Things to do in Kyoto
Tours, tickets and experiences, with whatever is actually running while you are there.
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30 places across Japan and South Korea
Philosopher's Path
Two kilometres of canal, cherry trees and small temples.
Kurama to Kibune
A two-hour mountain crossing between two villages.
Gion Shirakawa
The quiet half of Gion, along a willow-lined canal.
Hōnen-in
A thatched gate, two sand mounds, and almost nobody.
Yasaka Shrine
Four hundred lanterns, lit every night of the year.
Maruyama Park
The weeping cherry that Kyoto plans April around.
Chion-in
The largest wooden gate in Japan, at the top of the steps.
Kōdai-ji
A widow’s temple, with a bamboo path behind it.
Ninenzaka & Sannenzaka
Two stone lanes of preserved wooden shopfronts.
Yasaka Kōshin-dō
A tiny hall hung with thousands of coloured cloth balls.
Kennin-ji
Kyoto’s oldest Zen temple, with twin dragons overhead.
Sanjūsangen-dō
A thousand and one gilded statues in one long room.
Nanzen-ji Aqueduct
A Roman-looking brick aqueduct inside a Zen temple.
Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji
The temple Kyoto agrees is best in November.
Ginkaku-ji
The Silver Pavilion, which was never silvered.
Nijō Castle
The floors squeak on purpose.
Kyoto Imperial Palace Park
Ninety hectares of gravel, pine and quiet.
Kamo River Delta
Turtle stepping stones where two rivers meet.
Nishiki Tenmangū
A shrine at the end of the market, wedged between shops.
Tō-ji
Japan’s tallest wooden pagoda, and a monthly flea market.
Tenryū-ji
A 700-year-old garden that uses the mountains as scenery.
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji
Twelve hundred stone figures, all carved by amateurs.
Jōjakkō-ji
A thatched gate, a hill of maples, no crowd.
Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street
Thatched houses on the old pilgrimage road.
Katsura Riverbank Path
The path upstream, where the crowd stops.
Ryōan-ji
Fifteen rocks in gravel, and nobody agrees why.
Daitoku-ji Sub-temples
A walled complex of two dozen small Zen temples.
Shimogamo Shrine
A shrine inside a forest that predates the city.
Kamigamo Shrine
Two perfect sand cones on an open gravel field.
Tōfuku-ji
A wooden bridge over a valley of two thousand maples.
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