This summer, I traveled through East Asia with my family. We had a blast! We spent just over 2 weeks (16 days) traveling through China, Korea, and Japan. However, this trip is not for the faint of heart! Ever day was packed full and we were EXHAUSTED by the end of it (honestly, we were pretty exhausted after the first few days), so embark on this trip at your own risk. We traveled in late June/early July, and it was HOT and pretty muggy! But it wasn’t that crowded for being in summer and, according to some locals, it gets hotter in July and August. So I still think late-June was a good time to travel.
For the sake of clarity, I’m breaking down my itinerary for each leg of the trip individually. I have already posted my itineraries for Beijing (https://www.lavitabloger.com/the-complete-travel-guide-for-beijing-china/), Seoul (https://www.lavitabloger.com/seoul-korea/), Tokyo (https://www.lavitabloger.com/the-complete-travel-guide-for-tokyo-japan/), and Tokyo Disney Resort (https://www.lavitabloger.com/tokyo-disney-resort/). Our last stop on our whirlwind tour: Kyoto!
Based on all my research, Kyoto was a must-see in Japan. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a ton of time to give to Kyoto, so I decided to attempt to squeeze as much out of Kyoto as I possibly could in just about 24 hours.
Top 5 Things to do in Kyoto
- Admire the Tori Gates at the Fushimi Inari Shrine
- Wander through the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
- See as many UNESCO World Heritage sites as possible
- Eat ramen at the train station
- Drink traditional Japanese green tea
24 Hours in Kyoto Itinerary
First of all, if you can, I’d recommend spending more than 24 hours in Kyoto. We really only got a sampling of Kyoto, and I definitely want to go back! But, if all you’ve got is 24 hours, you can still see a lot and have a great time experiencing the city.
We were in Kyoto from about 11:30am – 12pm the next day. We took the 9am bullet train from Tokyo into Kyoto, which takes about 2 1/2 hours. If you sit in seat E and it’s a clear day, rumor has it you can see Mt. Fuji about 45 minutes into the ride. Unfortunately, it was overcast when we were on the train, so I can’t verify if that is true.
Hour 1-2
When we arrived in Kyoto the first thing we did was get lunch at the train station. When you take the bullet train you are deposited in the north end of the station. You’ll want to walk to the southend of the station where the local trains arrive and depart and take the escalators up to the 10th floor to get to “Ramen Street” in the station. There are a dozen different ramen restaurants in the indoor row food court. You order at an iPad outside of the small restaurant and wait in a line to be seated. All the restaurants are very small and there first few had long lines. If you walk a little farther down the row the lines get shorter. We picked one at the end and it was delicious! We decided to stay at the Kyoto Century Hotel because it was near the train station, so dropped off our luggage and heading out into the city. It was a great choice because the hotel was nice and very conveniently located.
Hour 3-4
Next, we walked to the 2 closest UNESCO World Heritage Sites. My mom is obsessed with UNESCO World Heritage sites, and Kyoto has 17, so I knew we needed to try to hit a couple in our 24 hours. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a landmark that is designated as having cultural, historical, scientific, or some other form of significance and is legally protected by international treaties.
We went to Toji Temple and Nishi-Hongan-Ji Temple because they were both within walking distance from our hotel and the train station. In retrospect, this ended up being the wrong call. I wish I had gone for quality over quantity and picked one of the more popular UNESCO World Heritage Sites, instead of the two closest. Toji Temple and Nishi-Hongan-Ji Temple were still nice, but they were being refurbished while we were there and they were less striking than I think some of the other temples are.
Instead, I’d recommend visiting either Kiyomizu-dera Temple or Kinkaku-Ji Temple (also known as “the Golden Pavilion”). These are not near each other or any other UNESCO World Heritage sites, so you’ll only have time for one. But they are very popular temples and seem to be quite impressive.
Hour 5
Next, we went to drink some tea. Ippodo Tea Shop has been serving tea for nearly 3 centuries in Kyoto, and it’s very clear they know what they’re doing. I was a little intimidated about drinking tea in Japan because I know the Japanese Tea Ceremony is very precise and involves a lot of rules. But the staff at Ippodo was very gracious and accommodating. They offer a tea tasting class every 30 minutes, and when we arrived we had just missed that start of one. Instead of waiting, we decided to sit in the Tea Room and order a variety of green teas. This was 100% the right call, because we got to drink the teas on our own and they all also came with a little dessert! All of the teas were yummy (and strong!) and it was really nice sitting in the Tea Room and enjoying some green tea. We also learned the proper way to pour out the different types of green tea, which was my favorite part!
After enjoying our tea, we grabbed a taxi and headed to the Fushimi Inari Shrine a little before sunset.
Note: We ended up mostly taking taxis or walking in Kyoto. There isn’t much of a subway system, and it didn’t seem worth it to try to figure out the bus system since we would be there for such a short period of time. The taxis were relatively easy to flag down and not too expensive.
Hour 6-7
You will probably recognize these iconic orange arches from instagram. It’s a popular photo destination for tourists, and it’s even more striking in person! The shrine is dedicated to Inari, the god of rice, and the orange arches aren’t actually the shrine. They’re called Tori Gates, and they line the pathway up to the shrine. To get all the way to the top of the shrine, it takes about 2-3 hours of walking. We did not walk the full 5km, instead, we turned around after about 45 minutes of walking and taking pictures.
It’s difficult to get a picture without other tourists in the background, but the farther up the path you walk, the less people there are. Going just before sunset also made the lighting really pretty, and it wasn’t too crowded. Even towards the beginning of the path, if I waited for the perfect moment, I could get a picture without anyone in the background.
Hour 8-11
We ended our day in Gion, which is the historic core of Kyoto. We walked around a bit looking for something good to eat. Kyoto is known for its food, being the 3rd most Michelin starred city in the world! We found a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant/bar called Gyoza 8. You order at a counter and can eat standing up at one of two little table outside or at the bar inside. We got a couple orders of gyoza to share. The food took a while to come out, but it was definitely worth the wait! It was absolutely delicious!!
We walked across the river and found a restaurant selling Udon Noodles called Omen Shijō Pontochō. They specialize in dipping noodles, which is always fun. It also tasted so good! The noodles were thick and chewy and the broth you dipped them in was rich and flavorful. There are also a lot of shops in this area, and we had fun walking around and looking at everything that was for sale. We ended our day by getting green tea soft serve ice cream from a nearby store.
Hour 12-21
We went back to our hotel and turned in for the night. The next morning, we had a quick breakfast at our hotel then we hit the town early to get in one last site!
Hour 22-23
Our last stop in Kyoto was the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. We got there around 9am and it was already starting to get pretty crowded, so the earlier you can get there, the better! It’s a beautiful bamboo forest located in the east part of Kyoto. We just wandered through the forest, following the path without any rhyme or reason. I had a lot of fun taking pictures of the forest in the morning light. Even the area surrounding the bamboo forest is very quaint. It’s a really beautiful, peaceful area to spend a few hours and I’m glad we were able to make it out there!
Hour 24
We went back to the train station to catch our noon bullet train back into Tokyo. Kyoto was absolutely beautiful and really fun to explore, even if it was a whirlwind 24 hours! It’s definitely a city I hope to make it back to someday.
Once in Tokyo, we took another train to the airport, and flew out of Tokyo back into LAX. It was truly a phenomenal, once in a lifetime, absolutely exhausting trip and I can’t wait for my next one. If you can, I’d highly recommend traveling to East Asia, I had a blast!
My Other East Asia Itineraries:
Beijing, China: https://www.lavitabloger.com/the-complete-travel-guide-for-beijing-china/
Seoul, Korea: https://www.lavitabloger.com/seoul-korea/
Tokyo, Japan: https://www.lavitabloger.com/the-complete-travel-guide-for-tokyo-japan/
Tokyo Disney Resort: https://www.lavitabloger.com/tokyo-disney-resort/
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