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4-2 Komatsu-Cho ShijoSagaru 4 Chome YamatoOjiDo, Higashiyamaku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, 605-0933, J
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Pathway in Daigoji Temple Complex
Oharano Shrine
Students
Ryoanji
I'm traveling to Kyoto soon and am bringing my 15 month old. While siteseeing near the temples in Eastern Kyoto, is it better to have a stroller or a baby backpack? Are there too many cobblestones and no "handicap" access areas that I should not bring the stroller?
I can only choose one on my trip.
-Dore
The streets are mostly flat and well paved, but as I remember most of the Temples have lots of stairs and some have beautiful gardens with crushed rock/pebble type pathways.
If it is not too difficult for you I would recommend the backpack for those.
BTW - the metro stations don't all have moving stairways or lifts either, so it means climbing up and down quite a lot of steps.
I would bring a baby backpack. The temples and parks do have lots of steps and not very stroller friendly. Also, you will probably be taking the city bus around (easiest) or taking the train/subway. There are elevators for the bigger stations but not for the local ones. Bacpack is the best bet.
We took a stroller and it was really difficult at times...so many stairs! Luckily our baby was about 20 months, so he just got out and walked a lot! I would take a back pack if I had to do it over again.
So, when you say stairs - you mean 10's of stairs or hundreds of stairs?
My stroller is a foldaway, and I can strap it on my back. I'm so undecisive.....
-Dore
Depends on the metro station of course but yes, you can have like three separate sets of 10's of stairs, plus. That should be the worst of it.
The temples and shrines have lots of stairs but not as much as the metro.
In public transportation, like metro and buses, there is no room and no provision for strollers.
The rough gravel pathways in some of the shrines and temple gardens would make a stroller impractical imho...but go with whatever you are comfortable with.
bring a baby backpack.
I live in Kyoto.....go for the backpack!
see the temples and shrines from inside too. should you get lost unable to speak japanese just try the teens as their english should still be fresh at least for me it worked well.
Check out my travelogue on the Japan page it's got much more content.
By basing in Kyoto, there are other areas in the Kansai region that you can visit fairly easily as the transportation system is efficient enough to bring you anywhere in Kansai in the fatest time.
Nara is a historical site and definitely worth visiting. It is home for many World Heritage Sites too. Being an ancient capital of Japan, Nara has lotsa to offer and some of the places you must go are as follows :
-Nara Park (To see the deer)
-Toadaiji Temple (Well-known Temple with Huge Buddha)
-Kofukuji Temple (5-storey Pagoda)
-Kasuga Taisha Shrine (Place of stone lanterns)
-Shoso-in Hall (A treasure house of religious items used in Todaiji Temple and ancient items.)
-Gangoji Temple
-Nara-Machi
-Gangoji Temple
-Shin-Yakushiji Temple
-Sasayaki no Komichi lane
-Wakakusayama Hill
-Yagyu Kaido (Takisaka no Michi)
-Nara National Museum
-Nara Prefectural Museum of Art
Bold : Places I visited.
NOTE : Please refer to my Nara Page for more tips. Alternatively, check out A2002's (Lina) comprehensive Nara Page
too.
If bicycle is not a good option for you, then you need to use metro and bus combinations to reach your destination in Kyoto. Traffica Kyo Card is available from Kyoto City Transport vendors and subway & bus vending machines in either 1000 JPY or 3000 JPY denominations. A 1000 JPY card provides 1100 JPY worth of travel and a 3000 JPY card 3300 JPY on and Kyoto Subway and Kyoto City Bus route. When you make transfers from metro to bus or vice versa, you get fare reductions. Ticket prices are deducted as you pass the ticket through the station entrance gates and bus card readers. Remaining credit is printed on the back of the card.
At the Jishu Shrine we had a nice break in the local Cafe with its special interior and design as seeing in the first two images here. The 3rd image is another nice place for a break later while visiting this Shrine.
What I found most interesting about this UNESCO World Heritage early 17th century Shogun castle was the ingenious security feature built into the structure. To prevent intruders from sneaking up on Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Shogun who built the castle in 1603, he had 'Nightingale' floors placed throughout the castle. I didn't know this fact before my visit and was curious as to what the high pitch squeeking noise was every few steps. I later learned this noise was by design. It was really pretty fascinating to experience first hand.
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