Hidden Nature/Cultural Gems in Kyoto?

I'll be visiting Kyoto for 8 days and am looking for suggestions on lesser-known that offer:

- Beautiful natural scenery (mountains, forests, gardens, rivers etc.)
- Cultural/historical significance
- Ancient temples and shrines
- Ability to experience the local traditions/atmosphere

However, I'd like to avoid very crowded tourist hotspots like Fushimi Inari Shrine. My ideal spots would be underrated gems that don't get overrun by tourists.

I'm open to temples, shrines, hiking trails, historic districts - anywhere that highlights Kyoto's natural and rich cultural heritage off the main tourist trail.

Please share any hidden gem recommendations you may have! I'm grateful for any insider tips to help me craft a "not crowded" itenerary for Kyoto

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

Way too Many spots to list them here. I go to Kyoto quite frequently and except during Covid generally donft visit any of the tourist hot spots. I am mostly moving around by bicycle so some places might be a bit difficult to reach. You can have a look through my blog to find inspiration. Here filtered for Kyoto prefecture. But Shiga and Nara prefecture are also closeby and have a lot of treasures as well.

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search/label/Kyoto?m=1

Noted, I will see your blog later, thank you very much

Kyoto has hundreds of ggems.h Among other things, practically any ancient temple open to the public is worth visiting, in my experience. Very few of them are crowded. Just skip the ultra-famous ones.

Kurama usually isnft very crowded, especially if you get there early. Or go early to Ohara and if Sanzenin is too crowded for you try some of the other places there.

Manpukuji in Uji is amazing, and very few foreign tourists go there. They all go to Byodoin (skip it).

Yoshiminedera is well worth the bother of getting there (buses donft go in mid-winter, though).

Get a day pass for Eidan, Randen, or Keihan and pick several places along those lines. I believe each railway has recommendations for places to visit with the pass, and you can compare these lists with the lists of the most popular tourist spots and cross the latter off your list. Get further information on sites by looking them up on Google Maps and reading reviews.

The Kyoto Botanical Gardens are not on the tourist track but are excellent and easy to get to.

Look into the Kyoto Trail (Kyoto Isshu Trail), which has some very nice segments and is essentially unknown.

Miho Museum is absolutely spectacular, and not just for its collections. Go on a weekday and get there when they open.

Go to the Kansai Tourist Information Center in the Kyoto Tower Building for personal recommendations.

Correction: Eizan, not Eidan

If you want a hotel that has some nice elements of Japanese culture, try Hatoya Zuihokaku near Kyoto Station. Sora Niwa Terrace downtown is another place that is a little bit more gJapaneseh than most of the tourist hotels in Kyoto. Both places offer Japanese breakfast as an option. The one at Sora Niwa Terrace is outstanding. Hatoya Zuihokakufs is good too, just not as fancy.

BTW - to avoid crowds, just visit popular palces on late evening/early morning. Fushimi Inari is amazing this way, and for example in Higashiyama you can walk around totally alone on late hours (just some foxes looking for food).

The whole area north of Arashiyama has some great sites (Gioji, Otagi Nenbutsuji etc) It is generally very quiet or at least has been when I have visited.

A detailed explanation of a day hike from Takao to Hozokyo:

https://www.insidekyoto.com/takao-hozukyo-hike-via-kiyotaki-kuya-no-ta...

This long hike was a highlight on one of my trips to Kyoto. If you have the stamina for an 11 km walk you will be rewarded. It is especially pretty in the fall.

Therefs only a few places in Kyoto that get slammed with crowds. There are big-name temples and shrines that barely ever have anyone there.

I think that what Gregalor says is true. When I see proposed itineraries by tourists, over and over and over again I see the same half-dozen places named, and then there are a few more that vary. But about 10 or 15 places seem to draw nearly all of the foreign tourists. Seriously, a place does not need to be glesser knowh to be uncrowded. And it definitely does not need to be on the top-ten lists to be good.

It sounds like you are not driven by fear of missing out, and as long as you are willing to skip the ultra tourist-magnet sites, you are not likely to be bothered by crowds. Or as long as you are prepared to put up with crowds in a few places, you can visit some of the super-famous sites such as Kiyomizudera. (I keep hearing people say gitfs famous for a reasonh and itfs worth putting up with the crowds there, although I personally disagree. But you can see for yourself if you want. Apparently itfs not terribly crowded if you go really early.) With 8 days you can see a lot of wonderful places, and most of them will not be crowded at all. Weekdays are better than weekends, because Japanese people will go to less-famous spots as well as to the tourist magnet sites. For weekends maybe venture out a bit, such as to Nara (except for the gDeer Parkh and daibutsu area) or Hikone.

Kyoto Station, which to a certain extent you cannot avoid, is always crowded these days, and itfs best if you can avoid having to get train tickets there. (If you do need to, itfs less crowded in the morning before 8 or so.) The upper levels are well worth exploring and not many people take the time, so those are not very crowded.

I keep going back to Kyoto year after year, at different seasons, and I still cannot understand why some people say itfs too crowded and they never want to go back there.

A couple more tips would be to skip places that have some sort of seasonal specialty such as cherry blossoms or fall foliage, when it is in season for those places. (They will be mobbed with Japanese tourists as well as foreigners.) And aboslutely donft take buses in Kyoto (you probably already know that).

Other than Tokyo (where I live) I spend more time in Kyoto than any other city so I tend to seek out interesting places during my down-time. Going to places without crowds gets very easy with practice and a bit of knowledge. But, there are a few places with crowds that are still worth visiting at least once. Having said that, there are also "famous" places that really are not worth going to at all. Gion is very over-rated (it has its tacky girl bar district for example), or Kiyomizudera where almost no one actually visits the majority of the buildings in the complex.
As a couple of examples near Kyoto Station, Toji always seems deserted when I visit (I don't get there often - last time was for the flea market so a few more people shopping), or Honganji (either east or west, usually I end up at the east temple). Further afield, Imperial Palace is pretty quiet and I will be back there in two weeks showing a friend some sights in the city.

I went to Takao twice within two years. You can take a bus to Takao in front of Kyoto Station and I think there is another bus going from inside Kyoto city. It is a suburb of Kyoto surrounding by mountains. There are several temples and the scenery of the area is lovely. You have to be fit to going up the steps.
Also, how about Kyoto trail, though I have to confess that I have never been. You can walk around Kyoto city. The trail is divided by sections, so you do not have to do it by one go.

Regarding famous sites, Fushimi Inari to me is totally worth it, and crowds don't go up 20% of it regardless. You can just make your way beyond that and climb the whole mountain. Do so at an odd time of the day and you'll likely be completely alone at many points.

Saihoji (Kokedera) "the moss temple": Not exactly a "hidden gem" it is fairly famous, but you need to request permission to visit it two months in advance so it won't be overly crowded because they limit the number of tourists that can visit it.

Considering you are spending 8 days in Kyoto you should be able to accomplish a lot including the big ticket items. 3-4 days makes for a good trip and you have double that so go to all the smaller places because you have the luxury to do so.

Sanjūsangendō (Temple of thirty-three bays) is a lesser known temple that I visited in 2010 ... I was the only person in the place ... quite beautiful although no pictures are allowed inside.

https://www.travelcaffeine.com/hidden-gems-kyoto-japan/

You can refer to this article for the hidden gems in Kyoto.
https://visitjapan-vegetarian.com/the-top-hidden-gems-in-kyoto-that-is...

I'd also visit the imperial villas.
https://visitjapan-vegetarian.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-katsura-imperi...

Saihoji (Kokedera) no longer requires 2 months advance reservation. They now have an online reservation system, so you can make a reservation just a day or 2 in advance. It's much more convenient. The number of guests are limited, but you can guarantee even less people by choosing a day that does not have any times fully booked if there are any during your stay.