Our week in Kyoto in late May

Hi all. Taking my college grad daughter to Japan for 2.5 weeks and then we head to SK for 10 days.

I feel good about our time in Tokyo, Takayama and Hiroshima and Miyajima but am worried about our week in Kyoto. I have read so many accounts of crowds. Not sure if that was because Japan opened up again last year and all the fall foliage. Should late May be super crowded? We will be there May 24-31. Kyoto is the only location we are renting an Airbnb. It looks fantastic-nearby to Gion and Yanaka shrine.

We'd like to also do a day trip to Nara. Maybe Osaka. Maybe Himeji and Uji. Nara is a definite but I guess it all depends on how much we can see in Kyoto.

I have read numerous 4 and 5 day plans in kyoto to minimize the crowds. I am even considering missing the Golden temple. Do any of you have a plan you could share with me? Looks like one day S Higashiyami, one in Arashiyama (may avoid the bamboo grove as there are other bamboo groves we cna visit), One with Philosopher's Path and all things in between, another day near station with Fushimi Inari, Hojo garden and Sanju Sangen adn fish market. Considering a boat trip and maybe also a day trip hike to Kurama and kibune. I am really struggling to organize our time in Kyoto. Daughter will also want to shop and maybe do perfume making. She does not want to dress up (doing that in SK) and tea ceremonies don't look like they would be her thing. Any other more local recs?

Any help with this portion of our trip is most appreciated.

Hi, Gion is a lovely part of town but it will be super busy, no avoiding that. I wouldnt let it stop you going, as Kyoto is pretty essential. Late May can be quite hot especially in Kyoto.

I would encourage anyone to cut a night or two from Kyoto to spend it in Nara. Nara is much more open and has less crowds, there are forests, and the town is pretty nice at night. It is also fun for early morning walks. My favorite parts to stay are Nara Hotel (expensive but the original wing is like stepping back in time, also the japanese breakfast is perfection), or around Wakakusayama, have a look on street view and you will see why.

If you have one week in Kyoto, you don't need to make plans 4 months in advance. You listed lots of things already (more than you can see in 1 week). You can judge how busy is the city when you get there, and decide for which sites you are willing to brave the crowds and the weather.

In late May, I recommend Shisendo, which is less crowded than the center.
I've been there two or three times and it's small, but I like it.
There may be some fluctuations in the flower season.
https://kyoto-shisendo.net/about/
https://kyototravel.info/tsutsujisatsukimeisho
This exhibition will also be held.
https://souda-kyoto.jp/event/detail/shisendo-jozanoihoten.html
A Japanese sweet shop called Ichijoji Nakatani near here is also famous.
https://www.instagram.com/ichijoujinakatani/
I like a bookstore called Keibunsha Ichijo-ji store on the other side of Ichijoji station, and I used to drop by every time I went there.
There is also a corner that sells miscellaneous goods, so you can enjoy shopping.
https://www.keibunsha-books.com/
You can check the season of azalea and satsuki azalea in each spot here.
https://kyototravel.info/tsutsujisatsukimeisho
As an event in May, Kamogawa Odori will be held until May 24th.
https://souda-kyoto.jp/event/05.html
The antique market of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine will be held on the 25th.
https://antique-leaves.com/apps/note/events/event/kitano-tenmangu-anti...
A handmade market at Kamigamo Shrine will also be held on the 25th.
https://kamigamo-tedukuriichi.com/publics/index/141/

completely avoiding crowds in Kyoto is mission impossible. But - from many times I spent there, I have good ways to minimize it. Here list of things to do with quite calm environment:
- Gion and Higashiyama by night. Just strolling small streets is my favorite thing to do (we stay in Gion),
- Kennin-ji temple in the morning
- biking on riverside to mount Hiei
- day trips to lake Biwa
- Arashiyama in the evening, Sagano
- Keage incline

Crowds are on main shopping streets and near best-known temples.

Completely avoiding people in Kyoto is impossible. Avoiding crowds, not impossible at all. It is to your great advantage that nearly all of the tourists go to a rather small number of tourist attractions, and Kyoto has countless places where you can revel in the essence of this great city. With a full week there, even if you subract a couple of days for day trips, you can surely find some time to add a few �glesser known�h spots to you itinerary. If you can�ft manage to find some good candidates on your own, go to the Kansai Tourist Information Center in the Kyoto Tower Building (not the one in the Kyoto station building) and tell them what you are interested in. I have gotten numerous recommendations there that have turned out to be some of my favorite places in Kyoto, without crowds.

You just have to let go of the urge to pack your day with famous places where everyone else goes. Trust me, if you are able to do that, and are willing to do a little research (or ask the right experts), you will avoid crowds in Kyoto. I understand that the the draw of the famous places is pretty irresistable, but if you only go to such places, you will really be missing out.

Kurama is not a bad choice, by the way. Even though it is relatively well-known, it is very spread out, plus a lot of people don�ft want to take the time to get there. Ohara is another place like that (just a little farther out but this tends to keep people away). If you go there, be sure not to limit your visit to the most famous temple, Sanzenin. It is very nice, and if you get there early it will probably not be crowded at all (everyone will be at Kinkakuji and Kiyomizudera), but there are also some other lovely places to visit in Ohara, and the area itself has a nice essence that is different from the districts in central Kyoto.

There are other nice places for hikes in and around Kyoto, and they will have even fewer people than Kurama. Do a little research online and you can come up with some ideas and maps. In late May, it can be hot in Kyoto, and it can sometimes rain, but you might also get some splendid days (good for a hike) if you are lucky.

If you do your sightseeing earlier in the day, it will be cooler then, and you can shop later to take advantage of air-conditioning, but stores do tend to get crowded the later you go. It sort of depends on what kind of shopping you are talking about. All of the usual places will be a lot worse on weekends than on weekdays.

I will add that late May is not an especially busy time. (It sure beats a weekend during Golden Week�c) I really wouldn�ft worry too much if I were you.

As indicated by haro1210�fs post, there will be various events going on while you are there. There are always events going on in Kyoto, so it doesn�ft hurt to look into them. (Of course, they tend to draw crowds, but you�fre going to have to accept that.) I suggest picking up a copy of Kyoto Visitor�fs Guide, which is an old-fashioned, tabloid-size tourism monthly publication that you can find at tourist information centers in Kansai (and quite possibly even in Tokyo, if you are there earlier). This is an advertising-driven rag, and it will have a lot of ads, but it also has event calendars, and I have found the maps in it to be useful as well. (Sometimes Google Maps is just a big pain in the keester.) Kyoto Visitor�fs Guide has given me a number of pointers over the years, including to one of my favorite temples for lotus blossoms. (You are going to be there a little early for lotus blossoms, but with global warming, you never know. Lotus plants grown in pots tend to bloom very early, and I have seen them open at the beginning of June in past years, along with hydrangeas and Japanese iris, albeit not yet at eye-popping spectacle stage. But other flowers will be going great guns in late may, and if it has rained enough, mosses will be glorious.)

I myself would far rather spend half an hour admiring and photographing lotus blossoms (and attendant dragonflies, but without another human in sight) than ogling Kinkakuji. But I am clearly in the minority.

If you are interested in flea market/antiques fair type strolls, there is one held on 25th of every month at Kitano Shrine in Kyoto. It's big and crowded, but that's what makes a good flea market. You can find anything and everything there (crafts, food, souvenirs, used clothes, etc.).

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3939.html

Nijo Castle and Kinkakuji Temple are two must-go places in Kyoto.

Many thanks for all your responses. Haro1210, your links are in Japanese adn I am not seeing an ability to translate them into English. What am I missing please?

Girl with pearl-the biking sounds interesting. We are doing an half day e bike tour to Hida when in Takayama. I wll look into that. Is it an organized tour or we just rent bikes? Also, Lake Biwa has been on my radar but we seem to need a rental car to get there, which I won't have. Any ideas?

Kim, a few of you have mentioned it may be hot. I'd like to visit Kurama and Kibune but how long/hard is hike? Can we take public transportation rather than hike? I will look into Ohara. Would also love to see the lotus blossoms. Thanks for idea to visit the Tourist Info Center in teh Kyoto Tower Bldg.

Question since we arrive on a Friday-what places would be best to avoid on Saturday and Sunday and what would be best to visit on weekend?

Kurama to Kibune is a fairly easy hike, although it does cross a mountain so there is some climbing. (The trails are good so it isn�ft treacherous, but you might need to stop to catch your breath a few times.) You take public transportation to get to the start of the hike, but then you have to walk (roughly two hours at a leisurely pace with stops to admire various things, or less if you are brisk walkers). Actually, there is a cable car that goes partway up the mountain from Kurama, but the problem with that is that if you take it and then continue on to Kibune, you will miss Yuki Jinja, which is a very nice little shrine. So I recommend walking all the way up (or you can take the cable car up, walk up more as far as the main temple area, and then turn around and walk all the way down, skipping Kibune, which I have done, but not many people would do that). The mountainside is wooded so unless it is a really hot day (possible in late May, but not nearly as likely as later in the summer), it shouldn�ft be too bad. Do bring water, though. I would say that Kurama or Ohara will likely be better on a weekend than the more popular sites in central Kyoto. (Fushimi Inari Shrine will be a zoo on the weekend. It is such a unique and worthwhile place to visit that I wouldn�ft tell you not to go there, but I would go on a weekday if possible, and as early as you can. Like Kurama, it is spread out, so unlike Kiyomizudera or Kinkakuji or some other confined places, it you walk for a while the crowds will thin out. But you basically have to accept that you won�ft find any solitude there.)

I wouldn�ft hold out high hopes for seeing lotus flowers (hasu) in May, although it isn�ft out of the question where they are cultivated in pots (which allows you to get up close and personal anyway; it�fs hard to do that when they are in a lily pond). They are surely spectacular, though�c More likely you you will be able to see water lilies (suiren), which bloom earlier and are also very pretty. For hasu, two places that have a fair number of pots are Mimurotoji and Manpukuji (both in Uji), and those are both lovely temples that I can recommend, but they take a little while to get to, and there are no guarantees the hasu (or hydrangea, which Mimurotoji is famous for) will be starting to bloom yet.

I love hydrangaes but think I will be a few weeks to a month early for them. Thanks again.

Well, I have certainly seen hydrangeas blooming in gardens (not just in pots) in both Kanto and Kansai at the end of May (I have photos I took on May 17 one year at Meigetsuin in Kamakura, showing several varieties just starting), but you shouldn't go expecting to see them at that time. You might come across a few, but the lavish spectacles that attract crowds don't usually get going until the second week in June or later.

Not a flower expert here 😎

But I can talk to Lake Biwa. Don�ft know why you think you need a car. Lake Biwa and many of its main attractions are easily reachable by train from Kyoto. There are train lines on both sides of the lake. So you could even go around once. Main sights are :
Hikone castle
Omi Hachiman
Nagahama
Miho museum is spectacular but admittedly a bit harder to reach. Not impossible though

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2019/04/miho-museum-perfect-day...

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2019/10/maibara-to-omi-hachiman...

You are talking about cycling, very dear to my heart.
At Maibara station you can rent road bikes (and maybe also touring bikes)
http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2022/12/nagahama-on-biwako.html

I am searching the Internet on my computer.
You can search for the approximate content by copying and pasting the URL into Google Translate on your computer.
I also like lotus flowers, and in the past few years I have gone to Komyoji Temple in Kamakura and Sankeien Garden in Yokohama to take pictures, although they are not in Kyoto.
However, I feel like it's a little early for the lotus flower season (after July?)
It's warm this year, so we might be able to see hydrangeas in late May.
https://souda-kyoto.jp/blog/01188.html
https://trip101.com/article/top-10-hydrangea-flower-spots-in-kyoto
The most up-to-date information on flowers can be found at tourist information centers, so it's a good idea to check there after arriving in Kyoto.
https://tic.jnto.go.jp/eng/detail.php?id=1219
https://tic.jnto.go.jp/eng/detail.php?id=1423
https://tic.jnto.go.jp/eng/detail.php?id=1701

Here�fs some of my thoughts on Kyoto:

- personally I think you really should see kinkaku-ji, it�fs amazing. You are there a week, just be prepared for some big crowds every now and then. Just stay zen! Getting there very early helps
- I went to kennin-ji for the first time in December. I think this is a very underrated temple. It has a great zen garden, some great paintings, and is relatively less visited. And it�fs in Gion! Our 16 year old daughter enjoyed it, I think partly because of the variety this temple has. Personally I would visit here over a number of more hyped zen gardens (personally I found ginkaku-ji a bit disappointing, and it was very busy. It�fs also a bit out of the way. Plenty of people love it though. All about personal taste!)
- As others have said, allowing plenty of time for walking the streets of Gion is well worthwhile
- do you like bonsai? I stumbled unexpectedly on a gem in December when visiting daitoku-ji. Honshun-in, one of the subtemples there, has an AMAZING collection of bonsai on display�f

What are your daughter�fs interests?

Thanks for even more suggestions and possible hydrangeas and lake biwa.

We just know that we will want a few more zen experiences than constant crowds. I am from NYC originally so used to crowds. My challenge is that i have no sense of direction and my husband usually gets us around so that will be up to my daughter.

My favorite things about travel are the people you meet along the way and the unique, unplanned experiences you have. Hoping a bit off the beaten path spots might provide that along with some of the must see crowded spots.

Would you recommend the boat ride down the river? That seems to be popular in fall-how would it be in May?

I think Kyoto is very easy to get around, at least to not get lost. Directions to all of the famous and semi-famous places are easy to come by, although some of them suggest taking buses and I recommend that you avoid taking buses in central Kyoto. (The bus to Ohara is generally okay, and there isn�ft really any practical way to get there otherwise.) The transit system is a hodge-podge involving several different rail companies. An IC card is a must, and at times it is very much worth taking a cab.

Plan your routes in advance, use Google Maps, and also maybe have some paper maps, which can sometimes be so much easier to get useful information from. (I�fm talking about free sightseeing maps that you can get at your hotel or a tourist information center, or maybe selectively print in advance off the Internet.) Google Maps on a cellphone is helpful for heading in the right direction on a real-time basis.

For �gzen�h experiences, just try to go to some temples, and other sites, that are not major tourist attractions. It is pretty hard not to find wonderful things to see and do in Kyoto, and solitude is suprisingly easy to come by.

If you like flowers, I recommend the Kyoto Botanical Gardens (which is very easy to get to, being right on a subway line). This place seems to be off the radar map for foreign tourists. I guess they figure that such a site isn�ft particularly unique to Kyoto, but I really love the greenhouse there, and there are also other nice areas for strolling. There might even be some hydrangeas starting�c

Thanks again for the flea market at Kitano. Is that fun? It would be our first full day in Kyoto.