Kyoto-fu Things to Do

  Plum Room Where Ryoma Stayed
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  • Plum Room Where Ryoma Stayed
      Plum Room Where Ryoma Stayed
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  • Inside Teradaya
      Inside Teradaya
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  • Teradaya Inn
      Teradaya Inn
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  • Kizakura Kappa Country
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Most Viewed Things to Do in Kyoto-fu

51.

Gion (Geisha district)   Kyoto

Gion (Geisha district), Kyoto

 64 Reviews  It's not a long walk but it really holds a historical look. building looks new but in the old japanese style. Restaurants there are little above the average price wise. at the end of the road you will... 

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52.

Kiyomizu Temple   Kyoto

Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto

 98 Reviews  I really loved the short visit I made to this place. i like the atmosphere of this narrow streets with souvenirs shops along your way up the hill to the temple. the temple is realllllly huge and you... 

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53.

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)   Kyoto

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), Kyoto

 102 Reviews  Three-storey Zen Buddhist temple. Each floor was done in different architectural style - the ground floor is Heian imperial architecture, the second floor typifies warrior aristocracy and the top... 

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54.

Nijo Castle   Kyoto

Nijo Castle, Kyoto

 58 Reviews  Nijo Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nijo Castle is different from the other castles we visited in Japan as the main building, the Ninomaru Palace, is a single-storey rather than a tower with... 

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55.

Arashiyama   Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

 29 Reviews  Now this was a great day escape from Kyoto. We took a nice ambling bus ride to Arashiyama, a little bit daunting when you don't really know where you are going, but stick with it and you will arrive.... 

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56.

Fushimi Inari Shrine   Kyoto

Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto

 26 Reviews  Fushimi Inari Shrine is the most famous of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari across Japan. Inari is the Shinto god of rice, and foxes are thought to be his messengers. Therefore, many... 

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57.

Heian Shrine   Kyoto

Heian Shrine, Kyoto

 39 Reviews  Heian Shrine is a big temple (colour is striking red) near the Kyoto Modern Art Museum and Kyoto National Art Museum. The whole environment at Heian Shrine was very zen, meaning, empty spaces are all... 

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58.

Philosopher's Path   Kyoto

Philosopher's Path, Kyoto

 25 Reviews  This is a pleasant walk along the side of the canal, from Ginkaku-ji to Nanzen-ji temple, passing other temples en route It is called the Philosopher's Walk or Path after Professor Nishida Kitaro... 

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59.

Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion)   Kyoto

Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion), Kyoto

 43 Reviews  The Ginkakuji Temple, or Silver Pavilion, is a world cultural heritage site and an ideal place to start or end a stroll along the 'Philosopher's Walk. The temple was originally the mountain retreat... 

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60.

Ryoanji Temple   Kyoto

Ryoanji Temple, Kyoto

 33 Reviews  Ryoanji (The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple (1450), located ibn the Northwest of Kyoto. Its famous "Karesansui" rock garden (UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage Site) is consists of 15... 

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61.

Kyoto Imperial Palace   Kyoto

Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kyoto

 21 Reviews  Kyoto Imperial Palace is located in Kyoto Imperial Park along with the Sento Palace. The emperor and Imperial court resided here until 1868, so it is a great place to visit for those interested in... 

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62.

Toji Temple   Kyoto

Toji Temple, Kyoto

 26 Reviews  Every month on the 21st Toji Temple hosts a huge flea market! The market is full of things from antiques to modern items and of course, many food options! As far as what you can buy, there is a wide... 

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63.

Pontocho   Kyoto

Pontocho, Kyoto

 15 Reviews  Pontocho is a long, narrow alleyway lined with traditional buildings, mostly restaurants and teahouses. Pontocho is best experienced in the evening and at night after the sun has gone down. The... 

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64.

Kyoto Station   Kyoto

Kyoto Station, Kyoto

 21 Reviews  It creates such a contrast to see a modern train station in a city of amazing history. This contemporary glass and steel building will be your starting point when you arrive in Kyoto. As we travelled... 

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65.

Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka   Kyoto

Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka, Kyoto

 13 Reviews  Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka are famous streets in Kyoto, because they have been preserved to keep the stone walkway and many of the buildings that allign them also remain traditional buildings.... 

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66.

Nanzenji Temple   Kyoto

Nanzenji Temple, Kyoto

 18 Reviews  Tenjuan is one of the subtemples of Nanzenji Temple. It was built in honor of the temple's founder, Daiminkokushi, after his death. The original subtemple was burned down and subsequent wars destroyed... 

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67.

Kyoto National Museum   Kyoto

Kyoto National Museum, Kyoto

 17 Reviews  These rooms are my favorites. The paintings are huge. Some paintings were taken from walls of individual Japanese houses before. In these rooms, you see the Buddhist paintings, ink paintings, and... 

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68.

Kyoto Tower   Kyoto

Kyoto Tower, Kyoto

 21 Reviews  ¥ 770 to observatory (at 100m). On a clear day you should be able to see almost all Kyoto from the top. The 131m structure itself, built to withstand strong wind and earthquake, shaped according to... 

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69.

Toei Movie Village   Kyoto

Toei Movie Village, Kyoto

 8 Reviews  A film-culture hall with a western-style, academic appearance is a genuine museum of Japanese cinema. Here you can review the careers of the great actors, actresses and directors of Japanese cinema,... 

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70.

Nishi Honganji Temple   Kyoto

Nishi Honganji Temple, Kyoto

 13 Reviews  Nishi Honganji is the older of Kyoto's Honganji temples, built in 1591. It is also the head temple of the Honganji sect of the Jodo sect of Buddhism. The main draw of the temple is simply its size.... 

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71.

Sanjuusangen-do   Kyoto

Sanjuusangen-do, Kyoto

 23 Reviews  One of my favourite temples. It houses some 31 national treasures which are all statues of buddhist gods and goddesses. This is a Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) Temple. The statues are : 1 Kannon... 

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72.

Cities Outside of Kyoto   Kyoto

Cities Outside of Kyoto, Kyoto

 14 Reviews  Kyoto has a central location in Japan. If you will not stay only in one city, but travel to a few cities in Japan like we did, you can choose Kyoto as your base. You can reach Nara in half an hour... 

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73.

Jishu Shrine   Kyoto

Jishu Shrine, Kyoto

 10 Reviews  This tiny temple enshrines one of the gods of love and marriage, Okuninushi-no-mikoto. If you're single, come here to see if you'll be lucky at love! There are two stones at the shrine located a... 

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74.

Yasaka Shrine   Kyoto

Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto

 12 Reviews  Yasaka Shrine (formerly known as Gion Shrine) is one of the most visited shrines in Kyoto, mostly because of its proximity to Gion, Maruyama Park, and the shopping centers. Even so, the shrine is... 

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75.

Higashi Honganji Temple   Kyoto

Higashi Honganji Temple, Kyoto

 15 Reviews  Higashi Honganji Temple was built to divide the power of Nishi Honganji Temple. It is the head temple of the Otani sect of Pure Land Buddhism. The original temple was built hundreds of years ago, but... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Museum walk 4- Art of the Japanese Postcard,Kyoto

by Cyncyn

When I stayed in Kyoto, I was lucky to visit this collections of postcard. It's very great ! The museum is not big located near the Heian Shine. There are 2 floor with few rooms. After visiting the museum, there was a book for visitors to write the feeling of the exhibition, I could only read the only one in english . The writer of the review of visiting was : felt excited since she studied in Boston before. She watched this collections before and she could watched it the second. Ha ha......... isn't it the fate of her to buy the book of the collection ? The original storage of the collection is : The Leonard A. Lauder Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.I felt the collections also interesting too but the entrance fee was quite expensive 1000 yen.But now they were moved back to Boston .

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Museum walk 2 - The museum of Kyoto

by Cyncyn

I went there during the Gion Matusuri Festival(14 - 16th July each year). The museum is located near the heart of Kyoto city. When I went there , the gernal rooms were opened to public in free. Furthermore, there was free concert of during the festival. I enjoyed the concert very much. I did not hear that the old men play a great Brazil music which let my feeling of blue and romance poped up after one and half hour. What amazing band !Oh! about the museum, there are the old setting of the shop on the basement of the museum, you can feel that you are back to the past of Japan. Quite interesting . And the very old craft of making paper is also famous there. But I did not buy any stuff from there. For me , I did not know why it costs a lot.

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Gion Matsuri Festival 14-16th July

by Cyncyn

The Gion Matsuri Festival, a symbol of the start of summer in Kyoto, is one of Japan's three great festivals.The first Gion Matsuri, one of Japan's oldest goryo-e or protective festival, took place in the early Heian period (794-1185) in response to a series of devastating plagues and epidemics, said to be caused by the angry spirit of the deity Susano-o-nomikoto (the late Emperor Gozu). In desperation, the reigning emperor decreed that special prayers be said at Yasaka Shrine, and that country's 66 provincial Hoko (Boko: double -axe-headed military spears) e paraded through the city. Though the festival began as a religious purificiation ritural, it also became a way for craft guilds and merchant families to compete in showing off their wealth and taste.While preparing the festival, the road will be blocked people can enjoy walking on the road without car driving pass. Very warm...

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History walk - Heian Shrine( Shrine Garden)

by Cyncyn

Shrine Garden -- Shrine Garden with a total are of 30,000 square eters in divided into four sections. East, West, Central and South, Know as the most beautiful landscape gardens typical of the Meiji Period, it has won a national distinction. A major attraction of the garden is its pind cherry trees with many long-hanging twigs which, when in full bloom, look like a huge flowery parasol spread over the ground. Its exquisite beauty know at home and abroad was especially loved by Sowa Emperor and Empress when the Imperial Couple visited the Shrine in April, 1968. In addtion, the garden has well-laid-out flower beds and a variety of trees which bloom in season provding seasonal attractions throughout the year, the snow scene in winter is also something that cannot be missed.The quiet moments I enjoyed inside the garded. I regreted that it was time too shor for me to stay longer.

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Museum walk 3-National Museum of Modern art, Kyoto

by Cyncyn

This is the one museum made me shocked that I could see the original printing of Pablo Picasso . And there exhibited the painting of traditional japanese which is similar to Chinese. The scuplture also are vey nice to have a look. This museum is located along the road to Heian Shrine. So the same day , I visited this museum and the Shrine Garden where located inside the Heian Shrine. The Garden is gorgeous worth going !

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Museum walk 1 - Kyoto National Museum

by Cyncyn

It is a very old style museum. I can find different kinds of art there : from stone age to mordern art. Sculpture, pottery, printing , dying clothes etc. However the new exhibition rooms were underconstruction, I could not go there.There are not so many english translation on the art. What a pity !Entrance fee : 420 yen for general roomsSpecial exhibition will charge different entrance fee.

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Temple walk

by Cyncyn

While Travelling Kyoto, you can easily follow a bus travel guide. Then you can easily find there are lots of temple on the rounte. Since there are lots of temple inside Kyoto, even you can walk from the train station. The traffic inside Kyoto is very convenience. For my experience, one or two is enough , since the style of the temple is almost similar to each other. Usually, sandy land garden, pond and falls are oftenly included in the temple. Of course, there are buddish and wishing well.

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Arashiyama River Rapids

by SSerre

This boat ride was scenic and lots of fun. Each boat is steered by several men down the Arashiyama River, under bridges, near the train tracks, past steep rocks, down rapids, past a variety of wildlife. One of the oarsmen pointed out things in Japanese along the ride which my guide translated, but this would still be worthwhile even if you don't speak Japanese.Worth taking your camera, but be careful since you probably will get splashed.The tour takes about 2 hours and costs 3,900 yen per adult.The tour ends at the town of Arashiyama, where the famed Bamboo Forest is.

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The Philosophers Walk Tea House

by SSerre

Kanou Shoujuan is a traditional Japanese teahouse right along the Philosophers Walk. They did a traditional tea ceremony with small pastries, explaining all of the steps of the cermony. This was conducted in Japanese, so plan to go with a guide or someone that speaks the language.They also sell a wide variety of fresh tea house pastries on site.

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Fushimi Inari shrines are brighter at New Year

by mikegr

Visiting Fushimi Inari at New Year has advantages and disadvantges.On the minus side, you have to contend with a lot of people (some of whom are very old) on the walk, and with oncoming people there is no room to pass them.On the plus side a lot of the Japanese visitors to the shrines light candels, so that the normally gloomy interiors are brightly lit and far more appealing.

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Top 3 Hotels in Kyoto-fu

Hotel Granvia Kyoto  Kyoto

 6 Reviews and 743 Opinions  We stayed 3 nights at Kyoto Granvia Hotel from Feb. 27 to Mar 1, 2008. We paid Yen 17,600 per night,... 

 Hotels in Kyoto

Hotel Mare Takata  Maizuru

 14 Opinions

 Hotels in Maizuru

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Reviews and photos of Kyoto-fu attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Kyoto-fu sightseeing.

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Questions and Answers

diazvaldez profile photo

Q:  Hi, I would like to know which is nicest or more convenient area to stay in Kyoto (I mean night life, transport, etc.), Thanks 

muratkorman profile photo

A: It all depends on your preferences and budget. You can take a look at my Kyoto page for the details of the hotel we stayed. It was really nice to go around the city with... 

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