#WhenIn Kyoto

Yuan Nielsen
Aug 9, 2017 · 7 min read

My favorite place in Japan has to be Kyoto due to its uniquely tranquil atmosphere and its multitude of meticulously kept shrines. It is a place for quiet reflection and the enjoyment of phenomenal food (there are over 100 Michelin-starred restaurants in Kyoto — yay!). The city is especially magical during Spring Illumination (coincides with the cherry blossom season) and Fall Illumination, as either showers of pink flowers or orange autumn leaves fall all around you like magical snow…

Where to stay:

Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Shinmachi Bettei is a great little hotel with a small indoor Japanese garden in the reception, very comfortable rooms, and great service. Many of the best restaurants in Kyoto will only take reservations in Japanese, so it can be pretty helpful to have a good concierge.

How to get around:

Shinkansen will take you from Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station in just 2hrs and 11min. This beast of a train can go up to 320km/hr (200mph) and takes you past the gorgeous towering Mount Fuji.

Walk the Philosopher’s Path. This beautiful pedestrian path along the cherry-tree-lined canal is very romantic, especially with cherry blossoms raining down on you as it takes you from Ginkaku-ji to Nanzen-ji in about half an hour.

Where to eat:

Breakfast:

A real Japanese breakfast consists of small portions of miso soup, rice, tofu, fish, and vegetables, so I usually just opt for a cappuccino and a pastry from a nearby coffee shop (such as Inoda Coffee near Mitsui Garden Hotel or the like).

Lunch:

I am quite dedicated to sushi, but the concept of sushi is different in Japan than in the West. It is more an artisan food, so you don’t just pop in to a restaurant and order a California roll (thank goodness). I usually try to scout a local (often very inconspicuous) sushi or chirashi place (the more local, the better — I doubt many of them have websites, so good luck on Yelp or Foursquare). Their fish is always super fresh, and I love the authentic atmosphere and privacy of the smaller restaurants off the beaten path.

Dinner:

There are exceptionally many phenomenal dinner restaurants in Kyoto, many of which are clustered in Gion, so it actually feels wrong to tell you where to go. Kyoto (and especially Gion) is the perfect place to be spontaneous and make amazing food discoveries, and you really have to try hard to get it wrong (unless you go to a Western fast food restaurant, in which case — bad tourist!). However, if you are looking for a specific Michelin experience, you will certainly need to make a reservation and probably a veeery long time in advance. Last time, I was lucky to get in at Nishikawa, a small and graceful restaurant located on a very quiet hill in Gion. The highly competent chefs delightfully surprise you with delicate and inventive dishes, and you get to try some very interesting ingredients, all sourced earlier that afternoon by the owner himself.

If you are looking for something more casual, Shabuzen Kyoto Gion serves delicious and unpresumptuous shabu shabu with tasty meats and vegetables, perfect for satisfying a hungry belly after a long day of walking around.

What to eat:

Sushi, wagyu, kobe, shabu shabu, ramen, tonkatsu are all common dishes that are extremely delicious in Kyoto. However, if you are looking to go all in on some very special food experiences, make sure to try one of the 100+ Michelin restaurants. Some of them only seat 6–10 people per night and are also quite hard to track down in Gion’s little alleys with anonymous shōji (sliding doors with paper screens), so make sure you locate your restaurant ahead of time, because you don’t want to be late.

What to do:

Walk around Kyoto by night and take in the surprisingly quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

Visit Nishi Hongan-ji, the “Western Temple of the Original Vow” and experience its incredibly serene atmosphere (especially because it is not as popular as the other temples, so it is far less crowded). Higashi Hongan-ji, the “Eastern Temple of the Original Vow” is about a 17min walk away (the famous Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu split the main Hongan-ji into two in 1602 in order to diminish the power of the Jōdo Shinshu sect).

Visit Nijō Castle. This very beautiful property, built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns, includes the Honmaru Palace and the Pond of the Ninomaru Garden. When you walk inside the castle, make sure to notice the chirping nightingale floors, which were cleverly constructed to make squeaking sounds, so intruders could not sneak through the corridors undetected.

Visit Kinkaku-ji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. This is probably one of the most popular temples in Kyoto, if not in all of Japan, so there will be many tourists to share your admiration with (it may look serene in the photo, but right outside the frame, there is a horde of tourists).

Visit Ginkaku-ji, the Temple of the Silver Pavilion with its impressive Ginshadan sand layout and stunning gardens.

Visit Nanzen-ji, a grand Zen Buddhist temple at the end of the Philosopher’s Path. Climb to the top via steep tiny stairs and enjoy some incredible views of the beautiful grounds.

Walk to Kiyomizu-dera via Higashiyama and stay for the Spring or Fall Illumination. On your way up to Kiyomizu-dera, you walk through a busy district with many small Japanese shops (that’s Higashiyama), and when you get to the top, you will come upon this incredibly beautiful Buddhist temple overlooking both the forest and the modern city below. Even though you have to fight your way through hordes of tourists, it is a gorgeous place one should not miss, especially during their Spring and Fall Illuminations.

Walk around in Gion, the most exclusive and well-known geisha district in Japan. It is full of kaiseki (restaurants), ochaya (tea houses), and machiya (old-style Japanese houses) and has a really wonderful atmosphere.

Visit Fushimi Inari-taisha with its more than 10,000 Torii gates, some of which date back to 711 A.D. Walk the incredibly peaceful 2hr trail up the Inari mountain and enjoy the serenity of the forest (and even come upon cute littles geishas).

What not to do:

Don’t miss out on experiencing Kyoto, even if you are staying in Tokyo or Osaka and don’t think you have time to see Kyoto. This is a truly wonderful city, and I will share my very special (you’ll think freakishly OCD) one-day plan with you (and it is quite feasible — I have of course tested it myself), so that way you can make it all happen even with just one day to spare (I know, I am a genius)…

Yuan Nielsen

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