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If you’re looking for a change of pace from the bright lights of Tokyo, then Kyoto offers a more traditional charm and a glimpse into old Japan. Once upon a time it was the country’s capital and is now a must-see for any Japan bucket list, particularly for its beautiful shrines, temples and teahouses. Based on my own visit to this unique city, here is a perfect 4 day Kyoto itinerary for first timers.
Getting around Kyoto
Getting around Kyoto is easy for first-time visitors thanks to its reliable buses and trains. Buses are especially useful for reaching temples, while trains are best for longer trips to areas slightly further out, like Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari. The subway system is relatively straightforward in comparison to Tokyo too, with just two lines serving the city. Cycling is also a popular way to travel around, although for someone like myself who isn’t too comfortable travelling on two wheels, I stuck to public transport and my own two feet!
When we caught the bus to Kinkaku-ji (The Golden Pavilion), there was even a little screen inside the bus showing us where the stop was and which direction we needed to walk to find the temple. You don’t see things like that in many other countries!
Where to stay in Kyoto
I stayed in two hotels during my time in Kyoto.
- Hotel MyStays Kyoto Shijo: A budget friendly, modern and centrally located hotel. Walking distance to more than one train station which makes it an ideal base for exploring.
- Hiiragiya Bekkan: This is for those wanting to stay in a traditional ryokan. Staying here is more of an experience in itself as opposed to a base and a bed for the night. You can read more about my ryokan experience here: An Affordable Ryokan in Kyoto: My Authentic Japanese Experience
How to spend 4 days in Kyoto
Day 1
Start your Kyoto adventure by taking the bus to Kinkaku-ji aka The Golden Pavilion. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is an icon of Kyoto due to being covered in gold leaf. Although you can’t actually go inside the temple, it overlooks a beautiful pond so makes for a pretty picture or two.
There are other temples and shrines in the area close to Kinkaku-ji, however we opted to travel across the city to the Nanzen-ji Temple. Nanzen-ji is a zen Buddhist temple situated at the base of the Higashiyama mountains. It is one of the most well-known zen temples in Japan and is surrounded by peaceful gardens. We enjoyed a wander and stopped for ice cream as it was a beautiful day.
For lunch we chose to experience conveyor belt sushi at Musashi Sushi. There is a restaurant around 20 minutes subway ride away from Nanzen-ji. I’m sure there’s other great sushi nearby but I like to recommend places that I have personally been to and I found Musashi Sushi very easy to navigate. We ended up visiting two different Musashi Sushi restaurants during our stay.
After lunch we took a wander into Gion. Gion is the Kyoto that people think of – traditional teahouses and geisha. It can be quite expensive to dine out in this area due to its popularity, so we were glad we had already filled up on sushi.
After soaking up the atmosphere in Gion we headed over to Yasaka Shrine and Maruyama Park. If you’re visiting in July then you may be lucky enough to catch the Gion Matsuri (a famous summer festival). However, if like us, you’re there in April, take the time to admire the cherry blossoms.
If you’re keen to see a geisha performance on a budget then I recommend Gion Corner. It is aimed at tourists but given how expensive and exclusive private teahouse performances are, this is ideal for first-timers. Gion Corner is an hour long cultural show where you can watch stage performances of traditional Japanese arts such as music, flower arranging and puppetry. Of course, the highlight of the show is the geiko/maiko performance.
Book tickets for Gion Corner here.
For dinner that night we were craving pizza (judge all you want but we had had plenty of Japanese food prior to this night). We enjoyed a meal at Salvatore Cuomo and Grill before calling it a night.
Tip:
If you prefer a slightly more relaxed day then skip Kinkaku-ji in the morning and explore the other temples nearby Nanzen-ji. Ginkaku-ji aka The Silver Pavilion is close by, although I should note that unlike its gold counterpart, this temple is not covered in silver.
Day 2
Day 2 of our 4 day Kyoto itinerary saw us taking a day trip to Arashiyama. Perhaps most famous for its bamboo grove, Arashiyama is a sightseeing district a train ride from central Kyoto.
It can be busy in this area, however it is worth it for the number of things to do. Aside from the eerie but magical bamboo grove, take a wander over Togetsu-Kyo bridge, shop for souvenirs in the local boutiques and if you’re not feeling to “templed out”, there are more temples here.
One of my favourite parts of Arashiyama was Iwatayama monkey park. Here you can see wild Japanese macaques and can even feed them! Feeding them is a unique experience as it is YOU who is in the cage, whilst the monkeys roam free.
After a days exploration, we had dinner back in central Kyoto. We tried the Japanese dish of okonomiyaki at Nishiki Warai restaurant near to Nishiki Market. Okonomiyaki is a savoury pancake that is cooked on a flat griddle. Some restaurants provide you with the ingredients to cook for yourself, but at Warai they cook it for you. Then you just warm it on the griddle at your table and garnish it yourself.
We ended our day with a stroll through Nishiki Market, although as it is a food market and we were full from dinner we didn’t buy anything.
Day 3
Our visit to Japan coincided with our first wedding anniversary, which is traditionally your ‘paper’ wedding anniversary. To celebrate this we took an Origami class! It was a private class of just us and our teacher, and a really enjoyable and unique way to spend an hour in the morning.
After a quick coffee, we caught the train to the nearby city of Nara. Again, here you can find temples with the most well-known being Todai-ji – home of the Great Buddha. This temple is home to Japan’s largest bronze Buddha statue. The statue itself is around 15 metres tall and dates all the way back to the year 752 – pretty impressive!
Nara is most famous for its wild sika deer who roam the park. You can actually buy biscuits from nearby vendors to feed the deer, but be warned – they aren’t shy and are known to butt and bite people. I myself got a bruise on my thigh from an unprovoked attack, so be sensible!
For our evening meal we headed back into Kyoto for katsu curry. We ate at the budget friendly CoCo Curry House, which we didn’t even realise was a chain. And they have one in London!
After dinner we took a walk down Pontocho – another famous geisha district. We did in fact spot a geisha briskly walking between teahouses.
Day 4
Another busy day in our 4 day Kyoto itinerary. We took the train to see the incredible Fushimi Inari Shrine. Now if you’re all shrined out I would say not to miss this one! Fushimi Inari is best known for its thousands of orangey-red torii gates which visitors can walk through. If you’ve seen the movie Memoirs of a Geisha then you will probably remember the scene where the main character runs through the torii gates here.
If you don’t like crowds, I would suggest to arrive early. And if you’re feeling fit you can attempt to hike right up to the summit, the further you go, the fewer the crowds. Although I don’t speak from experience as we didn’t hike the whole way up.
As day 4 in Kyoto was our last day, we booked a traditional ryokan for the night. As I mentioned above, we stayed at the Hiiragiya Bekkan. Here we spent the afternoon relaxing before trying an 8 course kaiseki meal that was served to us in our room.
You can read more about staying in a ryokan here: An Affordable Ryokan in Kyoto: My Authentic Japanese Experience and more about my Japanese foodie experiences here: 10 foods to try in Japan.
Top tip: Japan has a reliable luggage forwarding service. Because ryokans are limited on space, we just took an overnight bag with us. We then arranged for our hotel in Kyoto to forward our larger suitcases on to the airport hotel we stayed at on our final night in Japan.
Is 4 days in Kyoto enough?
4 days in Kyoto is an excellent amount of time to explore the city and its surrounds, especially if you’re short on time and travelling to other parts of Japan. If you’re a first time visitor then you might find the following blog posts helpful:
- 4 Days in Tokyo: An Itinerary for First Timers
- First Time In Japan? Here’s The Ultimate 25 Item Bucket List
- Surprising things about Japan that made my trip unforgettable