Kyoto 1 & 1/2 Day Itinerary

Hi! Just wondering if it's feasible to have this sort of itinerary planned out for a two day (actually one a half day) trip to Kyoto. We will be coming from Nippombashi Station in Osaka.

Places we'll be visiting will be:
Day One:
1) Kiyomizu-dera Temple (8 AM)
2) Higashiyama District
3) Nishiki Market
4) Tofukuji Temple
5) Fushimi-Inari Shrine
6) Yasaka Shrine + Gion at night

Day Two:
1) Arashiyama (8 AM)
2) Travel to Nara in the afternoon (12:30 pm)

Is this possible or recommended? We want to see as many sights as possible in our short stay in Japan... also, is it recommended that we see Tofukuji Temple instead of Nanzenji Temple? Thanks for any help! :-)

Hi there.

I wouldn't bother at all with Nishiki market. It's a market. It has chinese manufactured goods you could get anywhere in the world, including plenty of places in Japan, and it has food that you probably cant cook or take out of customs. But hey, that's my opinion...
I'd do Fushimi Inari in the morning and maybe Tokufuji if you had time, then get on to Kiyomizudera by lunch. Lunch in the precinct, then the temple, walk back toward Gion seeing Yasaka shrine and the other one with the big stone Buddha, then that should take you into Gion and Pontocho late afternoon.

That'd be my suggestion, but I'm a huge Kiyomizudera fan, we go every time we are in Kyoto, sometimes 2 or 3 days in a row.

Hi,
I think it would be better to change your route order.
1) Fushimi-Inari Shrine (8 AM)
2) Tofukuji Temple
3) Kiyomizu-dera Temple
4) Higashiyama District (Kodaiji Temple)
5) Yasaka Shrine
6) Nishiki Market
7) Gion at night
One day bus pass (\500) would help you to move easily.
I recommend Nanzenji Temple by omitting Fushimi-Inari and Yasaka Shrine. It's some distance away.

Your second day schedule is not impossible. You can visit from Tenryuji Temple (8 AM) to Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple by little bit quick walk. You can go back from Saga Arashiyama JR station to Kyoto station directly. The train is available 4 in an hour. For example 11:39 train will reach 11:51 to Kyoto.

In Kyoto, you can see many different sites in a day. Here's an example of what I often do: http://www.soleilrouge.org/kyoto-itineraire-d-une-journee-bien-remplie

It is best to group visits rather than through the city during the same day. Either you stay in Arashiyama for the day, or you go to Nara and you can stop in Uji and Fushimi on returning.