Perhaps you’re on a business trip or visiting another part of Japan when the question about traveling to Kyoto arises. Is it worth the trip if you can only spend one day there? In response, I offer the following itinerary. It combines the major highlights with some lesser known gems at a pace that won’t leave you feeling like you just entered a whirlwind. Even if you have the misfortune of never being able to visit Kyoto again, you will still leave Japan with a worthwhile experience.
If you don’t have a place to stay and you’re not arriving in the morning, consider spending the night at Ninnaji Temple in NW Kyoto. Not only does it offer a traditional Japanese room at a reasonable price, but it puts you in the right part of the city to begin your day.
The first thing you will need is a big breakfast. If a meal wasn’t included in your hotel stay, find a cafe or restaurant that offers a “morning set” to get the best value. Your first stop after eating is Ryoanji in NW Kyoto. It opens at 8:00 from March to November (8:30 December to February). Getting there early not only lengthens your day, but it will give you relatively quiet access to Ryoanji’s famed dry garden. Perpendicular to it is a charming little moss garden which is seldom commented upon, but which I particularly enjoyed. Take your time to enjoy the gardens but skip the temple tour.
Any time after 9:00, you can make your way just down the road to Kinkakuji to see the famed Golden Pavilion. I found the surroundings rather uninspiring, but perhaps that is intentional so as not to detract from Kinkakuji’s brilliance. After the experience of seeing a building wrapped in gold has worn off, you might want to stop for a quick snack.
A short cab ride will take you to Daitokuji. You are here for two reasons. 1. See more dry gardens. 2. Eat a delicious meal of shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian fare) at the temple restaurant. Depending on your time and budget, you can take another cab or the Kita 8 bus crosstown to Shisendo in NE Kyoto. Shisendo offers a beautiful example of Japanese architecture and gardening on a very human scale, since it was originally built as a residence for one man, Jozan Ishikawa. It is a perfect antidote to becoming “templed out” in the middle of the day.
Another short cab ride will take you to Ginkakuji at the head of the Path of Philosophy. Here you have a lot of leeway to decide what you want to do. Visit Ginkakuji? Walk the Path? Dip in to Honen-in Temple? Explore Nanzenji? It’s really up to you. There are no wrong decisions to be made in this part of the day, and no need to regret anything you omit here. You really only have one imperative here, get to Kiyomizudera at least a half hour before sunset.
Kiyomizu doesn’t close until 6:00, so you’ll still have time to browse the shops of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka that lead up to the temple. While at Kiyomizu, you should allow enough time to walk out to the pagoda so that you can enjoy the view of the pillars that hold the main hall of the temple over the valley. Consider it a bonus if you have time to enter the valley and jostle for a drink of the pure water that gives the temple its name. Then when dusk settles and the sounds of cawing crows alert you to the end of the day, get back to the temple to watch the sun disappear behind the western mountains. Even if you haven’t read Yasunari Kawabata’s The Old Capital, you will still sense that you are taking part in a classic Kyoto tradition.
After the sun has set, there is still more to do and see if you have the energy. While walking back into the city, stop by the Yasaka Pagoda, a pagoda without a temple snugly tucked into the neighbourhood. Cut through Maruyama Park and pause for a moment at Yasaka Shrine where geisha visit to offer their prayers. This should remind you to wander some side streets of Gion hoping to glimpse a maiko or geisha greeting the shopkeepers on her way to work. If you take a picture, make it discreet, and enjoy the moment without interrupting her trip.
Yes, now you are finally allowed to sit down for a well deserved dinner. There are restaurants for all budgets between Gion and the shopping district that centers on the intersection of Shijo-dori and Kawaramachi-dori. While walking along Shijo-dori in Gion, there are two particular buildings to watch for. The first is a large red tea house on the south side of the street called the Ichiriki Ochaya where the leader of the famous 47 Ronin pretended to gamble and drink his life away. This also happens to be an exclusive club, so don’t even bother trying to go in for a look around. The second building to watch for can be seen just before leaving Gion--the Minamiza Theatre where kabuki is still performed over four hundred years after its debut on the nearby banks of the Shirakawa River. After dinner, browse the shops along Kawaramachi-dori. Whether your next stop is the train station, a hotel, or ryokan, enjoy your rest. Sure you’ll be tired, but hopefully gratified by the experience.
If anyone tries this itinerary, let me know how it works out for you.
Travis Belrose is the author of The Samurai Poet, a work of historical fiction set in 17th century Japan. Learn more here.
If you don’t have a place to stay and you’re not arriving in the morning, consider spending the night at Ninnaji Temple in NW Kyoto. Not only does it offer a traditional Japanese room at a reasonable price, but it puts you in the right part of the city to begin your day.
The first thing you will need is a big breakfast. If a meal wasn’t included in your hotel stay, find a cafe or restaurant that offers a “morning set” to get the best value. Your first stop after eating is Ryoanji in NW Kyoto. It opens at 8:00 from March to November (8:30 December to February). Getting there early not only lengthens your day, but it will give you relatively quiet access to Ryoanji’s famed dry garden. Perpendicular to it is a charming little moss garden which is seldom commented upon, but which I particularly enjoyed. Take your time to enjoy the gardens but skip the temple tour.
Any time after 9:00, you can make your way just down the road to Kinkakuji to see the famed Golden Pavilion. I found the surroundings rather uninspiring, but perhaps that is intentional so as not to detract from Kinkakuji’s brilliance. After the experience of seeing a building wrapped in gold has worn off, you might want to stop for a quick snack.
A short cab ride will take you to Daitokuji. You are here for two reasons. 1. See more dry gardens. 2. Eat a delicious meal of shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian fare) at the temple restaurant. Depending on your time and budget, you can take another cab or the Kita 8 bus crosstown to Shisendo in NE Kyoto. Shisendo offers a beautiful example of Japanese architecture and gardening on a very human scale, since it was originally built as a residence for one man, Jozan Ishikawa. It is a perfect antidote to becoming “templed out” in the middle of the day.
Another short cab ride will take you to Ginkakuji at the head of the Path of Philosophy. Here you have a lot of leeway to decide what you want to do. Visit Ginkakuji? Walk the Path? Dip in to Honen-in Temple? Explore Nanzenji? It’s really up to you. There are no wrong decisions to be made in this part of the day, and no need to regret anything you omit here. You really only have one imperative here, get to Kiyomizudera at least a half hour before sunset.
Kiyomizu doesn’t close until 6:00, so you’ll still have time to browse the shops of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka that lead up to the temple. While at Kiyomizu, you should allow enough time to walk out to the pagoda so that you can enjoy the view of the pillars that hold the main hall of the temple over the valley. Consider it a bonus if you have time to enter the valley and jostle for a drink of the pure water that gives the temple its name. Then when dusk settles and the sounds of cawing crows alert you to the end of the day, get back to the temple to watch the sun disappear behind the western mountains. Even if you haven’t read Yasunari Kawabata’s The Old Capital, you will still sense that you are taking part in a classic Kyoto tradition.
After the sun has set, there is still more to do and see if you have the energy. While walking back into the city, stop by the Yasaka Pagoda, a pagoda without a temple snugly tucked into the neighbourhood. Cut through Maruyama Park and pause for a moment at Yasaka Shrine where geisha visit to offer their prayers. This should remind you to wander some side streets of Gion hoping to glimpse a maiko or geisha greeting the shopkeepers on her way to work. If you take a picture, make it discreet, and enjoy the moment without interrupting her trip.
Yes, now you are finally allowed to sit down for a well deserved dinner. There are restaurants for all budgets between Gion and the shopping district that centers on the intersection of Shijo-dori and Kawaramachi-dori. While walking along Shijo-dori in Gion, there are two particular buildings to watch for. The first is a large red tea house on the south side of the street called the Ichiriki Ochaya where the leader of the famous 47 Ronin pretended to gamble and drink his life away. This also happens to be an exclusive club, so don’t even bother trying to go in for a look around. The second building to watch for can be seen just before leaving Gion--the Minamiza Theatre where kabuki is still performed over four hundred years after its debut on the nearby banks of the Shirakawa River. After dinner, browse the shops along Kawaramachi-dori. Whether your next stop is the train station, a hotel, or ryokan, enjoy your rest. Sure you’ll be tired, but hopefully gratified by the experience.
If anyone tries this itinerary, let me know how it works out for you.
Travis Belrose is the author of The Samurai Poet, a work of historical fiction set in 17th century Japan. Learn more here.
Kyoto is great. I always advise people who have never traveled to Japan to go there first. Tokyo is a cement megalopolis, whereas there's something surprising seemingly around every corner in Kyoto. Nice itinerary!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by to comment. For those who may not recognize the name, Patrick Galloway is an authority on Japanese cinema, so be sure to check out his blog and his books at the Samurai Archives bookstore. Glad you liked the itinerary, by the way. After making this blog post I did a quick search and turned up an article with the same title from The Independent newspaper. I found their choices baffling to be quite honest.
ReplyDeleteThey recommend beginning in the Kiyomizu area, then going diagonally across town to Kinkakuji, but not Ryoanji. They then suggest spending the afternoon in Arashiyama (a nice area if you have a few days in Kyoto, but not quite a must see) before backtracking to a restaurant near Maruyama Park, virtually right back where you started. Then again, this is the same article that states “historically, geishas in Kyoto - unlike those in Tokyo or Osaka - were male entertainers dressed as women,” whereas the true story is a little more complex. According to Liza Dalby’s Geisha, men did serve in the entertaining geisha role as musicians and comedians from 1600-1800. The first woman geiko appeared in Kyoto in 1751, by 1780 women outnumbered men in the role, and by 1800 women had completely assumed the role.
You can see their article here.
Alex Kerr, long time resident of Japan, offered a unique Kyoto itinerary to the Sydney Morning Herald. His is better suited for the jaded Kyoto visitor who's seen everything.
ReplyDeleteI've been a fan of Kerr's since reading Lost Japan, which, incidentally, talks about Ishikawa Jozan and Shisendo in a chapter called "The Literati."