Everything for your trip to Kyoto in one place: model itineraries, where to stay, culture experiences, anime pilgrimage, power spots, events & festivals. Open any page for access, highlights and typical dates.
🗺 3 days, 2 nightsKansai ・ 12 stops
A route covering Kyoto's signature sights, including Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu-dera, Kinkaku-ji, Arashiyama and Nijo Castle, in three days. Each day focuses on one area (the south and Higashiyama, the northwest, then the center and Okazaki), so you transfer between buses and trains less.
🗺 5 days, 4 nightsKansai ・ 18 stops
A touring route that starts at Kansai Airport and covers Osaka, Himeji, Arima Onsen, Kyoto and Nara in five days. You go west as far as Himeji first, then move east to Kyoto and Nara, so you never have to backtrack.
🛏 6 neighborhoodsKansai
Kyoto Station Area・Shijo-Karasuma & Karasuma-Oike・Shijo-Kawaramachi & Pontocho・Gion & Higashiyama・Okazaki & Keage・Arashiyama & Sagano
👘 7 placesTokyo & Around ・ Chubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai
At a kimono rental shop you pick a pattern you love, get dressed by the staff, and head straight out to stroll historic streets. Specialist shops cluster in towns with old streetscapes, temples and shrines, such as Asakusa in Tokyo, Higashiyama in Kyoto, the Higashi Chaya District in Kanazawa and Kamakura. Many shops also offer yukata in summer, so you can enjoy a different look each season.
🍵 7 placesTokyo & Around ・ Chubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai
In a tea room you watch the host's otemae (tea preparation), enjoy wagashi (Japanese sweets) and matcha, and then try whisking matcha yourself. Beginners and overseas travelers can easily join in Uji, home of Uji tea, in Kyoto city, in Kanazawa with its deep-rooted tea culture, and in Ginza, Tokyo.
🍡 6 placesChubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai ・ Chugoku & Shikoku
Learn from wagashi artisans and instructors as you shape jo-namagashi (fine fresh confections) such as nerikiri (sweet bean paste confections) with your own hands. You can easily join in Kyoto and Kanazawa, where tea culture runs deep, and in Matsue and Izumo, known as wagashi towns.
🍣 5 placesTokyo & Around ・ Chubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai
Under the guidance of chefs and instructors, you make nigiri and rolled sushi or hand-made soba noodles yourself and enjoy them on the spot. Classes are easy to join everywhere, from city-center studios in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto to soba country such as Togakushi in Nagano and Nikko in Tochigi.
🖌️ 6 placesTokyo & Around ・ Kansai ・ Chugoku & Shikoku
Using a brush and ink, you practice your favorite kanji or your own name on hanshi practice paper, then write a final copy on shikishi (a decorative square board). Studios in Ginza and Yushima in Tokyo and in a Kyoto machiya townhouse welcome beginners and overseas travelers, while in Nara and Kumano, Hiroshima, you can also get hands-on with making the ink and brushes that calligraphy depends on.
💐 5 placesTokyo & Around ・ Kansai
Arrange seasonal flowers and branches in a vase and discover a uniquely Japanese sense of beauty through ikebana. You can try it at places that welcome beginners and overseas travelers, including Ikenobo at Rokkakudo in Kyoto, considered the birthplace of ikebana, the Sogetsu Kaikan in Tokyo and small studios in Osaka.
🥁 5 placesTokyo & Around ・ Chubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai
Use your whole body to beat taiko drums large and small, and feel the sound and rhythm resonate deep in your chest. Besides dedicated studios in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, you can try it on Sado Island, home base of the taiko performing group Kodo, and in Hamamatsu, home to a long-established taiko maker.
🧘 6 placesTokyo & Around ・ Chubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai
Zazen (seated meditation) in a Zen temple and shakyo, copying a sutra one character at a time, are temple experiences that let you calm your mind in the middle of your travels. Temples that welcome first-timers include Eiheiji, head temple of the Soto school; Engakuji and Kenchoji, among the Five Great Zen Temples of Kamakura; Tofukuji and Ryosokuin in Kyoto; and Yakushiji in Nara.
🎬 6 placesHokkaido・Tohoku・Tokyo & Around・Kansai ・ Goryokaku-cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido・Otemachi, Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima・Hino-honmachi, Hino, Tokyo
A romance adventure game for a female audience that portrays the Shinsengumi of the late Edo period, adding fictional elements such as demons. Four places linked to the Shinsengumi are selected for the 88 Anime Spots: Hakodate (Hokkaido), Aizuwakamatsu (Fukushima), Hino (Tokyo) and Kyoto.
🎬 2 placesKansai ・ Kyotanabe, Kyoto
Based on the boyhood of the Muromachi-period Zen monk Ikkyu Sojun, this anime follows a young novice who solves tricky problems with his quick wit. Shuon-an Ikkyu-ji Temple in Kyotanabe, Kyoto, where Ikkyu Sojun spent his final years, is selected for the 88 Anime Spots.
🎬 7 placesTohoku・Tokyo & Around・Kansai・Chugoku & Shikoku・Kyushu ・ Mutsu, Aomori・Wakamatsucho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa (Keikyu Yokosuka-chuo Station)・Yokosuka, Kanagawa
A browser game in which you collect "Kanmusu" (ship girls), characters inspired by naval vessels, and organize them into fleets; it has also been adapted into anime. The 88 Anime Spots selection includes the port cities of Mutsu (Ominato) in Aomori, Yokosuka in Kanagawa, Maizuru in Kyoto, Kure in Hiroshima and Sasebo in Nagasaki.
🏛️ FacilityKansai ・ Kyoto, Kyoto
A combined manga museum and library housed in the former Tatsuike Elementary School building. Its vast collection centers on manga volumes from the 1970s onward, and you can freely pick them off the long shelves to read. It is selected as a facility in the 88 Anime Spots.
🛕 TempleKansai ・ Sakyo Ward, Kyoto
A temple spread across Mount Kurama in northern Kyoto, famous as the setting of the legend in which the young Ushiwakamaru (Minamoto no Yoshitsune) trained with tengu (mountain goblins). The official site of the Kyoto City Tourism Association introduces the "Kinone-michi" (tree-root path), the mountain trail running from Kurama-dera to Kifune Shrine, as a popular power spot.
FebruaryKansai ・ Kyoto City
Every year on February 25 (outdoor tea ceremony 10:00–15:00)
Every year on February 25 (Feb 25 in 2027)
MayKansai ・ Kyoto City
Every year on May 15 (postponed to the 16th if it rains; if it also rains on the 16th, the procession is canceled). Preliminary rites such as Yabusame horseback archery (May 3) and the Saio-dai purification ceremony (May 4) are held in early May
2027: May 15 (held every year on May 15; postponed to the 16th if it rains)
May–OctoberKansai ・ Kyoto City
Kamogawa Noryo Yuka usually runs May 1 – October 15, and Kibune Kawadoko usually runs May 1 – September 30 (season and hours vary by restaurant). In 2026, Kamogawa Noryo Yuka runs until October 15
JulyKansai ・ Kyoto City
Usually July 1–31 (Yamahoko procession: Saki Matsuri July 17, Ato Matsuri July 24; Yoiyama eves: Saki Matsuri July 14–16, Ato Matsuri July 21–23)
AugustKansai ・ Kyoto City
Every year on August 16 (from 20:00)
2027: Aug 16 (Mon)
OctoberKansai ・ Kyoto City
Every year on October 22 (postponed to the 23rd if it rains)
2026: Oct 22 (Thu). Postponed to Oct 23 if it rains
AquariumKansai ・ Kyoto City
An inland aquarium in Umekoji Park, within walking distance of Kyoto Station. Its exhibits explore Kyoto's waterside nature and how it connects, from the "Kyoto River" to the "Kyoto Sea." With a dolphin stadium and jellyfish displays, it's an easy stop between Kyoto sightseeing spots.
ZooKansai ・ Okazaki, Kyoto
A city-run zoo inside Okazaki Park, home to Heian Shrine and several art museums. In its compact grounds you can see elephants, gorillas, and wild animals from Kyoto's forests. Admission is free for junior high students and younger, and just ¥750 for adults.
ExperienceKansai ・ Uji
A museum in Uji, Kyoto, that displays Nintendo's products through the years and lets you play hands-on exhibits. Tickets are date- and time-specific and must be reserved in advance, through a monthly lottery or first-come, first-served sales of slots that open up. If you want to include it in your itinerary, applying from the lottery 3 months before your visit is the surest way.
Theme parkKansai ・ Uzumasa
Toei Kyoto Studio Park, a samurai-drama theme park that opened in 1975, reopened on March 28, 2026 as UZUMASA KYOTO VILLAGE after the first phase of its renewal. It is now an immersive park for adults built around the concept of wandering into Kyoto in the Edo period, with the second phase scheduled to open in spring 2027. It stays open until 21:00.
Temple
ParkKansai ・ Kyoto City
🌸 Typical peak: Late Mar – Early Apr
Mountain
Castle
Avenue & old town
Shrine
Temple
Shrine
Temple
Temple
TempleKansai ・ Arashiyama, Kyoto
🍁 Typical peak: Mid Nov – Late Nov
Temple
Temple
Temple
ShrineKansai ・ Kyoto City
🍁 Typical peak: Mid Nov – Early Dec
Temple
Temple
Snowy villageKansai ・ Miyama, Kyoto
❄ Best season: Early Dec – Late Feb
🎆 AugustKansai ・ Miyazu, Kyoto
🎆 Every year on August 16
🎫 Combo ticket
🚄 JR
🚄 JRKansai ・ 1, 2 or 4 consecutive days (from 4:00 on the first day of use to 24:00 on the last day, Japan time)
From ¥2,700
🚄 JRKansai ・ 5 consecutive days (from 0:00 on the first day to 24:00 on the last day)
From ¥12,000
🚄 JR
🎫 Combo ticket
🚇 SubwayKansai ・ 1 day of use (passes bought from automatic ticket machines are valid on the day of purchase only)
From ¥800
🚃 Private railwayKansai ・ 1day is valid for 1 day of use, 2day for 2 consecutive days, and 5day and 5day plus for 5 consecutive days (from the first day of use)
From ¥1,900
🚄 JRKansai ・ 5 consecutive days (from 0:00 on the first day to 24:00 on the last day)
From ¥17,000
🚄 JRChugoku & Shikoku ・ 7 consecutive days (from 0:00 on the first day to 24:00 on the last day)
From ¥23,000
Fastest: Thunderbird Kyoto–Tsuruga about 55 min + Hokuriku Shinkansen Tsurugi Tsuruga–Kanazawa about 57 min (timetable example) + transfer
Monthly temperatures, rain and what to wear are in our weather guide.
Itineraries, intercity routes and travel passes that cover several prefectures are listed under each of them.
