Edo period’s national capital, Kyoto, has the old world charm everyone longs to experience when they venture to Japan. We spent a week there exploring its beautiful alleyways, shrines and neighborhoods. Kyoto completely captivated us during our stay! Here are some of our favorite spots around the city.After our overnight trip in Hakone, we made our way to Kyoto. We grabbed lunch in the train station and then headed to Fushimi-ku to get settled into our airbnb. That evening, we decided to go grab dinner and then spend some time in Ponto-cho. Ponto-cho - Located right next to the river, the Pontocho district is several tight alleyways filled with restaurants and bars creating amazing nightlife. We found ourselves wandering those streets multiple evenings during our stay in Kyoto. There are so many bars and incredible dining spots that we never repeated a single place. Gion District - Geisha is a huge part of Japanese culture, specifically in Kyoto. The Gion neighborhood is where the Geisha host dinner parties and events. The neighborhood, situated next to the river, is incredibly beautiful with high end restaurants and shops. We walked the blocks and took some pictures before getting some drinks and sweets at a shop right along the canal (more on that in our Foodie Edition). Higashiyama District - with two famous streets (Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka), the lower Higashiyama area can get super crowded. If you’ve ever seen photos of Kyoto, this is probably the district in which those shots were taken. Even during April, Japan’s high season, we managed to find some breaks in the groups of people and snapped a few photos! We walked this area in one morning but retraced our steps a few times, once to grab lunch and a second time to make it to our traditional tea ceremony. It’s also the path that leads to a famous temple so many tourists are using it for a purpose not just to lallygag. i.e. it will be busy no matter the time or day. The Philosopher’s Path - This is in the Upper Higashiyama district. Some popular shrines and temples skirt the canal that the philosopher’s path runs along so make it an all day event. We got to the top of the path/canal after lunch and walked all the way down to the lower district. It took a solid 4 hours because of the many pitstops at the shrines. If you visit in the summer, consider going in the AM before it gets too hot. Kyoto University - Chase got the three of us tickets to the Geisha show, Miyako Odori. Each year, in April, the Gion District Geisha perform daily to celebrate Sakura season. Usually, the show is held in the actual Gion District but since 2016, they have been renovating the building. In the meantime, they’ve been hosting the show in the Art and Design building on Kyoto University’s campus. The yoshida neighborhood, northwest of all the main Kyoto attractions, is beautiful and we would not have explored it without this show. It was a great excuse to see more of local Kyoto. Fushimi-ku - speaking of local, fushimi is a well known area for the shrine Fushimi-Inari. However, because the shrine is right next to the train station, many tourists don’t venture far. We had the privilege of staying in the neighborhood thanks to our airbnb and it was beautiful. We were far from attractions and it felt like we were living in Kyoto instead of just visiting. Although our apartment was a half mile to the JR station, the local metro line was just down the road from us so we could get around Kyoto quickly. It was totally worth the short walk every morning.
Until Next Time, C + D
3 Comments
1/9/2023 11:15:25 am
100 tl deneme bonusu veren siteleri öğrenmek istiyorsan tıkla.
Reply
6/30/2023 06:51:45 pm
En iyi yozgat ilan sitesi burada. https://yozgat.escorthun.com/
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorChase & Dani here, providing Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|