Kyoto - 3 days

Hi All,

Please help me schedule My Kyoto Schedule. Let me know if I should switch days on anything.
I will be there October 9, 10, 12
I will be on a day trip out on Tuesday October 11th
I go moderate to fast paced when I site see

Sunday - October 9th I plan to start the day early and go see Hikone Castle and Back to Kyoto by 1pm - 2pm. I will then have time to see around Kyoto. There is suppose to be a festival put on by Kyoto University at Heian Shrine I would like to go see.

Monday (Sports Day) - Start the day early and go to
Kinkakuji
Ginkakuji
Higashiyama
Kiyomizudera
Fushimi Inari
(TOO MUCH???) - I know it gets crowded on Sports Day in Kyoto

Wednesday-
Nijo-Jo
Imperial Palace
(back to Tokyo on the 6pm shinkansen)

I would like to see
Kyoto National Museum
Ryoanji
Ninnaji
Philosopher's Path
do I have time for any of these?

Thank you for your help

Day 1: Too crowded, mostly because you'll be jumping all over the city. Ginkakuji, Higashiyama and Kiyomizudera are on a reasonable route that can be done on foot (see the Eastern Kyoto Full Day itinerary on this website, under 'Travel Planning' in top right-hand corner), but Kinakuji and Fushimi Inari are on different sides of the city. The Philosopher's Path is on this route.

Fushimi Inari is open 24/7, and so is easy to slot in anywhere. I'd suggest moving it to Day 2, which is pretty empty at the moment.

Day 2: You should definitely have spare time here. As mentioned above, put Fushimi Inari here, and maybe also Kinkakuji (at the very start of the day so you hopefully beat the worst crowds).

Others: Put these on Sunday if you have time after the festival at Heian. If you end up missing the festival, Heian Shrine is included in the itinerary I suggested for Day 1. Maybe consider swapping Sunday and Monday to be able to see the festival at Heian during the full day in Kyoto?

Sorry. You have about 4 days worth of locations and only 2 days to do them in.

Fishimi Inari, Kiyomizudera and Higashiyama for one day.
Kinkajuku, Ryoanji, Ninnaji with something else in the afternoon, pick a most wanted I guess? For the other day.

Day 1 is possible if you utilise this under used transportation vehicle called a 'taxi'. If not, Kinkakuji is not possible. As mentioned FUshimi INari is open 24/7 so going early in the morn or late at night is possible. Kinkakuji is the problem.

Philosopher's Path should be done on Day 1, since you need to use it to access Ginkakuji from Nanzenji.

Kinkakuji should be done on day 2 for similar reasons.

Please understand the geography of Kyoto. It would help you greatly.

Yes you have time. Just how you plan your timetable.

You can easily see all of these places in only two days but you need to see them in an order which optimizes your travel time between them. Also take advantage of opening and closing times and avoid bus travel during peek travel times.

I had more days in Kyoto than you and so I visited more sites, but I did manage to fit most of what you want to do into 3 days:

Day 1: Nijo Castle and Kinkakuji. We also stayed in the Zen temple complex so did things there.

Day 2: A version of this itinerary: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_eastern_kyoto_full.html - this will hit Ginkakuji, the Philosopher's Path, and other items on your list.

Day 3: We did Fushimi Inari and Nara.

Hope this helps!

Hi All,

Thank you for all your input! I have tinkered with the schedule and now have:

Sunday:
Up early and arrive in Hikone at 8:30am
Hikone till noon
Heian Shrine and surrounding area

Monday (Sports Day) - Start the day early and go to
Head out around 8am
Ginkakuji
Kompeito - Ryokujuan Shimizu
Higashiyama
Kiyomizudera
Fushimi Inari

Wednesday-
Kinkakuji - arrive around 9am - 10am
Nijo-Jo
Imperial Palace

Should I be able to head back to Tokyo on the 6pm shinkansen from Kyoto?
No sure how much time to budget for Wednesday. We are staying with a friend in Tokyo and they wish to know when we plan to arrive in Tokyo Wednesday evening.

Thank you for all the help.