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Yasaka-dori in the early morning, with street lanterns and the Yasaka pagoda of Hokan-ji
The Golden Pavilion of Kinkaku-ji reflected in its pond on a sunny day
The Ninomaru Palace of Nijo Castle with its tiled roofs and courtyard
The Hozu River gorge seen from the open carriage of the Sagano Romantic Train
The Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in in Uji mirrored in its pond
Food stalls under the covered arcade of Nishiki Market

Things to do in Kyoto: 14 experiences

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Photo: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0

Kinkaku-ji, Kita, Kyoto

See the Golden Pavilion of Kinkaku-ji across its pond

Check dates and prices

Photo: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0

Nijo Castle, Nakagyo, Kyoto

Walk the squeaking floors of Nijo Castle's Ninomaru Palace

Check dates and prices

Photo: Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0

Arashiyama and Kameoka, Kyoto

Ride the Sagano train up the Hozu gorge and boat back down

Check dates and prices

Photo: Jesper Rautell Balle, CC BY 3.0

Uji, Kyoto Prefecture

Take the train to Uji for the Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in and its tea

Check dates and prices

Photo: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 4.0

Nishiki Market, Nakagyo, Kyoto

Graze your way down Nishiki Market, Kyoto's kitchen

Check dates and prices

Photo: Anagoria, CC BY-SA 4.0

Kyoto was Japan's imperial capital for more than a thousand years, and it still has more temples, shrines and gardens than anyone can see in one trip. The Japan page already covers the places most people come for: the torii trail of Fushimi Inari, the Arashiyama bamboo grove, the moss temple Saiho-ji and the streets of Gion. This page is the rest of the city.

The sights sit in clusters around the edges of a flat grid. In the north west, Kinkaku-ji and Ryoan-ji are a short walk apart. In the east, Ginkaku-ji starts the Philosopher's Path, and Sanjusangen-do is close to Kyoto Station. The centre has Nijo Castle, Nishiki Market and the restaurants of Pontocho.

Two trips leave the city: north by the Eizan Railway to the mountain temple of Kurama and the river village of Kibune, and south to Uji for the Phoenix Hall and the tea. West, the Sagano train and the Hozu river boats end in Arashiyama.

14 things to do in Kyoto

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The Golden Pavilion of Kinkaku-ji reflected in its pond on a sunny day

See the Golden Pavilion of Kinkaku-ji across its pond

Kinkaku-ji, Kita, Kyoto

About 1 hourNo booking needed

A three-storey pavilion covered in gold leaf, built for a retired shogun and seen across a still pond from a one-way garden path.

Check dates and pricesGuided walk round the Golden Pavilion garden
Been there?
The raked white gravel and stone groups of the Ryoan-ji dry garden behind its clay wall

Sit on the veranda of Ryoan-ji and count its fifteen stones

Ryoan-ji, Ukyo, Kyoto

About 1 hourNo booking needed

Fifteen stones in raked gravel, placed so that one always hides from you, in Kyoto's best-known Zen dry garden.

Tours in Kyoto
Been there?
The Silver Pavilion of Ginkaku-ji above its pond and pine garden

Visit the Silver Pavilion, then walk the Philosopher's Path

Ginkaku-ji and the Philosopher's Path, Sakyo, Kyoto

2 to 3 hours with the walkNo booking needed

A shogun's retreat that was never covered in silver, then a canal path south past small temples to Nanzen-ji.

Tours in Kyoto
Been there?
The Ninomaru Palace of Nijo Castle with its tiled roofs and courtyard

Walk the squeaking floors of Nijo Castle's Ninomaru Palace

Nijo Castle, Nakagyo, Kyoto

1.5 to 2 hoursBook ahead

The shoguns' palace in Kyoto, where the floors chirp under your feet and the last shogun handed power back to the emperor.

Check dates and pricesOfficial one-hour guided tour of the Ninomaru Palace
Been there?
The long wooden hall of Sanjusangen-do seen from its garden

Face the 1,001 statues of Kannon in Sanjusangen-do

Sanjusangen-do, Higashiyama, Kyoto

About 1 hourNo booking needed

A wooden hall about 120 m long, filled with a thousand standing gilded Kannon in ranks around one seated giant.

Tours in Kyoto
Been there?
Food stalls under the covered arcade of Nishiki Market

Graze your way down Nishiki Market, Kyoto's kitchen

Nishiki Market, Nakagyo, Kyoto

1 to 2 hoursFree

A covered street of about 130 food shops, selling pickles, tofu, fish and sweets the way Kyoto has bought them for centuries.

Check dates and pricesWalking food tour of Nishiki with a local guide
Been there?
The narrow Pontocho alley at night, lit by lanterns outside its restaurants

Have dinner in Pontocho, on a platform over the Kamo River in summer

Pontocho, Nakagyo, Kyoto

An eveningBook ahead

A lantern-lit alley one block from the river, where Kyoto eats out at night and, in summer, on wooden decks above the water.

Tours in Kyoto
Been there?
The stone stairs lined with red lanterns leading to the main shrine of Kifune-jinja

Hike over the mountain from Kurama-dera down to Kibune

Kurama and Kibune, Sakyo, Kyoto

Half a dayNo booking needed

A forest trail over the mountain between a temple founded in the 8th century and a shrine of red lanterns above a river.

Tours in Kyoto
Been there?
The Hozu River gorge seen from the open carriage of the Sagano Romantic Train

Ride the Sagano train up the Hozu gorge and boat back down

Arashiyama and Kameoka, Kyoto

Half a dayBook ahead

A slow open-sided train up a river gorge, then two hours of boatmen poling a wooden boat back down the rapids to Arashiyama.

Check dates and pricesArashiyama day with the scenic train and the river boat
Been there?
The Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in in Uji mirrored in its pond

Take the train to Uji for the Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in and its tea

Uji, Kyoto Prefecture

Half a day with Uji's tea streetGo alone or with a tour

The 11th century hall on Japan's 10 yen coin, mirrored in its pond, in the town that grows Kyoto's matcha.

Check dates and pricesByodo-in visit with tea sweets on a short guided walk
Been there?
A hanging lantern in the vermilion torii tunnel on the Fushimi Inari trail

Walk up Fushimi Inari's torii trail before sunrise

Fushimi, Kyoto

2 to 3 hours to the summit and backFree

Climb Mount Inari in the dark under thousands of donated torii: the shrine never closes, charges nothing and the gates are almost yours.

Check dates and pricesEarly-morning guided walk up the torii trail
Been there?
Tall bamboo stalks lining the path through the Arashiyama grove

Walk Arashiyama's bamboo grove early, then keep going

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Free

Walk a path through swaying bamboo on Kyoto's western edge early, then keep going to a villa garden with matcha included.

Check dates and pricesGuided Arashiyama walk: bamboo, Tenryu-ji, Okochi Sanso
Been there?
Sunlight and tree shadows on the moss carpet at Saiho-ji

Copy a sutra, then walk Saiho-ji's moss garden

Matsuo, Nishikyo, Kyoto

About 60 minutesTimed entry

Copy a sutra in the main hall, then walk the moss garden of a temple that admits small numbers by reservation only.

Been there?
Teahouses backing onto the willow-lined Shirakawa canal in Gion

Walk Gion's Hanamikoji and Shirakawa, and let the geiko pass

Gion, Kyoto

Free

Walk the preserved machiya and teahouses of Kyoto's best-known geiko district, and the usually quieter willow-lined Shirakawa Canal.

Tours in Kyoto
Been there?

Traveller picks

Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.

No traveller picks for Kyoto yet. Know a place most visitors miss?

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    Kyoto Station is on the Tokaido Shinkansen, so the fast trains from Tokyo stop here on the way to Osaka. From Kansai International Airport, the JR Haruka limited express runs to Kyoto Station without changing. Osaka is close: JR, Hankyu and Keihan trains link the two cities, and many visitors base themselves in one and day trip to the other.

  • Getting around

    City buses reach most temples, but they are slow and crowded in season. Use the subway where you can (the Karasuma line north to south and the Tozai line east to west) and walk between neighbouring sights. A one-day ticket covers the city subway and buses. For Uji take the JR Nara line or Keihan; for Kurama and Kibune, the Eizan Railway from Demachiyanagi.

  • How many days

    In must30's view, three full days for a first visit: one for the east (Kiyomizu-dera, Gion, the Philosopher's Path), one for the north west and Arashiyama, and one for Fushimi Inari and Uji or for Kurama and Kibune. Add a day for Nara, which is under an hour away.

  • When to go

    The cherry blossom in late March and early April and the autumn colour in November are the most beautiful and the most crowded weeks of the year; book rooms months ahead. Summer is hot and humid, but it brings the Gion Matsuri in July and dining on the river platforms. Winter is cold and the quietest season.

  • Where to stay

    Around Kyoto Station is the most practical base for trains and day trips. The area between Shijo and Sanjo, near Kawaramachi and Karasuma, puts you within walking distance of Nishiki, Pontocho and Gion, with more restaurants at night. Ryokan in the eastern hills are quieter but farther from the transport lines.

Questions travellers ask

Is Ginkaku-ji worth it after Kinkaku-ji?

Yes, for different reasons. Kinkaku-ji is the gold pavilion seen across a pond, a quick visit. Ginkaku-ji is a garden of moss, sand and paths that you walk through, and it starts the Philosopher's Path. General admission at Ginkaku-ji is ¥1,000, twice Kinkaku-ji's ¥500.

Do I need to book Nijo Castle?

Not for the castle and the Ninomaru Palace: you can buy tickets at the gate. The Honmaru Palace is different: it is seen only with an online reservation, sold from 30 days before the visit. Check the closing days of the Ninomaru Palace before you go.

Can I do Kinkaku-ji and Ryoan-ji together?

Yes. They are about 20 minutes apart on foot along the Kinukake-no-michi road, and city bus 59 serves both. Start at Kinkaku-ji at opening time, then walk to Ryoan-ji.

Is the Hozu river boat ride open all year?

The boats run most of the year but stop when the river is high after heavy rain. The Sagano train that most people pair it with runs from 1 March to 29 December and usually not on Wednesdays.

More places in this region

Things to do in Japan

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