A Two Day Kyoto, Japan Itinerary
- ablondewithabrew
- Jun 27
- 6 min read
Use my itinerary for your own quick, first visit to one of Japan's most popular destinations.
Kyoto is the home of so many of the sights you envision when thinking of visiting Japan. The city is full of history, traditional culture, and natural beauty. There are literally over 1600 temples in this city alone. Kyoto also has less of a big city feel compared to Osaka and Tokyo.
Kyoto is packed with tourists! If you take nothing else from this article, my best advice when visiting Kyoto is to pick what is most important to you and then get to those spots early, because everything else will be very crowded.
For this reason, I recommend staying in Kyoto instead of nearby Osaka if you are choosing between the two like I was. We split our time between both cities equally and stayed at the Hyatt Place Kyoto, which was both close to Nishiki Market, and most importantly, a train station.
Day One
Explore Arashiyama
We started with the famous Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. If you want it to look like it does in my picture, you must get there early. We arrived a few minutes before 7:00am. We also visited during a rainstorm, which was not the most fun, but I think it further reduced the crowd.
From the end of the bamboo forest in the park, follow the signs to the Arashiyama View Point. It's a very short hike (if you can even call it a hike). We were the only people there, and the rainy fog made for a cool photo op. It's also a great spot to enjoy a snack from a konbini.
Depending on how long you spent at the bamboo forest and view point, you may have some time before Tenryu-ji opens at 8:30am. This is an opportune time to stroll along the Katsura River and check out the traditional wooden boats because not much else will be open.
We arrived at Tenryu-ji right at opening. While smaller, this was one of my favorite temples we visited mainly because of its gardens.
Afterwards, treat yourself to some of the best coffee I've ever had at nearby Arabica, which opens at 9:00am. This coffee shop gets a lot of hype on social media, but it's well worth it. The line was not long when I visited, but if it's too long when you go, there's another location in the Gion District. Enjoy it standing by the river across the street. In Japan, people do not walk around with their coffee.
From here, either walk, take the bus (it only runs hourly), or take a taxi to Otagi Nenbutsu-ji. You can get a cab using the Go Taxi app (we downloaded it and set up our accounts before leaving on our trip) or you can get a taxi through Uber. Our ride was under $10 USD.
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji has over 1200 unique Buddha statues, and reportedly, it's a game for visitors to find the one that most resembles them. Because it's more isolated, this temple is rumored to not get crowded, and it was not when we visited, but this is also when the rain intensity really picked up and many guests were seeking covered shelter. I think this temple is absolutely worth the detour, and I would have stayed longer if the weather was better. Instead, we timed out the bus and headed back to our hotel to dry off and change clothes.
Lunch at Nishiki Market
Nishiki Market is the place to try all the foods and pick up food or food related souvenirs. I enjoyed trying so many of the foods I'd seen others eat when visiting Kyoto, but my favorite item was the shrimp tempura fried fresh in front of you.
If nothing else, do not leave here without buying several bags of the chili oil furikake (bottom right image below). I bought 4 bags and I wish I had bought more. Don't worry if you're hesitant, they let you sample it first. This will forever be what I ask friends visiting Kyoto to bring back for me.
Shopping
The area around Nishiki Market is great for souvenir shopping or if you just want to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate (and tax free shopping, but that process is changing soon) yourself. One of my favorite shops, and a popular one for tourists visiting Japan, was Onitsuka Tiger. I appreciated that they control crowds by only allowing a certain number of people in at one time. I saw locations in other cities that did not do this, and I think I had a more pleasant shopping experience, even if I had to wait.
Right now, stores will handle the tax free process for you if you spend 5,000 Yen (about $35 USD). You just need to provide your passport. However, starting November 1, 2026, the process will change to a refund based system at departure. You can read more about this here. Either way, remember if your bag is sealed after making a tax free purchase, do not open it -- these goods are tax free because they're meant to be used/consumed outside of Japan.
Gion District at Night
I got my first matcha latte at the highly recommended Gion Tsujiri, and this was my favorite matcha of the entire trip. There is a shortage of matcha powder, so many stores will limit the quantity purchased in a single transaction. I do recommend purchasing matcha powder in Kyoto as opposed to Tokyo. It was significantly cheaper here than what I saw later on in Tokyo.
From here, we admired the traditional machiya (wooden townhouses) at dusk on our walk to Kodaji Temple. This temple stays open late seasonally for a night time illumination. Kodaji Temple also has a smaller, and less crowded than Arashiyama, bamboo forest on its grounds (seen below illuminated).
Afterwards, we got dinner at a nearby, small restaurant that only served tonkatsu ramen (I don't know it's name) before heading back to our hotel.
Day Two
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Wake up early to get to Fushimi Inari Shrine before the crowds. I got there shortly after 7:00am to capture moments like this one above without people. You will notice that a number of people get dressed up for the photos here, but I recommend something comfortable and good walking shoes. It's up to you how far you hike, but I felt I got a good experience hiking about halfway up to the viewpoint showcasing panoramic views of Kyoto and then turning around. There was even a small souvenir shop along this route where I picked up some gifts to take home.
Kiyumizu-dera and Gion District
If I'd had one more morning to get somewhere early to beat the crowds in Kyoto, it would have been to visit Kiyumizu-dera. By the time I got here around 10:00am, it was packed.
From here, walk down the well-known Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka streets. Get the iconic Kyoto picture with the pagoda in the background from Sannenzaka (see below on the left). Both Sannenzaka are Ninenzaka are lined with shops great for souvenirs and snacks, like matcha soft serve. The businesses get somewhat less touristy the further you get from Kiyumizu-dera Temple.
Before leaving Kyoto for Osaka, we got a lunch at Sushizanmai, which is an affordable chain sushi restaurant. Give it a chance -- even chain restaurant sushi in Japan is better than most of the sushi in the United States.
Final Thoughts on Kyoto
I really enjoyed Kyoto and wish I had spent more time here. There were a number of temples I wish I had gotten a chance to visit, but time did not permit. I would have especially loved to have visited Kinkakuji, better known as the Golden Pavillon, and Ginkakuji, referred to as the Silver Pavillon. Both of these temples are more inconvenient and time consuming to get to (and they're not near one another), so we opted to skip these with our limited time.
The big thing I would do differently on a future trip is I would stay in Kyoto longer and use it as a home base for day trips to nearby destinations, such as Uji, Osaka, and Nara. I would then be able to use these extra mornings to get to popular sights like Kiyumizu-dera, or the temples I did not get to visit this time, before leaving on these day trips. On this trip, we split our time equally between Kyoto and Osaka, and I preferred Kyoto. It's crowded with tourists, and as one of them myself, I totally get it.
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