Trip notes
If you are going yourself
Everything practical for Kyoto, Japan in one place — where it actually is, where to sleep, how to move, what to eat, what the weather does, and what to put in the bag. The story itself follows.
Travelled
Solo — Built entirely around getting up before everyone else, which is hard to negotiate with company.
The route
6 stops · 1 slept in · 4 nights
Drag to pan, use +/− to zoom, tap a pin for detail.
Kyoto Station hotel
4 nights · base
Reached 10 Feb, 15:30Good with kidsNo dogs
Unromantic and unbeatable — every 05:30 train in this list leaves from here.
Good signal — Fibre wifi indoors and 5G outside. Nothing here is a problem.
Fushimi Inari
Passed through · 06:00
Reached 11 Feb, 06:00Good with kidsNo dogs
Five minutes by train, and completely empty. Same gates, same mountain, no queue.
Good signal — Signal all the way up the mountain, though slower near the top.
By train
Arashiyama
Passed through · 07:00
Reached 12 Feb, 07:00Good with kidsDogs welcome
The bamboo grove on another morning. Works exactly the same way.
Good signal — 5G, with free wifi at the station and in the cafés by the grove.
By train
Nishiki Market
Passed through · 09:30
Reached 10 Feb, 09:30Good with kidsNo dogs
Breakfast and pickles before the tour groups arrive. Knives at the far end.
Good signal — Fine, though the covered arcade drops you back to 4G.
By train
Kiyomizu-dera
Passed through · 16:30
Reached 13 Feb, 16:30Good with kidsNo dogs
Late afternoon as the eastern temples close, rather than at noon in April.
Good signal — Strong signal on the approach, and free wifi in most of the shops.
On foot
Pontochō
Passed through · sunset
Reached 10 Feb, 18:20Not one for kidsNo dogs
One lantern-lit lane by the river. Read the menus outside and pick.
Good signal — 5G by the river. Some older restaurants ask you not to use a phone at all.
On foot
Fushimi Inari — the 06:00 start in the story34.9671° N, 135.7727° E
Open route in Google MapsOpen in OpenStreetMapDay by day
5 days, start to finish · 10–14 February 2025
Day 110 Feb
Kyoto Station hotelBy train toNishiki MarketOn foot toPontochōSaw: Pontochō as the lanterns come onStaying Kyoto Station
- Overcast, 7°/-3°
Day 211 Feb
Starting from Kyoto StationBy train toFushimi InariSaw: Fushimi Inari at sixSaw: The north temples at 16:30Staying Kyoto Station
- Drizzle, 6°/-1°
Day 312 Feb
Starting from Kyoto StationBy train toArashiyamaSaw: The Arashiyama bamboo groveSaw: Siphon coffee in a kissatenStaying Kyoto Station
- Snow, 5°/-3° · 2.1 mm
Day 413 Feb
Starting from Kyoto StationOn foot toKiyomizu-deraSaw: The Kiyomizu approachSaw: The garden at Shōren-inSaw: Gion at duskStaying Kyoto Station
- Drizzle, 7°/0°
Day 514 Feb
Kyoto Station hotelSaw: One empty temple at openingTravelling home
- Overcast, 10°/-1°
What to pack
Temple floors, long walking days, and cold mornings
- Clothing
- Thermals
- Shoes
- Slip-on shoes
- Money
- Cash and IC
- Medicine
- Blister plasters
Where to stay
Near Kyoto Station
HotelGood with kidsNo dogsVegan options
Unromantic and unbeatable for the 05:30 starts — trains to Fushimi Inari and Arashiyama both leave from here.
Gion / Higashiyama
Ryokan or machiyaGood with kidsNo dogsLittle for vegans
Walk to the eastern temples before dawn. The most atmospheric and the most expensive.
Nishijin or Demachiyanagi
GuesthouseGood with kidsNo dogsVegan options
Residential north-west and north-east, cheaper, and a short bus or bike ride from everything.
Getting around
Getting thereGood with kidsDogs welcome
Fly to Osaka (KIX) and take the Haruka express, about 80 minutes, or the shinkansen from Tokyo in 2¼ hours.
TrainsGood with kidsDogs welcome
The JR Nara line reaches Fushimi Inari in five minutes from Kyoto Station; the JR San-in line reaches Arashiyama in 15.
BusesGood with kidsNo dogs
They cover the temples the trains miss and they are slow and full by 10:00. Another argument for early starts.
BicycleGood with kidsNo dogs
Kyoto is flat and a rented bike beats the bus for anything within the grid. Park only in marked bays.
Food stops
Nishiki Market
Covered marketGood with kidsNo dogsVegan options
Go before the tour groups, around 09:30. Pickles, tamagoyaki, sesame tofu, knives.
Shōjin ryōri
Temple cuisineNot one for kidsNo dogsVegan options
Buddhist vegetarian, served at several temples at lunchtime. Book a day ahead.
Pontochō
Alley of restaurantsNot one for kidsNo dogsLittle for vegans
One lantern-lit lane by the river. Some places are exclusive, plenty are not — read the menus outside.
Kissaten
Old-style coffee houseGood with kidsNo dogsLittle for vegans
The right place to spend the crowded middle of the day: siphon coffee, thick toast, no hurry.
Main attractions
10 in 5 days
Nishiki Market
Day 1
Pontochō as the lanterns come on
Day 1
Fushimi Inari at six
Day 2
The north temples at 16:30
Day 2
The Arashiyama bamboo grove
Day 3
Siphon coffee in a kissaten
Day 3
The Kiyomizu approach
Day 4
The garden at Shōren-in
Day 4
Gion at dusk
Day 4
One empty temple at opening
Day 5
The story
Fushimi Inari is famously impossible, and completely empty at six. Same gates, same mountain, no queue. Arashiyama works the same way. So does almost everything.
The daily shape
- 05:30–08:30 — the famous sites, alone. Fushimi Inari, Arashiyama, the Kiyomizu approach.
- 09:00–11:00 — breakfast, a coffee, Nishiki before the tour groups.
- 11:00–16:00 — museums, a long lunch, the garden at Shōren-in, a nap. Do not fight the crowd.
- 16:30–sunset — the northern temples as they close, Pontochō as the lanterns come on.
November or February
- Blossom season is the single most crowded fortnight in Japan.
- November's maples: deeper colour, longer season, a third of the people.
- February is cold, quiet and half price.
The temples are not overrun. They are overrun between ten and four. Here is the other Kyoto.
- #japan
- #temples
- #early mornings
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