Kyoto 1 Day Itinerary

Hi all,

I'm planning a ONE day trip from Osaka to Kyoto and have set up the following plan consisting of the most popular places of interest.

KYOTO STATION ---- ARASHIYAMA BAMBOO GROVE (2 hours) ---- KINKAKU-JI (1 hour) ---- FUSHIMI INARI TAISHA (2 hours) ---- KYOTO STATION

Advice Needed:

1) Is this workable for a 1 day trip?

2) Transportation between locations. (Prefer buses/trains but open to taxi if it makes more sense)

3) Time to spend in each place.

4) Considerations (e.g. Fit additional place of interest; How to best avoid crowds etc.)

Many thanks in advance!

1. Possible, but try not to constrain yourself in terms of time spent at locations. Spend as much time as you think is necessary at each location. Also, start early because transportation time will eat into your itinerary!

2. Use Arukumachi (find via Google search) - it's a public transport route finder for Kyoto. Buses are going to be your only public transport option to/from Kinkakuji, as it's not served by trains. Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari are both accessible by train.

3. This is up to you - it depends if you find it interesting or not! As I said above, spend as much time as you want in each; you don't want to feel like you rushed through a place, or spent too much time there. I'd say 1 hour for Kinkakuji is probably accurate; once you view the pavilion it's just a walk through a garden (not as nice as that at Ginkakuji).
Fushimi Inari is open 24/7, so it is best to have that at the end of the day. If you plan to walk up the hill, though, make sure it's within daylight hours!

4. Kinkakuji is often swarmed by crowds, but it will depend on the time of year - winter would be less busy than spring, for instance. It's usually advised to visit Kinkakuji first thing in the morning or last thing before closing; but even going first thing there's often a large crowd waiting!
If you plan to walk up the hill behind the main shrine at Fushimi Inari, no special fitness is required; but it is a long walk uphill so make sure nightfall is not coming soon and you have good legs/ankles/etc and are wearing comfortable shoes. You don't have to walk the full distance; many people just walk to the first lookout and then turn back.

The bamboo grove only needs 30 mins, but if you plans to do the main Arashiyama sights like temples and bridge etc. Then you'll need about3-4 hours.

Fishimi Inari is the odd one out of the bunch.

Personally I would do it this way:-

From Kyoto Station
6:30am train to Fishimi Inari, arrive at 7am.
9:30 am, train to Kyoto Station, train to Saga-Arashiyama, arrive 10:30am.
2:30pm bus to Kinkakuju, arrive 3:30pm
4:15pm bus to kyoto station 5:15pm

Times are approximates. I have allowed 4 hours at Arashiyama, but if you are quicker, then the afternoon times will be earlier.

Instead of going to Kyoto Station, you can take the Hankyu Kyoto Line from Umeda in Osaka and change in Katsura to Hankyu Arashiyama line which will take you directly to Arashiyama Station. Then use Kyoto Station when you go back to Osaka.

I haven't done this myself, but from Arashiyama, there is a tram (separate from the one you used to get there from Osaka) that will take you north of Kyoto to the vicinity of Kinkakuji (I think you would need to transfer in Katabiranotsuji to go the to the northern line). You just have to figure out which bus you can take from the the tram to Kinkakuji.

I have no idea which is the quickest way from Kinkakuji to Fushimi Inari.

Considerations, the Bamboo groves are full of tourists especially in the first half. If you want to see less people, walk towards the end where the crowds get thinner but the bamboo becomes more lush, dense and more beautiful. You can probably do this in 1.5 hours. I like the gardens in the Tenryu-ji temple beside the grove but since you're on a tight schedule, this might not fit your time.

Fushimi Inari also has a lot of tourists. Just wait patiently if you want to take a picture with no people. This temple doesn't have opening/closing hours so best to go very very early in the morning. Maybe you should start here and end in Arashiyama?

I didn't pay attention to the starting in Osaka bit.

I'd take the Keihan Main Line to Fishimi Inari.
JR train to kyoto/saga-arashiyama station.
bus or randen/bus to Kinkajuku.
Bus or randen/bus back to Arashiyama.
Then Hankyu train to Umeda.