two and a half days in Kyoto

Hello,
We arrive to Kyoto at April 9th around 11 AM
and we leave Kyoto at April 12th morning time.
These are the places i'd like to visit:
Kiyomizudera shrine
Maruyama park
Nishiki market
Philosophers path
Nara
Fushimi Inari
Kinkakuji temple
Gion district
Arashiyama

Are two and a half days enough? How should i plan it.

Thanks ahead.

Nara is a city of its own, and not a part of Kyoto. What did you want to visit in Nara?

Typically, people make a one-day side trip from Kyoto to visit Nara. If you did that, you will not be able to see all you listed in 2.5 days.

Kyoto is now very, very busy and some of the attractions are so packed with people that I wouldnt personally bother. If you are hoping to find somewhere to eat the waits can be very long and you cant see much in the crush. Kiyomizudera in particular is quite unpleasant these days, when it used to be one of the more fun areas. Golden Pavillion has always been quite busy around the temple itself but it thins out a bit and the walk through the grounds is nice enough. Nishiki markets are a waste of time IMO unless you like a crowded flea market/tourist junk atmosphere - which some people love.

That said there are heaps of nice places in Kyoto which ared swarming with visitors, or which have enough space to accomodate them. Fushimi Inari and its surrounds are still a lot of fun (though it can be hard finding a place to sit for lunch), and the same for Arashiyama.

If you are selective, you can see plenty in Kyoto and have time for Nara as well (which I prefer). Allow a half to 3/4 day for Nara, and maybe pop into Uji on the way there or back

Full day one -
Kiyomizudera shrine
Higashiyama
Maruyama park
Nishiki market
Philosophers path
Gion district

Full day two -
Arashiyama
Kinkakuji temple

Full day three -
Nara

Half day -
Fushimi Inari

With 2.5 days, you'll need to decide which full day to omit

" Nishiki markets are a waste of time IMO unless you like a crowded flea market/tourist junk atmosphere - which some people love. "

I would like to say to this that if you are visiting Japan for the first time, and have never seen a Japanese market place then why not walk through Nishiki market.

I think it is quite unfair to say that something is a waste of time for someone who is planning a trip. After seeing temples and shrines something else is usually a nice change.

As for the original question. Take a look at Kyoto map and plan from there. There are many walking tour recommendations and note that some places close already at 16:00 or 17:00.
Fushimi Inari shrine doesn't close so for me, I would suggest leaving it to the end of the day and see some sights with opening hours first.

After seeing temples and shrines something else is usually a nice change.

Well, in general this is true. But Kyoto in recent years seems to change drastically, to unpleasant direction. Kiyomizudera and it's approach are way too overcrowded. Nishiki market WAS a local market where locals and local restaurants buy there foods. But now it is full of street food. Basically Japan is not a "street food" country. Rather, Japanese children are prohibited of buying street food (though this is not followed rigorously :). As a Japanese I don't want foreign tourists to think Nishiki Market and Kiyomizudera approach represent Japanese food culture. Of course, some Japanese enjoy "street food" in these places, and I don't blame them. It is like a festival, and I like festival, but why in Kyoto. I am sorry, but this is my honest thought.

In place of Nishiki market you can enjoy some nice cafes, stroll along the river (Kamo river) and go to botanical garden, climb a small hills of Yoshida-yama and even Daimonji where you can overlook the city of Kyoto. These are very Kyoto-ish places I think. And of course they are not temples and shrines.

Frog1954 Depends on the people I guess but we were not left with the impression that Nishiki Market and it's street food represent Japanese food culture but I can see why you would be concerned about that.
It was very nice to get your point of view on this.

There was an other market similar that we passed through by accident in Kyoto, I don't remember where it was at all but it was also very interesting. Less crowded and it was nice to see the local foods, roots etc. For me that is the point of going to these markets, just to see the different foods.

Japanese food for me was the best I have eaten. I didn't have any digestive problems during our trip what so ever, even though I felt I was eating a lot and all the time :) Maybe stupid but one of the best dishes was a bowl of hot bonebroth as a starter, njam :) I have been boiling bonebroths at home since our trip.

Hi meirK,

That's an ambitious list for 2.5 days, but yes I think it can be done. It'd be quite hard work, involving a lot of trains and walking around, so it depends how you like to do things. If you really want to cover all that, I'd suggest the following:

April 9th go to Nara. If you arrive Kyoto at 11am, drop your stuff off and head straight to Nara, you can spend the afternoon there. That's enough time to visit Todaiji (home of the Great Buddha) and nearby Kofukuji; of course there's a lot more to Nara than just those two temples, but those are the main draws and should be satisfying enough. In the evening, you could visit Gion and Maruyama Park when you get back to Kyoto (Maruyama will be both beautiful and lively with all the cherry blossom parties going on)

April 10th cover all the temples and shrines you've listed on the east side of the city; from north to south, that would mean starting with the Philosopher's Path (walk it from Ginkakuji to Nanzenji - two temples not on your list, but natural to include with Philosophers Path and both well worth visiting), and also visit the Keage Incline (amazing cherry blossom spot near Nanzenji) while you're at it, and perhaps also Heian Shrine. Then head down to Kiyomizu temple, and finish at Fushimi Inari. You can use the Keihan line for this day, it'd be a big day with lots of walking but I've basically done more or less exactly that in the past. Best to go from north to south as Fushimi Inari is open 24hrs (and well lit at night) so you don't have to worry about rushing to get there. It's very cool at night too (though less good for photos obviously)

April 11th head to Kinkakuji then Arashiyama, both on the west of the city; Arashiyama is a whole district and needs a good chunk of time, so that's do for the day, but you could try to visit Nishiki market beforehand.

So, that covers everything, and is doable if you're happy to be constantly on the move on trains and buses and on foot. Do bear in mind that you'll be hitting Kyoto at full bloom for the cherry blossoms (lucky you!) which means lots of crowds at most of these places; you may want to consider slowing the pace a little and visiting some nice cherry blossom spots, maybe walking along the Kamo river etc, here's a list of the best ones:

http://www.4corners7seas.com/cherry-blossoms-kyoto/

If you leave one thing off your list, I'd say Nishiki market... or you could free up a big chunk of time by leaving out either Nara or Arashiyama (I think if you end up really pressed for time, I'd say omit Arashiyama). It really depends how you like to travel, pack in as much as possible vs take your time to enjoy it, and so on.

Anyway, hope this helps!

Just had a thought re my above post... another idea would be to visit Fushimi Inari on your way back from Nara, as it's located on the JR Nara line. You could do those two on the 9th... then on the the 10th, do the Philosophers Path area, Kiyomizu, and Gion & Maruyama. That'd work quite nicely I think

In case you're looking for an exhaustive list of sakura spots in Kyoto, here's one of the most complete: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3951.html

And here's a link to all sakura spots across Japan: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html

Hope you have a good trip!