Kyoto Itineraries: 2, 3 and 5-Day Routes with Nara and Uji

Kyoto’s sights sit in clusters around the edge of a flat basin, and crossing it by bus takes 40 minutes to an hour. Plan one district per half-day: east (Higashiyama and Gion, Ginkaku-ji and the Philosopher’s Path), north-west (Kinkaku-ji and North Kyoto), west (Arashiyama), south (Fushimi Inari, Tofuku-ji) and centre (Downtown, Nijo Castle, the Imperial Palace).

Two rules make the biggest difference. Be at the busiest sight of the day at opening time (Fushimi Inari before 8am, Kiyomizu-dera at 6am to 8am, Kinkaku-ji at 9am, the bamboo grove before 8am), then move to quieter places when the tour groups arrive. And use trains over buses where you can: the JR Nara Line, Keihan, the subway and the Randen tram never get stuck in traffic. For lines, fares and passes, see getting around Kyoto. Most temples close at 4:30pm to 5pm, so afternoons end in Gion, Pontocho or Nishiki Market, and an early dinner booking (6pm to 7pm) is normal.

Temple fees average 500 to 600 yen, so a sightseeing day costs about 1,500 to 2,500 yen in entry tickets and 700 to 1,200 yen in fares. The detail on every temple below is in our Kyoto temples guide.

Fast but complete: the five headline sights plus Gion at night.

Pace: hard. Day one is 10 hours on your feet with a steep climb at Fushimi Inari and Kiyomizu-dera; skip the Inari summit and turn at Yotsutsuji. Ginkaku-ji and the Philosopher’s Path are the main casualties of a two-day visit.

The best first trip. Each day has one big early sight, one quiet one and a free evening.

Pace: moderate, about 18,000 to 22,000 steps a day. Swap Nijo Castle for Daitoku-ji’s Zen sub-temples if gardens matter more than palaces. Book a tea ceremony or a kaiseki dinner for one of the evenings.

Day one works best on a weekday, when the Higashiyama lanes are calmer by 9am. From Kiyomizu-dera, walk down Kiyomizu-zaka and turn right onto the stone steps of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka, the most photographed lanes in the city, then follow Nene-no-michi past Kodai-ji to Maruyama Park. Lunch on soba or yudofu near Yasaka Shrine, then give the afternoon to Gion: Hanamikoji-dori, the Shirakawa canal and Shinbashi-dori are prettiest from 5pm, when the day-trippers have left. Day two front-loads Arashiyama so you leave as the coaches arrive; the Randen ride to Ryoan-ji is the slowest leg, but it delivers you to two gardens in one afternoon. Day three is the most flexible: if your legs are tired after Inari, take a taxi from Tofuku-ji to Nijo Castle and finish at Nanzen-ji at sunset, where the aqueduct and the Sanmon gate are open to walk around after the halls have closed.

Keep the 3-day plan for days one to three, then use the same hotel for two day trips. Downtown or Kyoto Station is ideal because both day trips leave from the station.

Pace: relaxed. Nara is a full day; Uji is a half day you can pair with an afternoon at To-ji or the Kyoto National Museum. Kurama-Kibune involves 2 km of mountain trail with steps; wear proper shoes. Combine Ohara with a morning at Shimogamo Shrine near Demachiyanagi. If you prefer a city to a mountain, take Osaka for day five (29 minutes by JR Special Rapid).

In blossom season (usually the last week of March to the first week of April) and autumn colours (about 10 November to early December), use the 3-day plan but rearrange the days around these places, and start every day by 7am.

Cherry blossom: the Philosopher’s Path at 7am, then Heian Shrine’s weeping cherries (garden 600 yen); Maruyama Park’s giant shidare-zakura at night; Shirakawa canal in Gion at dusk; Daigo-ji (Tozai Line to Daigo) for one of Japan’s most famous blossom sites; the Okazaki canal and the Kamo River banks for a picnic; and Ninna-ji, whose low Omuro cherries flower a week later than the rest, if you arrive late. The Japan cherry blossom guide has forecast dates.

Autumn: Tofuku-ji at its 9am opening (go on a weekday), Eikan-do’s night illumination, Kiyomizu-dera’s autumn night viewing, Arashiyama and the hillside temples north of the bamboo grove, and a half day out at Kozan-ji in Takao (JR bus, about 50 minutes). Ohara and Kurama are at their best in the second and third weeks of November.

In both seasons, book hotels three to six months ahead and expect room prices 50 to 100 percent higher; if Kyoto is full, sleep in Osaka (30 minutes away) or Otsu on Lake Biwa (10 minutes).

Temples close by 5pm, so evenings are for eating and walking. Pontocho, the lantern-lit alley along the Kamo River, has restaurants from yakitori counters to river-terrace kaiseki (the summer platforms, called yuka, run from May to September). Kiyamachi-dori, one street west, is cheaper and livelier. Nishiki Market is best from 10am to 4pm and largely shuts by 5pm or 6pm, so fit it into a downtown afternoon rather than an evening. For a splurge, a kaiseki dinner at a Gion restaurant costs 15,000 to 40,000 yen and is booked weeks ahead through your hotel or an online booking service; a temple shojin ryori lunch at Tenryu-ji or a yudofu set near Nanzen-ji is the cheaper way to try Kyoto’s vegetarian cooking.

Three things are worth booking before you travel on any of these routes: a tea ceremony (60 to 90 minutes, 3,000 to 7,000 yen), any night illumination with timed tickets, and the hotel itself in spring and November. Everything else, from temple tickets to the Nara trains, is pay-on-the-day.

Use one base for the whole stay; Kyoto is too compact to move hotels.

• Downtown (Shijo-Kawaramachi, Karasuma): the best all-round base, with Hankyu, Keihan and both subway lines, and restaurants open late. Mid-range hotels 8,000 to 20,000 yen a night.
• Kyoto Station: best for the Haruka, shinkansen and Nara and Uji day trips, and for budget hostels and capsules from 3,000 to 8,000 yen.
• Gion and Higashiyama: ryokan and boutique stays, walkable to the eastern temples; 30,000 yen and up for good ryokan.
• Arashiyama: one quiet night in a riverside ryokan, best added to the 3- or 5-day plan rather than as the only base.

Since 1 March 2026, Kyoto’s accommodation tax is charged per person per night on top of the room rate, based on the price per person: 200 yen under 6,000 yen, 400 yen from 6,000 to 19,999 yen, 1,000 yen from 20,000 to 49,999 yen, 4,000 yen from 50,000 to 99,999 yen and 10,000 yen at 100,000 yen and above (Kyoto City tourism has the table; check before you go). Many booking sites exclude it, so expect to pay it at check-in.

Add about 25,000 to 40,000 yen per person for each extra two days on the 5-day plan, plus 2,000 to 4,000 yen in fares and fees for Nara and the second day trip. For the whole-of-Japan budget, see Japan travel costs.

First-timers: take the 3-day plan as written and resist adding temples; four sights a day is plenty. If you are doing the Golden Route, put Kyoto after Tokyo and before Osaka, and fly home from Kansai (see Japan itineraries).

Families: cut the dawn starts to one per trip and swap the hard climbs (Inari summit, Kurama-Kibune) for the Kyoto Railway Museum, the Arashiyama monkey park and the deer in Nara. Strollers struggle on temple gravel and stairs; carriers are easier. Taxis for four often cost less than four bus fares.

Rain or heat: June is rainy and July to August regularly passes 35C (95F). Do the outdoor sights before 10am, spend the afternoon in Sanjusangen-do, the Kyoto National Museum, the Kyoto International Manga Museum or Nishiki Market, and go out again after 5pm. Rain is the best weather for moss gardens and a reason to book Saiho-ji.

Slow travel: give the 5-day plan a week, rent a machiya townhouse, and add Mount Hiei, Lake Biwa, Himeji (55 minutes by shinkansen) or a second Nara day for its outer temples.

Kyoto travel guide · Getting Around