Pasmo/ Suica card for local transportation within Kyoto.

TOURIST AREA MAP

Tourist spots, sorted by area

1 - Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Okochi Sanso Garden, Arashiyama Monkey Park, Gio-Ji Temple, Jojakko-ji Temple, Tenryu-ji

2 - Kinkaku-Ji Temple, Ryoen-Ji Temple, Nijo Castle

3 - Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Sanjusangen-do Temple (and Fushimi Inari Taisha further south)

4 - Philosopher's Path, Honenin Temple and Cemetery, Higashiyama Jisho-ji Temple, Eikan-Do Temple, and Nanzen-Ji Temple