Kyoto itinerary

I'm a 60-yr-young solo traveler and will visit Kyoto in October. Any advice on the best transportation for travelling daily from Kyoto to these places will be much appreciated:

Day 1: Nishiki Market, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Nijo Castle, Sento Imperial Palace;

Day 2: Ginkakuji, Higashiyama District, Philosopher's Path, Yasaka Shrine, Maruyama Park, Kodaiji Temple, Kiyomizudera Temple, Nanzenji Temple, Shogunzuka Mound, Gion;

Day 3: Kinkakuji, Shugakuin Imperial Villa, Ninnaji Temple, Kibune, Ryoanji Temple, Ohara;

Day 4: Arashiyama, Togetsukyo Bridge, Tenryuji, Bamboo Groves, Jojakkoji, Gioji, Saga-Toriimoto Preserved Street, Otagi Nenbutsuji, Daikakuji;

Day 5: Fushimi Inari Shrine, Tofukuji Temple, Daigoji Temple;

Day 6: Kobe - Chinatown, Kobe Harborland, Sōraku-en Garden;

Day 7: Minami (Namba), Aqua Liner, Kita (Umeda), Shinsekai, Minoo Park.

Is my itinerary too ambitious?

Many thanks.

Hi Rosemary,
I am not sure where your hotel is or where you are staying, so everything I am saying is based on you stating off at Kyoto Station

My advise
Day 1: Nishiki Market, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Nijo Castle, Sento Imperial Palace;
- Take the subway this day. It faster and more direct to Nijo, Sento and imperial palace

Day 2: Ginkakuji, Higashiyama District, Philosopher's Path, Yasaka Shrine, Maruyama Park, Kodaiji Temple, Kiyomizudera Temple, Nanzenji Temple, Shogunzuka Mound, Gion;
-Get a 500 yen all day bus pass. This whole path is well serviced by the bus system

Day 3: Kinkakuji, Shugakuin Imperial Villa, Ninnaji Temple, Kibune, Ryoanji Temple, Ohara;
-Assuming the order is correctly listed I would take the bus system again, another all day bus pass would be good

Day 4: Arashiyama, Togetsukyo Bridge, Tenryuji, Bamboo Groves, Jojakkoji, Gioji, Saga-Toriimoto Preserved Street, Otagi Nenbutsuji, Daikakuji;
-Take the JR sago line to Arashiyama. Most of this is in walking distance, but you can take a cab to them as well. Daikakuji is far enough away you might want to take a bus or cab

Day 5: Fushimi Inari Shrine, Tofukuji Temple, Daigoji Temple;
-Take the JR line towards Nara local to Tofukuji first and walk to the temple and then take the JR Nara Local to Fushimi Inari and get back to JR Nara to Kyoto Station and take the bus over to Daigoji Temple
*Please pay attention to time on this day. You will want to start out early and probably create time tables for how long you wish to spend at each place to make sure you get to Daigoji before it closes and have enough time to look around

Day 6: Kobe - Chinatown, Kobe Harborland, Sōraku-en Garden;
- Sorry I have not been here before. The pages on this site does list your options on how to get around

Day 7: Minami (Namba), Aqua Liner, Kita (Umeda), Shinsekai, Minoo Park.
-same as day 6

This looks like a fun trip and you have quite a bit you plan to see. Nothing that can not be accomplished as long as you are ok with the pace set. Day 2 may be too many items to complete in one day, but it depends on how long you are at each place and crowd levels

Day 2: Look at the Eastern Kyoto Full Day itinerary on this website (found under "Travel Planning" in the top corner). It encompasses most of these sights into a walking tour, and tells you which order to see them in (your current order is inefficient).

Hi, you've obviously done your homework and planned an excellent trip. You're too early for the autumn colour change but it will still be wonderful and October has the best weather for Kyoto and Osaka.
From your plans for day 2 and 4 it looks like you have already seen the itineraries on this website. They are quite ambitious though so if you're not fit enough you might have to leave something out on these days. Maybe put the things you're least interested in last in your daily plans in case you have to miss them out.
I think day 3 also has too much in. You will be spending quite a bit of time travelling and there are several things to do see in Ohara and Kibune/Kurama. Kinkaku-ji takes about an hour to get to from Kyoto station too. I think if you were to put Kinkaku-ji last in day 3 three you would run out of time before you got there. You might be able to get in another temple or two near Shugakuin instead seen as you are already there.
You will have some spare time on day 5 so you might be able to get to Kinkaku-ji then.
I assume that on day one you are going to the Imperial Household Agency office in the Imperial Palace grounds to book to see Shugakuin? It's the only way one can see it.
Day 6 in Kobe: that's plenty of time. You could also go to the Disaster museum and go up Mt Rokko to see the famous night view of Osaka (google Rokko night view).
Day 7 is very busy but achievable. I would start with Minoo if I were you and do either Umeda or Shinsekai last as they are best at night. Umeda sky building isn't particularly tall so it's best to go up it when dark. The radio tower in Shinsekai is very funky, especially at night. Ignore the comments you might have read about it being unsafe. It's perfectly safe it just has a reputation from decades ago that's stuck.
Beware that Umeda station is ginormous and you might have trouble finding your way around. I did. Namba station is very long. When I was in Osaka I went to Namba a few times and each time I came out of a different exit (there are at least 31) and couldn't recognise the streets any time.
I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. Regards, Richard

Thanks to everyone's comprehensive input, much appreciated. I'll revise my itinerary before I go.

One more question please, I've purchased a 5-day KANSAI AREA WIDE PASS at my travel agent's advice, which part of my itinerary would this pass cover, or not? Should I also get an ICOCA card?

Day 4: you could also rent a bicycle in Arashiyama. It is a lot of fun, and I did it on a recent trip with my fiance and her 75 year old Aunt who easily got around on the bike even at her age.

Day 3:- You'll probably struggle to do all with Ohara included. It is well out of the way compared to the other locations on day 3.

For all you other days, buses (use lightly) and subways/private railways will work. The Kyoto section of this website has all the network maps.

The reason I say to use buses lightly, is that they are a slow form of transport while the sun is up. they get caught in traffic. Where that railways just move on without getting slowed up anywhere.

Hey there,

Of course, please get an IC card additionally.