29 Things To Do In Kyoto

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1. Fushimi Inari Taisha

5 km from city center

Religious Experience

Fushimi Inari Taisha is a Shinto shrine in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward dedicated to Inari, the deity of rice and prosperity. Founded in 711 CE, it is the head shrine for around 40,000 Inari shrines across Japan and is best known for the Senbon Torii, a path of roughly 10,000 vermilion gates donated by businesses since the Edo period. The shrine sits at the base of Mount Inari and is open 24 hours a day, (Read More)every day, with no entrance fee.

Top Attraction

5 km from city center

Buddhist Temple

Kinkaku-ji, officially Rokuon-ji, is a Zen Buddhist temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are coated in gold leaf. Built in 1397 as a shogun's retirement villa and converted to a temple after his death, the current structure dates to a 1955 reconstruction following a 1950 fire. The pavilion sits at the edge of Kyoko-chi (Mirror Pond), where its gold facade reflects across the water. It is (Read More)part of the UNESCO-listed Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto and one of the most photographed sites in Japan.

4.3 /5

9 km from city center

Landmark

A riverside district west of the city, and the bamboo path is only part of it: Togetsukyo Bridge, Tenryu-ji's fourteenth-century garden and the monkey park on the hill above are all within a short walk. The grove is free and unstaffed, so crowding is the only variable, and it is worst from late morning. Start there before the temples open and work outward.

Tours starting from
₹4,346

Top Attraction

2 km from city center

Temple

Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple founded in 778 CE on the wooded slopes of Mount Otowa in Kyoto's Higashiyama district, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto." Its main hall, rebuilt in 1633, is famous for a large wooden stage built using the kakezukuri technique without a single nail, jutting out over the hillside with sweeping views of the city. The comple (Read More)x also holds the Otowa waterfall, whose three streams are said to grant wishes, and the Jishu Shrine's "love stones."

Kyoto Travel Packages

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5. Gion District

4.5 /5

6 km from city center

Avenues & Promenades

Kyoto's main geisha quarter, between Yasaka Shrine and the Kamo River, and the draw is the preserved machiya streetscape rather than a guaranteed sighting. Walk Hanami-koji and the quieter Shirakawa canal lane. Many private side alleys are now closed to visitors, photography is signposted as prohibited across much of the district, and photographing geiko without consent is fined.

Tours starting from
₹1,793

Top Attraction

1 km from city center

Religious Experience

Yasaka Shrine closes the east end of Shijo-dori, the street that runs the length of Gion, and its chief kami is Susanoo, enshrined with Kushinadahime and their eight children. Shrine tradition dates the first hall to 656. The Gion Matsuri started here as an appeasement rite in 869 and the shrine still sends portable shrines through the city every July. Gates on all four sides stay open, so late ev (Read More)ening visits are normal, and the dance stage carries hundreds of sponsors' lanterns.

7. Higashiyama District

Top Attraction

2 km from city center

Neighborhood

Higashiyama District is Kyoto's best-preserved pre-modern streetscape, centred on the linked slopes of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka in Higashiyama-ku. Protected since the 1970s under Japan's Important Preservation District system, the stone-paved lanes are lined with wooden machiya houses, tea shops, pottery stores and sweet shops, many still trading from century-old buildings. The paths climb toward (Read More)Kiyomizu-dera and connect onward to Kodai-ji temple and Yasaka Shrine, making the walk itself as much a draw as the temples it leads to. Rated 4.2/5 from over 1,500 visitor votes.

Top Attraction

2 km from city center

Forts & Palaces

Nijo Castle was built in 1601-1626 as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shoguns and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto. Its Ninomaru Palace is famous for "nightingale floors" that chirp underfoot, a side effect of the clamp-and-nail flooring rather than a deliberate security feature. Visitors can also walk the stone-walled moats and the (Read More)Ninomaru and Honmaru gardens. The site holds a 4.0/5 rating from 3,195 votes.

Top Attraction

36 km from city center

Day Trip

Forty-five minutes from Kyoto and worth the whole day: Todai-ji holds the largest bronze Buddha in the world, Kasuga Taisha has over three thousand lanterns, and thirteen hundred deer wander between them. Take Kintetsu rather than JR, because Kintetsu Nara station sits beside the park while JR Nara leaves you a twenty-minute walk away.

Top Attraction

9 km from city center

Temple

Ashikaga Takauji founded Tenryu-ji in 1339 to settle the spirit of Emperor Go-Daigo, and the Sogenchi pond garden laid out by its first abbot Muso Soseki became the first site in Japan designated a Special Place of Scenic Beauty. The path circles the water and uses the Arashiyama hills as its far wall, so the garden reads as much larger than its walls allow. UNESCO added the temple to the Historic (Read More) Monuments of Ancient Kyoto in 1994. Buildings and gardens open 8:30 to 17:00.

3.8 /5

3 km from city center

Temple

A shogun's retirement villa turned Zen temple, and despite the name no silver was ever applied to it. What holds up is the dry garden, with its cone of raked sand and its Sea of Silver Sand, and the mossy hillside circuit behind. The pavilion interior is permanently closed. A visit runs under an hour, so pair it with the Philosopher's Path walking south.

Tours starting from
₹2,173

Great For Couples

3 km from city center

Walking Tour

Philosopher's Path (Tetsugaku no Michi) is a two-kilometre pedestrian route in Kyoto that follows a cherry-tree-lined canal fed by the Lake Biwa Canal, running between Ginkaku-ji in the north and Nanzen-ji in the south. First laid out in 1890 and named for the Kyoto University philosophers who once used it for daily walks, the path takes about 30 minutes to walk end to end. It passes smaller templ (Read More)es and shrines along the way, including Honen-in and Otoyo Shrine.

3.6 /5

1 km from city center

Five covered blocks and something over a hundred stalls, selling pickles, yuba, tamagoyaki, knives and a good deal of tourist street food. Shops open around ten and close by six, and individual stalls take Wednesday or Sunday off, so it is never shut but often patchy. Eat standing at the stall that sold you the food rather than walking with it.

Tours starting from
₹4,563

Top Attraction

2 km from city center

Temple

Nanzen-ji is the head temple of the Nanzen-ji branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism, founded in 1291 on the site of a former imperial villa. Its two-story Sanmon gate, rebuilt in 1628, offers rooftop views over the temple grounds and inspired a famous kabuki play. The Hojo hall, a National Treasure, holds a raked rock garden attributed to Kobori Enshu and screen paintings by Kano Tan'yu. A red-brick Meiji (Read More)-era aqueduct, the Suirokaku, cuts directly across the grounds, an unusual sight next to centuries-old wooden halls.

Instagram Worthy

1 km from city center

Street Food & Drinks

Pontocho is a narrow, cobbled alley in central Kyoto running one block west of the Kamo River, between Shijo-dori and Sanjo-dori. Geisha and traditional teahouses have operated here since at least the 16th century, and the lane is now lined with restaurants, bars, and ryotei serving kaiseki, yakiniku, and sushi. In summer, many venues open wooden riverside dining platforms called kawadoko. The Pon (Read More)tocho Kaburenjo Theater hosts the Kamogawa Odori geisha dance performance each spring and autumn. The alley is busiest and most atmospheric after dark.

Top Attraction

3 km from city center

Buddhist Temple

Sanjusangendo, officially Rengeo-in, is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto's Higashiyama district founded in 1164 by Taira no Kiyomori for Emperor Go-Shirakawa. Its long wooden hall, rebuilt after a 1249 fire and designated a National Treasure, houses 1,001 life-size standing statues of the thousand-armed Kannon, arranged in tiered rows around a large seated central Kannon carved by the sculptor Tankei. S (Read More)tatues of Fujin and Raijin and 28 guardian deities line the hall's edges. The temple remains an active place of worship and a consistent fixture on Kyoto's must-see temple lists.

14 km from city center

Day Trip

Half a day from Kyoto for Byodo-in, whose Phoenix Hall is the building on the back of the ten-yen coin, and for the matcha, grown here since the twelfth century. The trap is the ticket. Seven hundred yen covers the grounds and museum only; going inside the hall costs three hundred more, on timed slots of fifty people that sell out through the day.

Top Attraction

2 km from city center

Forts & Palaces

The Kyoto Imperial Palace was the residence of Japan's Emperor from 1337 until 1869, when the imperial family relocated to Tokyo. The complex sits inside the sprawling Kyoto Gyoen National Garden and includes the Shishinden ceremonial hall, the Seiryoden, and the Kogosho hall. The Imperial Household Agency maintains the grounds and runs free public tours of the buildings several times a day, while (Read More) the surrounding park stays open to visitors year-round at no charge.

Top Attraction

5 km from city center

Temple

Ryoan-ji is a Zen Buddhist temple in northwest Kyoto, founded in 1450 by the warlord Hosokawa Katsumoto and affiliated with the Myoshin-ji branch of Rinzai Zen. It is known worldwide for its kare-sansui dry-landscape garden: fifteen rocks arranged in raked white gravel inside a low earthen wall, viewed from the veranda of the hojo, or abbot's hall. The garden's present layout dates to around 1799. (Read More) Ryoan-ji is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, inscribed in 1994.

3.8 /5

8 km from city center

An open-sided sightseeing train that runs seven kilometres up the Hozugawa gorge from Arashiyama, taking about twenty-five minutes. Every seat is reserved and autumn dates sell out, so book before you travel. It does not run at all from late December through February, and it takes most Wednesdays off outside peak season.

Tours starting from
₹943

2 km from city center

Temple

Kodai-ji is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kyoto's Higashiyama district, built in 1606 by Kita no Mandokoro (Nene), widow of warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, as a memorial to him, with funding from Tokugawa Ieyasu. The grounds include a karesansui rock garden and a pond garden centered on the Kaizando memorial hall, which enshrines wooden statues of Nene and Hideyoshi. A hillside mausoleum decorated with Kodai (Read More)ji maki-e lacquerwork and two teahouses, one attributed to tea master Sen no Rikyu, overlook a bamboo grove path leading back to the main halls.

3.7 /5

3 km from city center

Monument

A 1964 observation tower directly opposite the station's Karasuma exit, with a deck at a hundred metres. Its real use is orientation on arrival day, since it is a two-minute walk from where the train drops you and stays open until nine. It is an ordinary observation deck rather than a sight in its own right. The basement public bath closed for good in 2021.

Tours starting from
₹493

Instagram Worthy

4 km from city center

Temple

Tofuku-ji is a Rinzai Zen temple in southeastern Kyoto founded in 1236 by imperial chancellor Kujo Michiie, and counted among the city's five great Zen temples. Its 22-meter Sanmon gate, built in 1425, is the oldest surviving temple gate in Japan and a National Treasure. The complex holds 24 sub-temples and gardens redesigned by landscape architect Mirei Shigemori in 1939. The wooden Tsutenkyo Bri (Read More)dge spans a maple-filled valley and draws large crowds during November foliage season. Standard tickets cover the bridge, Hojo rock gardens, and Kaisando Hall.

4.2 /5

5 km from city center

Amusement & Theme Park

A working film backlot for samurai drama that doubles as a theme park, with Edo streets, a replica Nihonbashi, ninja shows and costume rental. Filming genuinely does still happen and visitors can watch. Budget beyond the gate price: most individual attractions charge a further few hundred yen each, and the dress-up experiences cost considerably more.

3.7 /5

1 km from city center

Temple

Head temple of the Pure Land sect, and it is worth coming for the scale rather than the detail. The Sanmon gate of 1619 is the largest wooden temple gate in Japan at twenty-four metres, and the bell cast in 1633 weighs seventy-four tonnes. The grounds and main buildings are free; only the two gardens charge. It is a five-minute walk uphill from Gion.

Fun For Kids

4 km from city center

Museum

Kyoto Railway Museum is the largest railway museum in Japan, spread across 31,000 square meters near Umekoji Park. Opened in 2016 on the site of the former Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum, it displays 54 pieces of rolling stock, including steam locomotives and shinkansen cars, alongside a restored 1914 roundhouse designated an Important Cultural Property. Interactive exhibits, a train simulator, a (Read More)nd a rooftop terrace overlooking passing trains make it a strong pick for families with children interested in trains and engineering.

Day Trip

12 km from city center

Hiking

Kurama and Kibune are two small settlements in the mountains north of central Kyoto, connected by a roughly one-hour forest hiking trail over Mount Kurama. Kurama is home to Kurama-dera, a temple founded in 796 with a cable car, a Niomon gate, and links to the tengu legend and to Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Kibune sits in the next valley along the Kibune-gawa river and centers on Kifune Shrine, a Shin (Read More)to site with imperial-era historical standing. Both are reached by the Eizan Railway from Demachiyanagi Station.

2 km from city center

Museum

Kyoto National Museum opened in 1897 in the Higashiyama district and holds more than 12,000 objects, with roughly 6,000 on view at any time, including over 230 pieces designated National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties. The original Meiji-era main hall, designed by Katayama Tokuma in French Renaissance style, is a registered Important Cultural Property itself and now hosts events, while (Read More) the 2014 Heisei Chishinkan Wing by architect Yoshio Taniguchi holds the main galleries of sculpture, ceramics, calligraphy, and textiles spanning the Heian to Edo periods.

Popular among Locals

1 km from city center

Museum

Kyoto International Manga Museum occupies the former Tatsuike Elementary School building in Nakagyo Ward, a short walk from Karasuma Oike subway station. Jointly run by Kyoto City and Kyoto Seika University since November 2006, it holds close to 300,000 manga items, including around 50,000 volumes shelved along the three-floor "Wall of Manga" that visitors can pull down and read anywhere in the bu (Read More)ilding, including on the outdoor lawn. The building itself, dating to 1928-1937, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan.

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FAQs on Kyoto

What are the top hotels in Kyoto?

There are 2708 Hotels in Kyoto which can be booked through Holidify. The most popular hotels in Kyoto are Shikoku an Machiya House, Anzu an Machiya House, Garden Villa Denshin-An, Jeugiya, ã•ã¨å±… é‰„ä»™ SATOI TESSEN Omiya-Gojo, Takeya Kitano Bekkan. You can see all the hotels in Kyoto here

What are the top activities in Kyoto?

The top activities in Kyoto are One Day Kimono Rental, ICOCA IC Card, [Klook Exclusive] Kimono Rental in Kyoto with Optional Photoshoot, Limousine Bus Transfers between Kansai International Airport (KIX) and Osaka or Kyoto, Kyoto-Osaka Sightseeing Pass (1 Day/2 Days, Kyoto Pick Up), Kyoto Tower Admission Ticket.

What are the top sightseeing places in Kyoto?

The top sightseeing places in Kyoto are Gion District, Arashiyama , Uzumasa Eigamura, Ginkakuji, Sagano Scenic Railway, Chion-In.

How can I commute within Kyoto?

Kyoto has a relatively underdeveloped public transport system, which opens other avenues for citizens to get around this city- walking and cycling. Kyoto is one of the most bicycle-friendly areas around Japan,and it is recommended, for most of the streets are rectangular and sharp-cornered, which renders cabs and buses unable to explore the deeper pockets of Kyoto. However, to travel around the main areas, buses and subways are better, even if they are convoluted and confused. Tourists may procure the one-day bus pass for free travel within 24 hours around the city. These passes can also be obtained for the subway and railways.
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Things To Do In Kyoto

"Japan’s cultural capital of temples, tea houses, and traditions"

29 Things To Do In Kyoto

1. Fushimi Inari Taisha

2. Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)

3. Arashiyama

4. Kiyomizu-dera

Kyoto Travel Packages

Japan Explorer: 8 Nights Tokyo, Kyoto & Osaka Adventure

Customized Holiday to Japan

Japan 15 Days

Japan Discovery Tour: Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Tokyo & Fuji 10N/11D

Journey To Japan

9-Day Japan Highlights: Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, and Osaka Adventure

5. Gion District

6. Yasaka Shrine

Top Hotels In Kyoto

7. Higashiyama District

8. Nijo Castle

9. Day Trip to Nara

10. Tenryu-ji Temple

11. Ginkakuji

12. Philosopher's Path

13. Nishiki Market

14. Nanzen-ji Temple

15. Pontocho

16. Sanjusangendo

17. Day Trip to Uji

18. Kyoto Imperial Palace

19. Ryoan-ji

20. Sagano Scenic Railway

21. Kodai-ji Temple

22. Kyoto Tower

23. Tofuku-ji Temple

24. Uzumasa Eigamura

25. Chion-In

26. Kyoto Railway Museum

27. Kurama and Kibune

28. Kyoto National Museum

29. Kyoto International Manga Museum

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FAQs on Kyoto

What are the top hotels in Kyoto?

What are the top activities in Kyoto?

What are the top sightseeing places in Kyoto?

How can I commute within Kyoto?

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