Planning resources and itineraries for Kyoto, Japan. Tips to save money, avoid crowds, best temples & shrines, plus tons of photos by Tom Bricker.
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, […]
No city has been as impacted by Japan’s rising tourism numbers as Kyoto. Crowds during cherry blossom and fall colors seasons can be oppressive, as can national holidays and school breaks. In this post, we’ll offer a sober appraisal of the congestion you might face in Kyoto, plus ways to survive and avoid the worst […]
Visiting Japan is not cheap. Kyoto, in particular is known for ritzy restaurants, luxury hotels, and a level of personalized service via teahouses, ryokan, and geisha performances that are expensive. With that said, it is possible to do Kyoto on a tighter budget, and in this post we’ll cover money-saving tips for that. The easiest way to […]
Some of Japan’s best independent coffee shops and cafes can be found in Kyoto, which is one of the world’s hottest places for third wave coffee. While Kyoto is famous for its tea ceremonies and matcha, locals are actually more coffee-obsessed. This list features our favorite coffee shops in Kyoto, including a couple that are must-do […]
Kyoto, Japan has some of the world’s best restaurants, great teahouses, coffee shops, and more. This dining guide covers where to eat in Kyoto, listing the top spots for a variety of price points, from cheap ramen to high-rolling kaiseki multi-course dinners. This includes the best izakaya, tempura, soba, udon, ramen, katsu, unagi, sushi, and okonomiyaki […]