Kyoto Trip and Accommodations

Hi,

Just wondering if it's possible to cover Kyoto in 2 days? I would like to visit Fushimi, Arashiyama, Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, Philosopher's Path and Kiyomizudera Temple. Any ryokans below 12000yen to recommend? As for transportation, what are the ways to travel as cheap as possible within all these areas?

Thanks so much for any help provided.

I think you can cover the locations you mentioned in 2 days.

Some moderately priced Ryokans in Kyoto:

http://www.ryokan-kyoto.com/
http://www.budgetinnjp.com/
http://www.kanko.jp/wh/english/index.html

Try searching these forums for names and you will come up with quite a few.

Good luck.

Is it possible to walk from these places? And how long?

1) Kyoto St to Fushimi Inari Taisha
2) Kiyomizudera to Ginkakuji (covering areas in the Philosopher's Path and other famous temples)
3) Kinkakuji Temple to Arashiyama (covering the other temples too)
4) Osaka Castle to Dotomburi

Thanks to TraveltoJapan for the advice =)

Is it possible to walk from these places? And how long?
you could walk but it would take you the best part of the day everytime. Look at travel pages on this site (japan-guide.com) for info on trains and buses. ASK the tourist office in the JR Kyoto station for maps and for trains info an buses numbers
1) Kyoto St to Fushimi Inari Taisha:
no take the JR Nara train from kyoto station.
2) Kiyomizudera to Ginkakuji (covering areas in the Philosopher's Path and other famous temples)
no. need to take a bus at the bottom of the Kiomizudera slope..
3) Kinkakuji Temple to Arashiyama (covering the other temples too) NO definitely not!!!!. take a bus or one of 2 different railways.
4) Osaka Castle to Dotombori
yes. it only takes a few hours.
perhaps 3 hrs at a reasonable pace.
have you ever looked at maps of Kyoto and Osaka on the internet and in guidebooks at your local bookstore?
.

It is possible to walk any distance. The question is whether you are willing to do it or not.

Kyoto St to Fushimi Inari Taisha

3 km, about 40 minutes.

Kiyomizudera to Ginkakuji (covering areas in the Philosopher's Path and other famous temples)

5 km, about 1.5 hours without stops

Kinkakuji Temple to Arashiyama (covering the other temples too)

7 km, about 2 hours

Osaka Castle to Dotomburi

3.5 km, about 45 minutes

To Plantagenesta: I've seen the map, and some itineraries but most of the routes covers different areas, but because my friends and I are on tight budget (seeing the fact that Japan's transport costs are pretty expensive) so we were wondering if it's possible to walk from area to area.

But to Plantagenesta and Uji, thanks so much for all the info. It helps my friends and I in planning a better flow of the area.

Just a question, is it cheaper to take a bus to Fushimi or to take a train? Does any of the kyoto pass covers Fushimi and Arashiyama area? The website for the Kyoto transport doesn't seem to be clear of where the pass covers.

Thanks

rereading my post it looks a bit harsh.. I didn't mean to sound critical when talking about maps..

1-for transportation to Arashiyama please see: www.japan-guide.com/e/e3912.html
it takes about 3 hrs to walk around the town and visit several temples, the bamboo grove etc.
2- from Kyoto station to Inari by JR cost 140 yen one way.
going up Mt Inari and down, walking in the forest under the 10 000 torii, can be done in 2--3 hrs.
3- I took a lot of time walking from Dotombori to Osaka-Jo because I ZIG-ZAGGED along side streets.. actually that day I walked from Tennoji to Dotombori to the castle to Tenma shopping street to Osaka JR station. A very long walk indeed
I forgot to mention on my first post --kind of obvious really-- that visiting each sight takes time and means a certain amount of walking, besides going from one place to another. Thus the recommendation to go by public transit. Long distance trains are expensive (unless one has a JR pass) but local commuter trains and subways are cheap. it shouldn't cost more than 1000 yen per day to take several short trips by trains/ buses/ subway. For example going to Inari shrine in the morning and Arashiyama in the afternoon by JR (both from Kyoto station) should cost about 800 yen in total (including return trips). you have to balance that against walking roughly 5 hrs in total going to both places and coming back plus 4-5 hrs in total visiting both these sites. it all depends on how fit you are, on the weather conditions etc. perhaps you could walk to Ginkakuji, the philosophers walk, Kiomizu dera and finally Gion on the first day and take the train the next day to the Inari shrine and Arashiyama.

To Plantagenesta, no worries. It doesn't sound harsh, but I really did my homework in a way =)

Thanks for all the advices. My itinerary will probably be Fushimi in the morning, then Kiyomizu to Ginkakuji in the afternoon til evening. Arashiyama and Kinkakuji will probably be done on the 2nd day. We intend to go during early April to view the cherry blossoms. Is it advisable to walk such long hours during Spring?

Just another question, is it better to head down to Kyoto first or Osaka? We are trying to cover these 2 areas in 4 days but not too sure which to cover first.

Thanks

If you are coming from Tokyo and plan to return to Tokyo, then I think it is better to do Osaka first.

Good luck.

Anyone knows if there are any accommodations below 3000yen at Ueno?

Thanks.