Kyoto Itineraries

Kyoto is one of the cities that offers wonderful places and experiences. I listed here the details of our three-day itinerary which could help you with yours. If you got only one day for Kyoto you could follow our first day and for two days our first two days and so forth. We were coming from Osaka so I also included here the time of departure for Kyoto and what train and bus to ride. 

We opted to stay in Osaka because it would be an inconvenience to transfer hotels. But it's important to note that the hotel must be near to train stations; walking distance near. Our hotel, Shin-Osaka Sunny Stone Hotel, is just a walking distance from the Nishinakajima-Minamigata Station of the Hankyu line and Shin-Osaka Station of JR line.

We didn't follow our plan for day 1 because we woke up very late.

Kinkakuji Temple

Day 1, Higashiyama Area

• Depart for Kyoto around 7 am. 
• Take the JR line at Shin-Osaka Station to Kyoto.
• Arrive at Kyoto Station around 7:30 am.
• Take City Bus 100 or 206 and drop off at Kiyomizu-michi.
• Walk to Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Explore temple. In case you get hungry, outside the temple are food stores and shops lined up with free tastes!
• Walk through Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka Slope.
• Head to Kodai-ji Temple. Explore the temple.
• Stop by at Yasaka Shrine. 
• Eat lunch at Gion.
• From Gion, take City Bus 12 going to Nijojomae. Walk to Nijo Castle. Explore Castle.  
• From the castle, take City bus 12 and get off at Shijo-Kawaramachi. Walk to Nishiki Market. Walk straight (along Shijo street) then turn right. Shop and eat at Nishiki Market. 
• From Nishiki Market, walk to Hankyu Kawaramachi Station (bound for Osaka) or take City Bus 5 going to Kyoto station. 
• Bound for Osaka.

Expenses:

JR line, Special Rapid Services (Shin-Osaka to Kyoto)	JPY 560.00
City Bus flat rate	JPY 230.00
Hankyu line (Kyoto to Osaka)	JPY 400.00
Food	JPY 2,000.00
Entrance fees
Kiyomizudera Temple	JPY 300.00
Kodaiji Temple	JPY 600.00
Total	JPY 4,090.00

Day 2, Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji Area

• Depart for Kyoto around 7 am. 
• Take the Hankyu line at Nishinakajima-Minamigata Station to Kyoto (Saiin Station).
• Arrive at Saiin Station (Hankyu line has a lot of stop overs) around 8:00 am.
• Take bus 26 bound for Ninnaji Temple.
• Explore temple. There are vendos inside in case you get thirsty.
• Take bus 59 going to Ryoanji Temple.
• Explore temple then take bus 59 and head to Kinkakuji Temple. This is my favorite, maybe because it's gold. Kidding. It's just beautiful. 
• Eat lunch at Kinkakuji area. 
• After lunch, take bus 204 going to Ginkakuji Temple. 
• Explore temple.
• Walk through the Path of Philosophy.
• Walk to Honen-in temple. 
• After exploring temple, take bus 5 (or 17 and 100) to Kyoto Station.
• Bound for Osaka.

Expenses:

Hankyu line (Osaka to Saiin, Kyoto)	JPY 370.00
City Bus One-Day Pass	JPY 500.00
JR line, Special Rapid Services (Kyoto to Osaka)	JPY 560.00
Food	JPY 2,000.00
Entrance fees
Ninnaji Temple	JPY 500.00
Ryoanji Temple	JPY 500.00
Kinkakuji Temple	JPY 400.00
Ginkakuji Temple	JPY 500.00
Honenin Temple	JPY 0.00
Total	JPY 5,330.00

Day 3, Arashiyama Area

• Depart for Kyoto around 7 am. 
• Take the JR line to Kyoto station.  
• Walk to the bus terminal outside Kyoto Station and look for C6 bus stop or you could ask the police on guard at the station (ask for "Otagidera mae" or just show them the map and point Otagidera mae). 
• Once you get on to the bus, tell the driver you want to get off at "Otagidera mae". 
• Travel time is around an hour.
• Supposedly, our first stop is Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple but we didn't find it. Read my post on Adashino-Nenbutsuji Temple.
• Walk to Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple and explore.
• Walk to Gioji Temple and explore (and rest too).
• Walk to Nison-in Temple and explore.
• Walk to Bamboo Forest. 
• Walk to Tenryuji Temple and explore. 
• Eat lunch.
• Walk to Togetsukyo Bridge and rest.
• Take bus 72 or 74 going to Kyoto Sation.
• If you still have the energy, walk to Kyoto Yodobashi and shop.
• Bound for Osaka. 

Expenses:

JR line, Special Rapid Services (Shin-Osaka to Kyoto)	JPY 560.00
City Bus	JPY 460.00
JR line, Special Rapid Services (Kyoto to Shin-Osaka)	JPY 560.00
Food	JPY 2,000.00
Entrance fees
Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple	JPY 500.00
Gioji Temple	JPY 300.00
Nison-in Temple	JPY 500.00
Tenryuji Temple	JPY 500.00
Total	JPY 5,380.00

Total Expenses for three days: approx. JPY 15,000.00 (around PHP6,000)
*Breakfast, dinner and souvenirs not included.




-goodnight-
donna