Things to Do in Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto has so many religious sites that you would probably have to spend a month there and visit two a day to see all of them. And though temples and shrines make up the bulk of the things to do in Kyoto, the city is also really cool to just wander around and soak up the culture. A balanced Kyoto itinerary takes a little bit of the best of everything to give you some varied experiences and avoid temple fatigue.

The following things to do in Kyoto can easily take up three or four days, and it would be downright exhausting if not impossible to squeeze it all into a shorter time. It’s also important to remember that when it comes to the top sites in Kyoto, you’ll want to visit many of them first thing in the morning to avoid the awful crowds that can ruin the quaint traditional feel of the city. So three full days would allow you to peacefully explore Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine, the Arashiyama bamboo forest, and Kiyozimu-dera Temple first thing each morning.

Hands down Kyoto’s most popular attraction, this Shinto shrine honors the god of rice, Inari. The iconic path of torii gates weaves around the Main Hall of the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine and up the mountain of Inariyama, which is considered a sacred place. Scattered around the grounds, you’ll find other smaller shrines. The downside of Fushimi Inari Taisha is that it is always busy, but on the other hand, you can escape the crowds by hiking further and further up the mountain along the torii path. The full hike will take at least 2 hours. Going higher up and deeper into the forest, the path provides tranquility and lots of shade. Most people drop out early in the hike and most that go further still only get to the viewpoint at the Yotsutsuji intersection halfway up. That gives you plenty of shrine to see without any crowds. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).