Japan · Kansai
Plan your Kyoto trip
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01Your itinerary
02Where to stay
Higashiyama
Best for first-timers and temple-hopping on footThe preserved historic core — wooden lattice streets, tea houses, and temples within walking distance of each other. The most atmospheric base, and the most crowded by day, though it empties out beautifully after the tour buses leave each evening.
Kyomachiya Suite Rikyu
Restored merchant houses with tatami rooms and tiny courtyard gardens put you inside the postcard rather than looking at it, and let you experience the lanes at their quiet, empty best before and after the crowds.
€€€Kyoto Higashiyamaso
A short walk from Kiyomizu-dera, with futon bedding, communal or private baths, and a kaiseki-style breakfast that eases you into the local pace.
€€Downtown (Shijo-Kawaramachi)
Best for food, nightlife and easy transit connectionsKyoto's actual commercial centre — department stores, izakaya alleys, Nishiki Market and Pontocho all within a ten-minute walk. Less picturesque than Higashiyama, but the most convenient base for eating, drinking and moving around the whole city.
Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kyoto Shijo Karasuma
Clean, efficient, and walking distance to Pontocho and Nishiki Market — the trade-off for skipping the historic-district charm is unmatched convenience and generally lower rates.
€€The Royal Park Hotel Kyoto Sanjo
River-facing rooms near the Sanjo bridges put you steps from the summer riverside dining platforms, or kawadoko, that spring up along Kiyamachi-dori.
€€€Arashiyama
Best for a slower pace and dawn photographyA quieter, more rural western district built around the bamboo grove and the Katsura River. Further from the eastern sights, but staying overnight means you catch the grove and the temples at dawn before the day-trippers arrive from the city centre.
Togetsutei Onsen Ryokan
Traditional rooms with river or garden views, often with an onsen-style bath, positioned to let you walk into the bamboo grove before the first tour bus of the day.
€€€Kyoto Station area
Best for transit convenience and late arrivalsPractical rather than pretty — a modern transit hub with shopping and dining towers attached, best for travellers prioritising Shinkansen connections or an early departure over historic ambience.
Hotel Granvia Kyoto
Roll straight off the Shinkansen or JR line into your room; less charm than a machiya, but unbeatable for an early bullet-train morning or a late arrival.
€€Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.
03Tickets & tours
Fushimi Inari Taisha
Thousands of vermilion torii gates climbing Mount Inari in dense, tunnel-like rows, donated over centuries by businesses praying for prosperity.
Tip Arrive before 7 a.m. or after dark; by mid-morning the lower gates are a shuffling queue of tour groups, and the upper mountain, a genuine two-to-three-hour round trip,…
Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)
A Zen temple pavilion sheathed in gold leaf, reflected in a still pond against a backdrop of pines.
Tip It is a strict one-way loop with no lingering — go right at opening (9 a.m.) for the calmest light and least foot traffic before the tour buses arrive around mid-morning.
Kiyomizu-dera
A wooden temple stage built out over a hillside on giant pillars without a single nail, with sweeping views back over the city, especially striking…
Tip Walk up through Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka, the preserved lattice-front lanes below the temple, before 8:30 a.m.; those same lanes are genuinely unrecognisable, and…
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
A short path through towering bamboo stalks that creak and sway overhead — one of Kyoto's most photographed corners, and one of the most crowded if…
Tip Go at dawn, before 7:30 a.m., and pair it with the nearby Tenryu-ji temple garden and a walk over the Togetsukyo Bridge while the district is still quiet.
Nishiki Market
A five-block covered arcade nicknamed Kyoto's Kitchen, packed with stalls selling grilled skewers, fresh yuba, pickles, knives and generations-old…
Tip Go hungry and graze rather than aiming for one meal; many stalls sell single portions meant to be eaten standing right there, not carried off.
Gion & Hanamichi-dori
Kyoto's historic geisha district, all dark wood teahouses and lantern light, especially atmospheric at dusk along the willow-lined Shirakawa canal.
Tip Come for the mood at golden hour rather than to chase maiko for photos; if you want a guaranteed sighting, book an evening ochaya or teahouse experience instead.
Philosopher's Path & Ginkaku-ji
A quiet canal-side walking path lined with cherry trees connecting a string of lesser-crowded temples, ending at the understated Silver Pavilion and…
Tip Walk it in the opposite direction from most guidebooks — start at Ginkaku-ji early and head south, so you are moving away from the crowds arriving as the morning goes on.
Nijo Castle
A moated Edo-period castle with famous nightingale floors that chirp underfoot as a built-in security measure, plus formal gardens and painted…
Tip The interior closes earlier than the grounds and the last entry is well before closing time, so check the current cutoff before you plan the rest of the afternoon around…
Day trips from Kyoto
Nara
Forty minutes by train, Nara was Japan's capital before Kyoto and is home to the colossal bronze Buddha of Todai-ji and a park full of bowing,…
Day tripUji
A short hop south, Uji is the historic heart of Japanese green tea, famous for matcha in every form and for Byodo-in, the temple pictured on the…
Day tripOsaka
Thirty minutes by train, Osaka is Kyoto's louder, brasher, food-obsessed counterpart — go for Dotonbori's neon canal-side street food, takoyaki and…
Day tripEverything to do in Kyoto
Skip-the-line tickets, guided tours and day trips, all in one place on Booking.com.
04Getting there & around
Getting around
Kyoto is flatter and more spread out than its temple-a-block reputation suggests, so unlike Paris or central Tokyo, you cannot walk the whole city — Arashiyama in the west and Fushimi Inari in the south sit a considerable distance from Higashiyama in the east.
Flights
Compare fares into Kyoto and pick dates that suit the days you planned.
Airport transfers
Book a private or shared ride from the airport so the first evening starts at your door, not at a ticket queue.
Car hire from Kyoto
Only worth it for day trips beyond the city — in town, the plan above works on foot and public transport.
Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.