Kyoto in Fall
We just got back from such a fun trip to Japan, and the old capitol city of Kyoto was my favorite! We hit peak leaf season and the Japanese maples were gorgeous. We spend three days wandering through gardens and temples, and eating yummy ramen and sushi!
Fushimi Inari, on our hike up
SIGHTS TO SEE
We packed in a lot of temples but here are our absolute favorites!
Fushimi Inari and the 10,000 Tori gates to the top of Mt Inari. It is a Shinto Shrine for Inari, the Shinto god of rice. It was a 8km hike to the top of the mountain and back, and we hiked up through over 10,000 of these orange Tori gates to see gorgeous views of the city from the top. There were different shrines along the way, loop and they have wild monkeys up on the mountain, although we didn’t see any this trip. It was an easy hike, so no hiking clothes necessary. The tori gates are all donations from individuals and businesses and are through to bring fortune and good luck to the business.
The Golden Pavilion, also known as Kinkaku was sitting over the water and one of the prettiest temples in Kyoto. The reflection of the gold, and the surrounding maples made for the perfect views. The grounds were just a short walk, but totally worth the visit.
The Arishiyama bamboo forest was a fun walk, with a long path through the towering bamboo - I recommend getting there early before its super crowded. I think we showed up before 8, and its an hour bus ride from the city center. Attached to the bamboo grove is Tenryu -ji Temple. The gardens there were amazing, and some of our best fall photos. I would set aside your morning for these two spots.
Ginkakuji Temple is also known as the Silver Temple, and has stunning grounds and rock gardens as well as beautiful paintings inside. These buildings were done in a traditional Japanese Shoin style, and was built back in 1942. The large sand garden is meticulously maintained, and simple but beautiful.
All of the temples and gardens above were on our list before we went, but you also discover so many little temples and gardens just wandering around the city and exploring. Our favorite one we stumbled on was next to a huge flea market, and was a large buddhist temple, Higashi-Honganji Temple.
The historic street of Pontocho Alley is also a fun spot to check out at night. Its a narrow street with all historic buildings and lanterns, and lined with restaurants and bars. We were underwhelmed by the restaurant we chose, as it seems like they’ve become overpriced and touristy, but I highly recommend walking down the street and hitting up a spot for drinks.
The Ginza district is also a great spot to walk around, with historic buildings and tons of shopping and markets. This is also the spot you might get lucky and spot a geisha on their way to work. They also rent geisha costumes for the day, and tons of tourists dress up to walk around this area.
EATS & MARKETS
Below the Silver Temple there was a street lined with local food stalls and shopping. We tried with Takoyaki which are little octopus balls, and I thought they were a little fishy tasting, but the hubby enjoyed them. They did top them with fish flakes, so that was probably the biggest reason. We ate our way down the street and had some yummy chicken yakatori skewers and curry dumplings.
One of our nights in Kyoto we had potstickers at a small hole in the wall place, Goyza ChaoChao. It was super cheap and we enjoyed tons of potsticker options with sake and beer.
On our walk up to the Golden Temple, we stopped for lunch at Kyoto Style Ramen. Sake and big ramen bowls were soooo good, and once again super cheap eats.
Nishki Market is the perfect spot in the evening to wander through and try all sorts of street foods, as well as shop. We had sake and tried different types of sushi, octopus and macha products.
Our favorite Sake spot downtown was Matsui Sake Brewery. There were so many sake options and it was a small spot but if you go for happy hour you can snag a seat.
We found a fun but pricey crab spot for sushi, and the crab miso and shumai crab dumplings were both amazing! Sopporo Kaniya Kyoto. The service was very slow, so only go if you are looking for a two hour relaxing lunch.
Kyoto is definitely a spot I would recommend adding to your bucket list!
xoxo