![Kyoto, Japan: Trip of a Lifetime](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/2019/February/kyoto-temple-iStock-511063730.jpg?imwidth=680)
Trip of a lifetime: everything you need to know about visiting Kyoto
![Kyoto, Japan: Trip of a Lifetime](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/2019/February/kyoto-temple-iStock-511063730.jpg?imwidth=680)
A red-lipped, kimono-clad geisha vanishing around a corner. Riverside cherry trees bursting into cloudlike bloom. Zen gardens with raked sand and haiku-inspiring rock formations. There are perhaps few more evocative city names than “Kyoto”. While Tokyo is all high-speed trains, flashes of neon and skyscrapers, Kyoto moves to an altogether different rhythm.
A calming antidote to the futuristic capital, Kyoto is synonymous with ancient temples, tea ceremony masters, traditional ryokan inns and centuries-old craftsmanship.
This is, perhaps, hardly surprising given the city’s heritage, as the imperial capital for more than 1,000 years. Kyoto was spared the wartime bombings that blitzed the capital and today is still home to 2,000 Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.
The city, which is significantly more compact than the capital, is also famed as the birthplace of such cultural traditions as the tea ceremony and flower arranging, as well as the most revered craftsmen in the country.
But Kyoto is not just about the past. Despite its well-preserved heritage, it effortlessly embraces the future, with modern buildings, a high concentration of universities and a thriving technology industry (it’s the birthplace of Nintendo).
![The cherry blossom season has a certain draw](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/2019/February/kyoto-iStock-902966276.jpg?imwidth=350)
This is evident to some visitors the moment they step off the bullet train, eagerly look around in search of a geisha – and instead see the ultra-modern glass-and-metal Kyoto Station and a Starbucks across the street.
But as they soon find out – and as the city’s 1.5 million residents are happily aware – Kyoto’s greatest charm is the fact that it looks both forward and backwards with peaceful ease.
Where is Kyoto?
Located in the Kansai region, 226 miles south west of the capital, Kyoto is cocooned in a valley with green mountains rising protectively around it.
The city centre is surprisingly easy to navigate, thanks to a simple public transport network (just two subway lines) and its grid system, inspired by ancient feng shui.
A good starting point is Higashiyama in the south east of the city, home to a cornucopia of heritage delights from temples and shrines to artisan shops.
When is best to travel?
Kyoto is potentially a year-round destination, although the climate is extreme: summer months are oppressively hot and humid with regular rain, and winter is surprisingly cold, with occasional snowfall.
Spring and autumn are the most moderate and beautiful times of year in terms of the glorious cherry blossom (around early April) and the fiery red changing of the leaves (early November). This, however, is when Kyoto is at its busiest. Those keen to avoid the crowds should try early autumn or late spring.
Public holidays, such as Golden Week and New Year are also best avoided, owing to crowds of tourists and many places being closed.
How to get there
The recommended way to arrive is on board a sleek white-nosed Shinkansen bullet train – dozens depart daily from Tokyo Station, taking around two hours and 20 minutes.
A Japan Rail Pass (japanrailpass.net) is a good investment, even if the only trip taken outside Tokyo is to Kyoto (a return costs only a little less than the £196 cost of a seven-day pass, which will also provide free transport on certain Tokyo train lines and airport transfers).
The only catch? The pass must be purchased outside Japan and collected on arrival at the airport, although most tour operators can help to organise this.
Aside from Tokyo airport, you can fly to Osaka, which is 70 minutes away by train.
![Take the bullet train from Tokyo](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/2019/February/kyoto-GettyImages-510787144.jpg?imwidth=350)
On a budget
Inside Japan (0117 370 9730; insidejapantours.com) is one of the best specialist companies offering self-guided tours. A nine-night “Golden Route” trip, including three nights in Kyoto – with B&B accommodation and private guiding – plus stays in Tokyo and Hakone, costs £1,750 per person based on two sharing, with international flights and transfers.
In style
Black Tomato (020 7426 9888; blacktomato.com) can tailor an eight-night trip to Tokyo and Kyoto, including two nights at Hoshinoya, English-speaking guides, tea ceremony and a tour of the 400 year old Gekkeikan sake brewery, plus three nights in Tokyo at The Peninsula hotel, for £5,050 per person, excluding flights, and based on two travelling.
Best of old Kyoto
Follow in the footsteps of the city’s most famous old thinkers and attempt to unravel the mysteries of the universe with a meditative stroll along the Philosopher’s Path (Tetsugaku no michi). The pedestrianised path runs for 1.2 miles alongside a canal lined with cherry and maple trees – and shrines and temples just off the main path are well worth exploring.
The Gion district is geisha central, although they are not easy to spot. Wander around a network of atmospheric, narrow cobbled lanes lined with surprisingly well-preserved wooden buildings, many of which are discreet tea-houses or high-end ryotei restaurants, while keeping an eye out for a glimpse of a white-faced geisha.
![Gion is geisha central](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/2019/February/gion-iStock-640250034.jpg?imwidth=350)
There are few more iconic Kyoto sights than the tiered golden temple of Kinkakuji reflected in its surrounding pond and encircled by manicured gardens. Otherwise known as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, it is a little way from the centre in north Kyoto but worth the trek (1 Kinkaku-ji, Kita-ku; 0081 75 461 0013; shokoku-ji.or.jp).
A minimal composition of 15 rocks in a sea of sand, the Zen Buddhist garden at Ryoanji temple has long entranced visitors (be prepared for lots of them) – and baffled historians, the designer of the garden being unknown (3 Ryoanji Goryonoshitacho, Ukyo-ku; 0081 75 463 2216; ryoanji.jp).
If you suffer from temple fatigue, Kyoto International Manga Museum is the perfect remedy , offering a crash course in everything related to the Japanese comics, including the world’s largest manga collection (Karasuma-Oike, Nakagyo-ku; 0081 75 254 7414; kyotomm.com).
Where to stay
Tatami mat floors, sliding paper screens, kimono-clad staff, Japanese banquets, cypress wood baths and futons unrolled nightly – a night in a traditional ryokan inn is the ultimate complement to a Kyoto trip. Hiiragiya (Nakahakusancho, Fuyacho Anekoji-agaru, Nakagyo-ku; 0081 75 221 1139, hiiragiya.co.jp), dating back nearly 200 years, is among the best. Doubles from £460, including breakfast and dinner.
Arriving by boat along the Ooi river sets a serene tone at Hoshinoya, a luxurious resort fusing contemporary and traditional Japanese design, (11-2 Arashiyama Genrokuzancho, Nishikyo-ku; 0081 50 3786 0066; hoshinoya.com). Doubles from £250.
Temple stays, known as shukubo, are ideal for the independent, and adventurous, budget traveller. Try Shunkoin Temple (42 Myoshinji-cho, Hanazono, Ukyo-ku; 0081 75 462 5488; shunkoin.com). Basic accommodation on tatami mat floors offers a taste of temple life, complete with meditation sessions. From around £87 for two sharing.
What to buy
Fresh green tea packaged in signature turquoise and orange tins at Ippodo, the city’s renowned tea specialists dating back three centuries (Teramachi Dori Nijo, Nakagyo-ku; 0081 75 211 3421; ippodo-tea.co.jp).
Colourful clothes and accessories made from traditional Kyoto fabrics – from split-toe jika tabi shoes to kimono-esque jackets – at Sou Sou (the main store is Futasujime Higashi-iru 2-kenme, Shinkyogoku Dori, Shijo-agaru, Nakagyo-ku; 0081 75 212 8005; sousou.co.jp).
Temple incense from Kungyokudo, one of the city’s best-established incense experts for the past four centuries (Horikawa-dori, Nishihongwanji mae, Shimogyo-ku; 0081 75 371 0162; kungyokudo.co.jp/english).
Tactics
Temples and gardens can seem anything but Zen at times, with the crowds of camera-toting visitors, particularly during national holidays. Try to visit the most famous sites either early in the morning or just before closing to avoid tourist rush hour.
One way to get to know residents is to contact a local volunteer guide in advance and arrange a tour around the main temples or craft workshops.
For a list of fully accredited volunteer guides, visit the Japan National Tourism Organization website (jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/travel/guide/guideservice.html).
A common complaint is temple fatigue: pace yourself and visit some of the smaller temples, shrines and gardens as well as the main attractions.
What to avoid
Public-holiday crowds – and being duped into thinking the “geisha” in full kimono laughing and waving peace fingers in the air for mobile phone snapshots in the Gion district is the real deal: these are tourists who have paid to dress up for the day.
Before you go
Vaccines are not generally required for Japan.
From courtly kaiseki banquets to vegetarian Buddhist feasts, Kyoto is nirvana for food-lovers. For a good English-language listing of the city’s restaurants, visit bento.com.
It’s worth bringing comfortable shoes that are easy to slip on and off (as they will frequently have to be removed in temples, tea-houses and ryokan) and, needless to say, socks without holes.
![Kyoto's photogenic bamboo forests](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/2019/February/kyoto-bamboo-iStock-598073336.jpg?imwidth=350)
What to read
The Tale of Genji, written by an 11th-century noblewoman and widely regarded as the world’s first novel, running to an epic 1,000-plus pages, offers insights into the courtly intrigue of old Kyoto.
The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto by Pico Iyer takes a more modern autobiographical look at Kyoto life (it’s also considerably shorter).
A Guide to the Gardens of Kyoto by Marc Treib and Ron Herman is an authoritative companion for garden-lovers, with maps for dozens of gardens.
The inside track
One of the best ways to savour the quiet side of Kyoto is to rent a bicycle. J-Cycle (Higashinotoin, Takatsuji-sagaru, Shimogyo-ku; 0081 75 341 3196; j-cycle.com), near Shinjo Station, has daily rentals costing as little as £5 or electric bikes for £11.
Avoid lugging around heavy bags by using one of Japan’s most useful services: Takkyubin. The nationwide delivery company allows travellers to send luggage ahead to their destination so there’s no need to carry it in trains and taxis (kuronekoyamato.co.jp/en/personal/ta_q_bin/).
Have you got any tips for what to do when visiting Kyoto? Tell us in the comments section below.
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