Our trip to Kyoto was one of the best parts of our Japan adventure. Here’s how we spent our two days in case that helps plan your vacation.
First, I have to give accolades to how easy Japan makes it to travel Every hotel has a luggage service where they will transport your luggage to your next destination for a reasonable fee. If you’re like me and pack your entire wardrobe for your trip this is a God-send.
Kyoto’s history spans over a millennium, from its establishment as the capital of Japan in 794 to the Meiji Restoration in 1869. The city, originally named Heian-kyō, served as the seat of the Imperial court for over 1,000 years, influencing Japanese art, culture, and religion. Kyoto’s unique blend of tradition and modernity is a testament to its rich past.
On our first day we rented a kimono (and for my husband a montsuki). They do your hair as well which is a godsend to a site hungry traveller. The process was super simple and I loved being able to pick out the colors and hairstyles. Of course, I went with Ukrainian colors.
We spent the day exploring the beauties of Kyoto including going to Kiyomizu-dera. Kiyomizu-dera is one of the most famous and celebrated temples in Kyoto. The temple was founded in 778 AD and contains buildings from the 17th century, including a main hall designated as a National Treasure. The temple’s wooden stage is undoubtedly what the temple is most famous for, offering an outstanding panoramic view of Kyoto rising out of a sea of maples.
Additionally there’s different historic Japanese homes that you can visit. I particularly enjyed the zen gardens located in the center of these houses. I could have sat there all day enjoying the gentle wind against the Japanese maples.
My favorite shrine we visited was the infamous Monkey shrine where kids commonly frequent to donate a hakey sak and make their dreams come true!
Kyoto has numerous adorable shops filled with treats and gifts. Kyoto is renowned for its high-quality matcha green tea, and the city’s tea culture is a major draw for visitors, particularly those seeking authentic matcha experiences. Uji, located in the outskirts of Kyoto, is especially famous as the “birthplace” of matcha and one of the best places to enjoy it.
A great spot for snack and gift shopping is the Nishiki Market (錦市場, Nishiki Ichiba) is a narrow, five block long shopping street lined by more than one hundred shops and restaurants. Known as “Kyoto’s Kitchen”, this lively retail marketspecializes in all things food related, like fresh seafood, produce, knives and cookware, and is a great place to find seasonal foods and Kyoto specialties, such as Japanese sweets, pickles, dried seafood and sushi. We got some custom made chopsticks for our family back home.
We spent the remains of our day enjoying a traditional Japanese meal at a small 10 seat, Michelin starred resteraunt. The food was exquisite and I loved how much vegetables were highlighted in each dish.
On our second day we made a trip to Fushimi Inari, officially known as Fushimi Inari Taisha, is a beautiful Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto, famous for its thousands of vermilion torii. The torii gates along the way are donations from individuals and companies and on the back of each gate is the name of the donor and the date of the donation.
I love how the temple is guarded with a series of fox statues of varying sizes. The fox statues are decorated with little scarves, flowers, and hats. In addition to foxes, theres a lot of very happy looking cats taking naps along the walk.
The red pillars symbolize donations from different families and companies to the shrine to wish a good rice harvest. It’s a meditative and serene walk which I dream about going on again.
After the shrine walk we enjoyed a sushi filled lunch. When in Rome...
On the train from Kyoto we enjoyed the view of Mount Fuji and dreamed of an opportunity to come back soon.
I hope this helped with your own visit to Kyoto or brought back some good memories. Until next time!
