It goes without saying that a city like Kyoto warrants way more than a whistle-stop tour. But when you’re tied to a tight itinerary and a slave to school holidays, you need to work with what you’ve got. Throw into the mix that the kids want to visit a wild monkey park that is miles away and requires a hike and you’re left with a matter of hours to explore one of the world’s most stunning cities. But I do like a challenge…
Gion
When we started researching our Japan trip I had a vision in my mind of traditional wooden houses, small streets leading to big temples and geisha. I soon realised that when I envisaged Japan it was images of Kyoto, not Tokyo that sprung to mind.
Kyoto’s central Gion district delivers the lot. In fact, at points it’s so picture-perfect Japanese and packed with Americans, that you could be forgiven for feeling like you’re just in the “Japan Pavillion” of Disney’s US Epcot theme park.
Fortunately, once you’ve ticked off the most well known Geisha streets of Hanamikoji and Miyagawasuji, and you’ve seen the Yasaka Shrine, there are plenty of tiny side streets to escape down to experience the city’s treasures at your own pace.
While we dutifully joined the tourist trail to take pics on Tatsumi Bridge, made famous by the Memoirs of a Geisha movie, most of the joy of Gion was simply walking around, ducking down each little alley that takes your fancy. It’s such a uniquely serene and safe setting, the need to follow a formal walking tour seemed unnecessary.
To make the most of of our limited time we stayed at the heart of Gion itself, in a traditional Machiya house. These wooden townhouses with tatami-matted rooms separated by screens, sunken dining tables and floor futons offer the opportunity to feel like you’re experiencing Kyoto, before you’ve even left your accommodation.
Paid subscribers will find full details and more images of our Machiya house stay and booking links at the bottom of this article.
Nishiki Market
Quite the change of pace from Gion is Kyoto’s bustling covered street food market, Nishiki.
Here one densely-packed pathway takes you through a seemingly never-ending selection of food stalls, selling everything from fresh seafood to wagu beef and sake. Overwhelmed by choice it’s the sort of place you want to walk through once before deciding what to buy. But will you ever remember what you wanted and how to make it back? It’s quite the task. As is typical with street food market excursions, all four of us wanted to eat different things. Or rather three of us did and one of us (the fussy child) wanted nothing.
While it’s the kind of place you just have to tackle any way you can, my key tips would be as follows:
Don’t forget that even when it’s “street food”, walking along while eating is a strict no-no in Japan. Look out for designated eating areas next to or within the food stalls.
If you see something you like, buy it there and then. You might never make in back through the crowds.
Don’t attempt to palm off a fussy child with a mystery item simply labelled “cheese”. You might discover it’s actually a massive fish stick with a cheesy middle, which could just make things worse.
Yogen-in Temple
The Kyoto area is home to several buildings known chitenjo (blood ceiling) temples, whose ceilings are said to show the centuries-old blood shed by samurai warriors.
Believed to be constructed from the repurposed floorboards of the 16th century Fushimi Momoyama Castle, these stained panels feature foot and hand prints, said to be made by 380 samurai warriors who held off an army of 40,000 for 11 days before committing seppuku (a ritualistic suicide), rather than accepting defeat.
While Yogen-in, Genkoan, Shoden-ji, Hosen-in and Myoshinji temple all feature the boards, Yogen-in is the most central and accessible from Gion on foot if you don’t mind a walk.
No photographs are allowed inside the temple, so we weren’t sure what to expect, but we found the it both fascinating and moving, as we were guided through its interior artworks and legendary blood ceilings by a surprisingly dramatic English-speaking volunteer.
Arashiyama
The district of Arashiyama, on the western outskirts of Kyoto, offers some of the area’s most popular sightseeing attractions. While it’s accessible by Kyoto’s train and tram system, taking about 1 hour from Gion, we splashed out on a taxi which took about 25 minutes.
Arashiyama feels like another world… crowds of mainly Japanese tourists gather around the central Togetsu-kyo Bridge which crosses the pretty Katsura river. While I would have happily joined them to quietly enjoy my matcha ice cream in the shade, the kids had other plans. Namely Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama. This local attraction involves paying an entrance fee and hiking up a mountain path to enter the habitat of local wild Japanese Macaques. At the top you can buy feed and carefully hand it over, all from the safety of a shed-come-tourist cage. If you are really lucky a monkey might photobomb you.
While it might not be top of the list for everyone visiting Tokyo, the park boasts amazing views across Kyoto and the children loved seeing the monkeys (the uphill walk, not so much).
Arashiyama is also home to Kyoto’s much-photographed Bamboo Grove. Entered by the Tenryu-ji Temple, this famous walkway allows you to carve your way through dramatic towering bamboo stalks. Of course, like all such places, the serene scenes on Insta were nowhere to be found on our visit and there was also lots of carving our way through the tourist crowds.
Where to eat, drink and stay in Kyoto…
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