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4 day Kyoto itinerary 2020/2/10 12:06
Does someone have a well thought out 4 day Kyoto Itinerary that they could share? Trying to figure out what we should see on each day without over doing it and what the best way to get to that particular sight/area is. We will be basing ourselves at the Westin Miyako Kyoto. Thank You!
by Flying Tiger  

Re: 4 day Kyoto itinerary 2020/2/10 18:17
Hi, the Westin Miyako is really nice. I really like walking to the top of the hill through the forest there, a great way to get your appetite up for breakfast.

What I would do is to plan morning walks and allow maybe a half day for them then see what you feel up to in the afternoon. As an example, Arashiyama is a half day thing, so is Philosophers Path, and Fushimi Inari to Tofu Ku-ji (or reverse). Or Kiyomizudera through to Gion. There are like a million things to see in Kyoto, you wont get bored if you still feel up to it in the afternoon.

I wouldnt bother with Nishiki (sp?) markets, they are boring as bat faeces. If you want to shop for rubbish, there are nicer places to do it. Nijo castle isnt that nice either although the gardens are pretty. But the whole central part of Kyoto isnt as much fun as the outside, where the hills are is the nice bits.

by Lazy Pious (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: 4 day Kyoto itinerary 2020/2/10 23:28
Thanks. Now how would you see the sights day by day? Which ones should I put on the same day that are in the same area or easy enough to get from one to the other? Kyoto has tons ot shrines and temples and we do want to see Gion, the Philosophers path and other beautiful sights but are just not sure which to see on a day by day basis over 4 days.
by Flying Tiger rate this post as useful

Re: 4 day Kyoto itinerary 2020/2/11 06:32
Yeah, look I am a bit loosey goosey when I travel, others are much more precise. What I would do is to pick the things you really want to see and identify them on a travel map of Kyoto, then group them together. I think for practical purposes Kiyomiozudera through to Gion could easily take the better part of a day if you were looking at a lot of things along the way and then having lunch. That is pretty much south of Westin Miyako.

Similarly, i really like the philosopher's path walk (closeish to Westin Miyako) - starting at Silver Temple and ending at Nanzenji which is a 10 minute walk from the hotel. The walk itself is maybe an hour but poking around and seeing the sights including the temples at both ends can really take up maybe 4 hours plus. Nanzenji is a bit underrated IMO, and the gardens at the silver temple are really pretty. But if you hustle, you could easiliy see both the philosophers path and the Kiyomizudera to Gion walk in a day.

Golden temple is almost too busy to be worth the effort IMO though I like to go because there is an okonomiyaki place across from it that we really like. That is kind of in a different direction, north west of your hotel.

Arashiyama is worth the effort even if it is busy. It is nice and green and the further you go the better it is. The bamboo groves are anything but quiet, so dont expect any zen relaxation while you are there. Arashiyama can easily be a half day plus thing.

I do tend to group Tofukuji (really pretty especially in autumn) with Fushimi Inari (almost too busy to tolerate these days). It is a nice walk from one to the other, and you can hop on the train. I would almost give Fushimi Inari a miss and continue on to Uji. They are all pretty much directly south of your hotel, further on from Kiyomizudera.
by Lazy Pious (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: 4 day Kyoto itinerary 2020/2/12 06:21
Thank you so much for your reply. Is there a really good online map of Kyoto showing the different areas of town so I can visualize it? Also appreciate suggestions of train lines to take vs. walking between places.
by Flying Tiger rate this post as useful

Re: 4 day Kyoto itinerary 2020/2/12 06:43
>>"I wouldnt bother with Nishiki (sp?) markets, they are boring as bat faeces. If you want to shop for rubbish, "<<

Not a description I've ever heard applied to the Nishiki market before. As it's primarily a food market, I certainly wouldn't describe what they sell as "rubbish" and, as far as I know, they don't sell the material you refer to ....
by tt7 (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: 4 day Kyoto itinerary 2020/2/12 06:45
>>"Is there a really good online map of Kyoto showing the different areas of town so I can visualize it?"<<

Apple Maps? Google Maps?

Start here - https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-districts
by tt7 (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: 4 day Kyoto itinerary 2020/2/12 07:47
Hi!

You could also contact JNTO or depending on where you live in the USA visit your local JNTO office and get a map of Kyoto to start looking at a physical map. Sometimes, seeing something physical like that can really help.

In terms of where to visit it depends on what you want. I personally find visiting too many temples or shrines in one day can be overwhelming. I also found that it feels like certain temples and shrines are crazy busy while others are just not visited.

Nishiki Market is just packed. I never really thought of it as a super tourist sight until I joined here and saw people constantly mention it as a top destination. I feel bad for the shops, I heard business is down as locals who tend to buy more stay away now. Fushimi Inari was stupid crowded when I went in June 2019. I got there by 8:00 am and most of the upper circle was still quiet enough, but we were not alone by any stretch. On the way back down, the entire route was full of people heading up and from 11 until 14:00 or 15:00 when we left the area the streets were just packed with tourists. I love Uji.

For trains and subways it really depends on where you are trying to go and how much you like walking. Depending on where you want to go at some point you will probably get stuck using a bus. I personally do not like the buses in Kyoto because they tend to be packed and try to do as much as I can without using them. But there is no single train or subway line that will handle all sightseeing unless you decide to skip whole areas.

Enjoy!

by rkold rate this post as useful

Re: 4 day Kyoto itinerary 2020/2/12 07:58
Just google "Kyoto tourist map" and then you get a pretty good picture of it. Essentially pretend that Imperial Palace (not worth it if you are there for a few days) is in the middle and Kyoto Station is under it at about 6 oclock. Working from the bottom of Imperial Palace, Westin Miyako is at about 3 oclock. Silver Temple to Nanzenji is 2 - 3 oclcok, then Kiyomizudera is maybe 5 oclock and Gion a bit earlier on the dial, say 4 oclock. Further down, Tofukuji and Fushimi Inari are about 5.30.

Arashiyama is at about 9 oclock, Golden Pavillion is at about 11 oclock.

The hotel will have a tourist map there, but there are heaps online. The less detailed ones are better to start with as there is a lot of things and you get a bit of overload. There are a lot of places to just happen upon, as an example we stumbled on Shoein-en (sp?) near the station once, it has amazing gardens and we were probably the only people there.
by Lazy Pious (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: 4 day Kyoto itinerary 2020/2/12 16:08
by Hirohiroboy rate this post as useful

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