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Kyoto

3 Days in Kyoto

13Stops2UNESCO Sites+26Travel Score

Day 1Arrival DayMediumHigashiyama

Kiyomizu-dera and Higashiyama

The wooden temple stage over the city, then the old stone lanes down to Yasaka Shrine.

  1. AM

    Arrive and Settle In

    Check in, drop your bags and get your bearings.

  2. 15:00
    1.5 h

    Kiyomizu-dera's wooden stage

    UNESCO

    Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)

  3. 16:45
    1 h

    Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka lanes

    Sannenzaka

  4. 18:00
    45 min

    Yasaka Shrine

    Yasaka Shrine

  5. 19:15
    1 h

    Evening walk on Gion's Hanamikoji

    Gion

  6. 20:45
    1.5 h

    Kaiseki dinner

    Food

    Gion restaurants

Good to Know

  • Reach Kiyomizu-dera by 8 am, before the tour groups
  • Don't photograph geiko or maiko without asking

Day 2Day TripFullNara

Nara

The Great Buddha, the bowing deer and the lantern shrine, 45 minutes by train.

Unlock the Full Plan

Times, stops and details for every day. Free for 7 days, then $24.99 a year.

Day 3City DayMediumKita

Golden Pavilion and Ryoan-ji · Nijo Castle and Nishiki Market

Kinkaku-ji's gold-leaf pavilion on its pond, then Japan's most famous rock garden. The shogun's palace with its singing floors, then grazing through the covered food market.

Unlock the Full Plan

Times, stops and details for every day. Free for 7 days, then $24.99 a year.

With More Days

Not in this plan yet. Add a day and the plan makes room for them in order.

Day Trip · UNESCO

Himeji Castle

Japan's finest original castle, about an hour by bullet train.

Day Trip · UNESCO

Uji: Byodo-in and Green Tea

The Phoenix Hall on the 10-yen coin and Japan's matcha town, 25 minutes by train.

Day Trip · UNESCO

Mount Hiei and Enryaku-ji

The mountain monastery above the city, by cable car.

Half Day · UNESCO

Arashiyama

The bamboo grove early, Tenryu-ji's Zen garden and the river bridge.

Half Day

Fushimi Inari's Thousand Gates

Up the mountain path under thousands of orange torii gates.

Half Day · UNESCO

Philosopher's Path and Ginkaku-ji

The Silver Pavilion's garden, the canal path and Nanzen-ji's brick aqueduct.

When to Go

This version is for Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov. The best months below come from GoGo's climate data.

Typical highs

Best monthsRain: wettest Jul (220 mm), driest Jan (72 mm)

Climate: NASA POWER