Planning resources and itineraries for Kyoto, Japan. Tips to save money, avoid crowds, best temples & shrines, plus tons of photos by Tom Bricker.
Yoshida Shrine is one of several temples and other places on a hill overlooking Kyoto University. This cluster includes some of our favorite hidden gem temples in Japan: Kurodani Temple, Shinnyodo Temple, and Yoshida Shrine along with its array of sub-shrines. In this post, we’ll share further thoughts, tips, photos, and anecdotes from Yoshida Hill […]
If you have two days during cherry blossom season in Kyoto, Japan, our step-by-step itinerary walks you through the best sakura spots in Arashiyama, Higashiyama, and more. This efficient plan avoids crowds, sees the most stunning temples & shrines, and maximizes your time in the world’s most beautiful city for cherry blossoms. Our 2-day Kyoto, […]
This 1-day Kyoto cherry blossom itinerary offers a walking route for seeing as much as possible during Japan’s popular sakura season. An efficient touring plan is important for Kyoto not just because there are a lot of beautiful cherry blossoms (they’re pretty much everywhere!), but because crowds can be overwhelming. Our plan of attack helps […]
Iwatayama Monkey Park is the home of Japanese Macaque in the Arashiyama Mountains of Kyoto, Japan. This post features my photos from several visits to the park, info & tips for visiting this wild monkey gathering place, and a review of whether it’s worth the time and money. Monkey Park Iwatayama is located on Mount Arashiyama, […]
This post offers a guide to sakura season in Kyoto, sharing our favorite cherry blossom spots, photogenic temples, plus tips & tricks for avoiding crowds that descend upon Japan every April. We also take a deeper dive into the topic, highlighting hidden gems for cherry blossom viewing where you’ll find fewer people and no busloads […]
This post offers tips for one of our favorite (and free!) experiences in Kyoto, Japan: Path of Philosophers. This iconic walk is not just an enjoyable journey, but it also connects Golden Pavilion to Nanzenji Temple, making it something that we include in almost all of our 1-Day to 1-Week Itineraries for Kyoto, Japan. Unlike […]
Kyoto’s Japanese tea is world famous, and matcha is a great take-home souvenir. Likewise, teahouses are a great option for a midday break after a long morning of touring Kyoto, Japan. In this post, we cover the best tea shops, plus our favorite tea ceremony, in case you’re interested in a more traditional, cultural experience. […]
Our Japan itineraries provide 1-day plans for every area of Kyoto, step-by-step itinerary, strategy, and walking tours of Tokyo, Kobe, Osaka, Nara, Miyajima Island, and more. These touring plans offer guides and tips for which temples to visit, where to eat, transportation, and the most efficient order of seeing the highlights of each area. None […]
Kyoto, Japan has 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, all of which we’ve visited. In this post, we share the full list, ranking these temples & shrines from worst to best, and discussing which you should see and which you should skip. As a bit of background, UNESCO World Heritage Sites are landmarks selected by the […]
When traveling to Japan’s Kansai region, Kyoto is a great home base. It’s easy to get to several other major cities by standard rail or Shinkansen in under an hour or two, and a few lower profile mountain escapes are also easy to access. We’ve done numerous day trips from Kyoto, and in this post, […]