Kyoto itenary

we are arriving in November to Kyoto and following is our first draft of visiting programme. It is a bit ambitious and was wandering whether we need to cut down or change our itenary.

29/11 D9  (Th) arrive late - maybe stroll

29/11 to 03/12 D9-D13 (Th-Mon) Kyotto (4N) - ETA 19:00
30/11 D10 (FR) b/fast 07:00 - leave hotel 08:00
09:00 - 10:00 Ginnkaku ji temple
10:30 Honen in temple
11:00 - 11:30 Path of philosopy
11:45 Eikando - famous spot
12:00 - 13:30 Nanzen ji temple
12:30 Tenjuon
13:30 Hoyo

14:00 - 15:00 Daitokuji
(Daisenin)
(Ryogenin)
15:00= 16:00 Kinkakuji or golden pavilion
16:00 - 17:00 Ryoanji temple
18:00 - 19:00 Dinner
19:00 - 20:00 Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Theatre
20:00 - 21:00 Illumination

01/12 D11 (sat) take Hankyo line train to Kotsura
09-00 - 11:00 Kotsura
11:00 - 11:30 Hankyo Arashiana line to Arashiyama
arr 12:00 Taxi to Otagi Nenbutsu-ji
Adashino Nenbutsuji temple
12:00 - 13:00 Adashino Nenbutsuji
13:30 Giojin temple
14:00 Nis-onine temple
14:00 - 15:00 Jojakojima temple
15:30 Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
16:00 - 17:00 Arashiyana Tenryu Ji Temple and gardens
train back to center ---
17:30 - 19:00 dinner
19:00 - 20:00 Art Complex 1928 year
20:00 - 22:00 Illuminations

02/12 D12 (Sun) get up very early
07:00 - 09:00 Fushimo Inari Taisha Shrine

09:30 - 12:30 Tofuku ji
(Tsutenkyo bridge/Sagano)
(Hojo)
13:00 - 14:00 Sanjusangendo
14:30 - 15:30 Nishiki Market
15:30 - 17:30 Kiyomizudera temple
16:00 SanneiZaka and NinenZaka
16:30 Maruyama Kogen Park
17:00 Yasaka or Gion shrine (entry to pagoda 400)
17:30 Shoren in temple
19:00 - 21:00 Gion District - Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Theatre and dinner

I would resist the urge to break your itinerary down by hours. Things will always take longer than your guess and you will only get stressed/disappointed.

Kyoto is place for zen, calmness and peace - and your schedule is sterssfull even when reading it...
Probably doable, but it is sport not joy. Less is more!

Honestly your itinerary is too rushed. If you have three days in Kyoto, I would suggest you to dedicate two days for Higashiyama district (north of Nanzenji and south of Shorin-in). There are so many places to visit and even for two full days you might skip some of the places. The remaining one day is for Kinrakuji and Arashiyama district. Basically Kyoto is the place for walking.

You planned to do night theater every day. I guess you may need to reserve the seats which will restrict your daytime stroll. Please consider whether they are must for you.

Thank you .... the timing was just helping me to plan but I do not intend to strictly follow it.

Hi Gabriella,

Please do not take offence with my reply but I really want to help you have a great trip to Kyoto. I am assuming this is your first trip to Kyoto.

Kyoto is a beautiful city but needs time to be appreciated. Also, you are on holiday but your itinerary looks exhausting. I would advise you to cut the number of sites you visit by at least 50%. Also do not have a rigid schedule, just a list of places you would like to visit but do not be upset if you do not get to see them all. A lot of the temples that you want to visit have fantastic gardens. These are places to contemplate, relax, enjoy the scenery; you have not allowed enough time in your schedule to do this. Bear in mind that you are visiting at the end of November / early December - depending on the weather there may well be a lot of people visiting to watch the autumn fall colours. Two of your days are at the weekend when Kyoto will be full of visitors. This means you will definitely need to slow down - temples / shrines (and pavements!) will be busy and take a long time to walk around, traffic will be heavy so travelling by bus or taxi will take a long time.

Also have you thought about going to quieter sites? As an example the Shimogamo and Kamigamo shrines are beautiful, are UNESCO World Heritage sites and, as they are out of the city centre, are a lot quieter. This would be a half day visit for the 2 shrines. You will be able to take photos that most visitors to Kyoto do not take.

Have you thought about having a guide for a half / whole day? I did this the first time I visited Kyoto. I was taken to the typical Kyoto sites (eg. Kinkakuji) but given a really good explanation of the history of these places. Also, if you ask they will give you tips on non-touristy sites to visit and good restaurant recommendations.

If you do not manage to get to see everything you want do not worry - just go back. I was always of the opinion that I would never go back to the same city for a holiday - in November I will visit Kyoto for the 4th time - for 4 days. I know I will not see everything I want to - so will have to go back again!

Please enjoy you trip to Kyoto. If you have any more questions please post on here.

Rich.

Thank you very much for your advise. We are touring Japan (23 days in total - driving) starting from Tokyo, than visiting Matsumoto, Kanazawa, Miyajima, Matsuyama, Miyoshi, Kotohira, Okayama prior of visit to Kyoto and continuing to Osaka, Kumano Kodo, Nagoya, Hakone and back to Tokyo. Our aim was to see gardens, autumn foliage, a few castles and shrines, and experience some of the culture of this beautiful country.
We did book all accommodations including overnight in Buddhist temple in Koyasan, as well as some shows and exhibitions.
I tried to group the visiting sites according the geographic position as we booked visit to Kotsura for 0900 and the timings were just for information ... and the list of places was our wish list which we understand is the wish list only and if we see 50% it will be great.
We are planning to leave our car in hotel which is in Gion area and take train pass Kansai through for 3 days which would allow us quicker transport to Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari which is on our ,must see list�f.
Thank you for your suggestions as well as reminding me of weekend. I will check to see locations and possible redo our itenary.