Things To Do In Kyoto, Japan

There is so much to see, do and eat in Kyoto. It’s also the perfect place to base yourself as you explore the city and its surrounds.

Here is my list of the things you can do while you’re in Kyoto, along with plenty of tips.

Kevin and I decided to stay in an Airbnb near Kyoto Station (JR) even though the main activity and attractions are in downtown Kyoto — about a 30 minute walk so it’d be easier to catch the local trains or bus (see more info about getting around Kyoto here).

Strap yourself in… this is going to be a long one.

I also have plenty more images to share so keep your eyes out for longer individual posts on some of the places I mention. I’ll update this post with links when they’re live!

1. Gion

Starting with what most people know Kyoto for: Gion. Gion is a well-known Geisha district and is popular for its traditional Kyoto feel. It really is a beautiful place to visit, but be warned that it does get extremely busy during the day. The closest way to get directly to Gion is via taxi or bus, but we were up for a walk so we caught the train from Kyoto Station to Shichijō Station and then walked for 25 mins until we reached Sannenzaka (it was hot, but a pleasant and doable walk).

From there we walked to Hōkanji Temple (Yasaka-no-Tou) via Ninenzaka. This is a popular spot to take that photo with the temple in the background. Tip: if you want a nice photo, you’ll have to visit early and later at night because there is a lot of traffic through this area, or if you’re patient, wait for a break in the crowds. This is the best place to get the shot — although maybe you can find a more unique perspective?

There’s lots of souvenir shops and small restaurants along these streets, mostly aimed at tourists, however if you’ve got time to do more exploring, I’d recommend checking out the side streets because there are a lot of restaurants and traditional teahouses that I didn’t get the chance to see!

2. Nishiki Market

I can confirm that Nishiki Market lives up to the hype. There is so much good food here, so bring a lot of cash and come on an empty stomach. The first thing we had was incredibly fresh and reasonably priced sashimi, before moving onto Takoyaki (amazing) and then ice cream. There are lots of stores selling yakitori too but it was so crowded that we didn’t get the chance to try.

Don’t forget that it’s not the norm to walk and eat, so most places will have small seating areas or you can just stand next to the store and finish your food.

3. Shopping

Once you’re done eating your fill at Nishiki Market, now you can walk it off. There are lots of shopping options around Kyoto, one of the most popular being Shijo-Dori shopping Street.

We got some bubble tea from Pearl Lady and then spent some time shopping around in Kawaramachi OPA. There are some interesting stores inside on the ground floor that sold some unique things. The main reason we went here was to visit BOOK OFF. If you haven’t heard of it before, BOOK OFF is one the best places ever to shop while in Japan. They have stores in most cities, sometimes more than one, and they sell everything secondhand from designer bags and clothes to books and toys. If you’re a fan of trawling through op shops, I highly recommend visiting BOOK OFF.

Teramachi Shopping Street is another great place to visit if you are looking for a variety of stores to browse.

When you’ve worked up an appetite again after all that shopping, I highly recommend eating at Curry Tukemen NANDATTEI. This was one of our absolute favourite meals while in Japan. Kevin got the Curry tsukumen dipping ramen noodles, while I just got the standard curry ramen. They were both very similar, and both incredibly delicious. The restaurant is small and cosy with limited seating, has an English menu and is run by a ‘one man band’ so don’t be surprised when the chef takes your order!

4. Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

This is probably one of the top places most people have on their bucket list when they visit Japan. It is beautiful but it is much smaller than you might think. It is only a fairly short path and a certain angle where you can capture that iconic photo.

I recommend catching the earliest train possible so that you’ll have a few minutes to yourself to enjoy the quiet surroundings and take nice photos. It’s a peaceful and wonderful experience when you’re the only ones around. It’s a short 17 min train ride from Kyoto Station to JR Saga-Arashiyama Station, and then an easy 5-10 min walk into the main area of the bamboo forest. We arrived around 7:30am and by the time we left around 8am, there were already quite a few people arriving.

TIP: Keep going straight through to the forest, don’t turn right! If you see train tracks, you’re heading the wrong way. It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised at how many people go the wrong way. It doesn’t look intuitive to keep heading straight because it looks like a paved road that breaks away from the forest, but that path will take you to the right spot.

5. Nara Park

Our itinerary was jam-packed because there was so much to see, do and eat, so right after visiting Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, we caught the train to JR Nara Station. This isn’t the best/closest station if you want to see the deers in Nara Park, but because our goal was to have a budget holiday, we were happy to do a bit of walking.

In hindsight, this was actually the best decision ever because it meant we were able to try to best Gyudon we’ve ever had at Matsuya. I think Matsuya is a chain restaurant, and upon first impression it looks a little dodgy but don’t be fooled by the humble restaurant. You order at the machine right at the front door (I love this about Japan), and you’ll get a ticket number that you hand to the kitchen (we didn’t know but they beckoned us to hand it over). Not only are the prices amazing (around $5 AUD) but so are the portions. I was greedy and ordered the large which turned out to be way too much so Kevin reluctantly swapped his cute small size with me (thanks Kevin!).

The walk to Nara Park is not too far as it’s a nice walk and you can stop by Kōfukuji Five Storied Pagoda (free) on the way. I honestly don’t know where we went, but eventually you reach a park and you’ll see some deer scattered around. If you keep walking further into the park, you’ll see more deer and hence, more crowds. I’d avoid this area because the deer are actually quite aggressive when you have senbei. Senbei costs around 200 yen for a pack (~$3 AUD) but they’ll go quickly! We bought a few packs and thought it’d be a great idea to find a quiet spot with deer but were quickly ambushed and bitten aggressively. On our way back out the same way, we bought one more pack for the more gentle deer we spotted on the way in. Don’t forget to bow, and they’ll bow for some senbei!

Nara Park is huge and a great place to spend a day there exploring. Nandaimon Gate of Tōdaiji looks like a lovely place to explore with plenty of deer around, and where we’d probably go the next time we come back. I have plans to hike Mt. Wakakusa next time too!

6. Fushimi Inari Shrine

Another location that is high up on everyone’s list and definitely worth the visit: Fushimi Inari Shrine, aka Thousand Torii Gates.

It’s a super easy 5 minute train ride from Kyoto Station to JR Inari Station, and an even easier walk as the entrance to the shrine is right across the road. We took the earliest train as we wanted to avoid crowds, so we were one of the only people there, which was such a good decision. I’ve seen how crowded it gets around 10am and people can barely walk at their own pace, let alone enjoy their surroundings. We arrived around 7am and it was practically silent as we walked up the stairs and through the gates — beautiful.

We walked for about 40 minutes and eventually we reached a lookout point where we declared we were too hungry to continue to the top (poor planning - should’ve brought snacks), so we headed back down (the wrong way I’m pretty sure, we ended up behind some houses…).

TIP: Arrive early to enjoy this beautiful walk without the crowds. And bring snacks if you’re planning on going to the top.

7. Osaka

When I was researching Osaka, I found that it wasn’t the easiest place to get to because the main eating areas weren’t close to JR stations so you had to transfer using local trains. Because our itinerary was so packed, I thought it’d be best to just visit Osaka on a day trip, rather than stay there a few nights.

After we fed some (mean) deers in Nara Park, we caught the train straight to Osaka and explored Dotonbori. Sine we arrived in the afternoon, we didn’t have nearly enough time to explore plus it was raining fairly heavily (and we may or may not have spent 2 hours playing games at the huge ROUND1 STADIUM) so the next time we come to Japan, we’ll definitely put aside some days to eat our way around Osaka.

If you’re short on time, it’s definitely possible to do Osaka as a day trip!

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I hope you enjoyed this long post! There is so much to do in Kyoto, that I can’t wait to be back to explore even more. (Maybe we’ll hire some bikes next time…)

jess x

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