Best Apr · Nov ~A$150/day 4 days is about right

Kyoto

Sixteen hundred temples and a grid you can walk. Go at dawn or go in November; ideally both.

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Ideal stay

4 days

Typical spend

~A$150/day

Rough mid-range estimate

Landmarks

6 listed

Things to do

Things to do in Kyoto

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Where to stay

Where to stay in Kyoto

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If you only have

Kyoto in a day, two days, three

Day 1

·Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

·Fushimi Inari Taisha

·Gion

Guide for day 1 →

Day 2

·Kinkaku-ji· UNESCO

·Kiyomizu-dera· UNESCO

·Nijō Castle· UNESCO

Guide for day 2 →

Landmarks

Landmarks in Kyoto

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Fushimi Inari Taisha

Gion

Kinkaku-ji

Kiyomizu-dera

Nijō Castle

Names and UNESCO status only. Ticks are yours and stay on this device.

Getting in

From the airport

When to go

When to go to Kyoto: Apr or Nov

The heat breaks and the gardens turn — the best light of the year.

Guides about here

Itineraries

Day trips from Kyoto, and the case for reversing the whole trip

Six day trips from Kyoto with real train times, plus the March 2026 lodging tax that makes basing in Osaka and commuting in genuinely cheaper.

Rina Matsuda · 3 Sep 2026

Best of

Kyoto or Osaka, and the tax that decided it in 2026

Kyoto for the sights, Osaka for the base, and since March 2026 the accommodation tax makes that split cheaper than it has ever been. Six rounds, six winners.

Rina Matsuda · 2 Sep 2026

Itineraries

Three days in Kyoto, done properly

Kyoto's sights sit at three compass points and the buses are slow. The route that never crosses the city twice, plus the taxi that saves you an hour.

Rina Matsuda · 1 Sep 2026

Where to stay

Where to stay in Kyoto, buses included

Kyoto has two subway lines and neither reaches the temples. Which neighbourhood to book, what a night actually costs by month, and the new tax.

Rina Matsuda · 1 Sep 2026