24 hours in Kyoto

The next stop on our whirlwind Japan visit was a night in Kyoto and we crammed a lot into 24 hours!

Kyoto was Japan’s capital and the emperor’s residence from 794 until 1868. It is home to dramatic palaces and temples, the famous Gion district where 70 geisha still live and work, plus the Fushimi Inari Shrine with its iconic vermilion torii gates.

Our adventure began with catching a “tourist train” from Osaka to Kyoto. The ‘Kyo-train Garaku’ train is a lovely creation – its name literally means “Gorgeous Kyoto Train” – and each carriage is decorated with beautiful, seasonal motifs.

You can’t book a seat on the train, you just arrive at the platform and take your chances.

We decided to line up for the winter carriage and scored seats made of tatami mats next to a miniature “Zen” garden. It was so much fun and our tickets were the same price as ordinary trains on the line.

We hit the ground running on arrival in Kyoto, dropping our bags at the hotel and returning to the enormous station to catch a train to the famed Fushimi Inari Shrine. The Shinto shrine is famous for its thousands of torii gates on trails along the forested hillside. 

The site is always heaving with tourists, but still exciting to explore. While you need to get there early to fluke solo Insta shots, there were still moments where we scored gaps between swarms. It was unseasonably hot when we visited, so we didn’t make it all the way to the top, retreating instead to explore the stores below the shrine and eat Matcha soft serve ice creams.

It was predicted to rain the next morning, so DD convinced us to chase the sunshine and visit the stunning Kinkakuji temple, which is famous for its top two floors being completely covered in gold leaf.

He then talked us into a long trek down to Ryoan-ji Temple, which is home to Japan’s most famous “Zen” garden consists of 15 carefully placed rocks. It was possibly a bit too inscrutable for me, but the gardens surrounding it were wonderful.

Then we jumped in a cab to see the famed Gion district, which has been forced to close many of its historic alleyways to protect the geishas who live and work there. It was a gorgeous, atmospheric place to explore once we escaped the throngs on the main drag.

Afterwards we headed across the canal for dinner in a yakitori restaurant for dinner, which included the requisite meat on a stick, alongside pork dumplings sprinkled with parmesan and sashimi with crunchy chilli and soy sauce drizzled over it.

The next morning we had the most wonderful adventure, wandering along The Philosopher’s Walk, which runs alongside a canal in the shadow of the mountains between Ginkaku-ji Temple (the Silver Pavilion) and the Nyakuoji Bridge. 

We kicked off with coffees and delicious cream puffs then meandered past temples, lush gardens, quaint shops and historic houses.

A highlight was meeting a man sitting beside the path who was making leaf boats filled with flowers, which he encouraged walkers to drop into the water. He clapped with delight as our boats floated away, telling us it was a sign we would have long, fortunate lives.

All too soon it was time to head to the train station for our next stop, Kanazawa.

24 hours in Kyoto was far too short, but I loved our brief visit.

Song of the day: Simple Minds “New gold dream”