Exploring Japan's Kyoto

Cross the Togetsukyo Bridge to Arashiyama, a picturesque neighborhood surrounded by mountains with the vibrant colors of autumn splashed about, and you step into the magical wonderland of the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. The sun filters in, protecting little slices of light across the trail and the towering stalks gently sway in the wind, creaking eerily as they collide. It’s like another world. 

As the birthplace of flower arranging, the tea ceremony and kaiseki cooking, you simply have to experience all three. Kado is the Japanese art of arranging flowers, dating back to ancient times when they were arranged as offers to Buddha. My lesson was with a monk and took place at a more than 600-year-old Nichiren temple. While tea ceremonies are common throughout Japan, attending one in Kyoto is uniquely special as an at least 500-year tradition. The only Zen dedicated Chashitsu open to the public is the Japanese Tea Cermony Room Ju-An, where I was able to learn how to perform it myself, surrounded by a beautiful garden. 

Like the rest of Japan, the optimum periods to visit are spring or fall when skies are clear and temperatures are perfect for exploring. The busiest weeks of the year are late March and early April, coinciding with Japan’s fabled cherry blossom season. This is an incredibly beautiful time of year to be in the country, and Kyoto especially, but it is enormously popular: if cherry blossom is a must, you should enquire at least 9-10 months in advance to secure first-choice accommodation and be aware that you’ll be contending with soaring hotel rates and dense crowds around the biggest sites. By contrast, early or late spring is much less pressured, as is the entirety of fall. 

The UNESCO sites take the headlines of course: the Golden Pavilion of Kinkaku-ji, epic views from majestic Kiyomizu-dera, serene Nijo Castle, and the transformative rock garden of Ryoan-ji. There’s your first day covered already! But in addition to headline sightseeing Kyoto also has a fabulous menu of cultural immersion activities on offer. Our favorites include a dining tour in the atmospheric Gion district, a private tea ceremony with a maiko (trainee geisha), a private cooking class in a traditional machiya house, or a guided Zazen meditation session. Family-friendly activities include a ninja training class, samurai sword workshop, an introduction to origami, or a kimono-fitting session. 

In our opinion, three nights is the minimum length of stay. Assuming you are arriving midday onwards from Tokyo, Hakone, Kanazawa, or the Alps your first afternoon is for general orientation and perhaps a dining tour in the evening. The second day we like to pair you with an expert private guide to discover the city’s core highlights. A third day can be used for further sights or activities within the city, or left open for day trips. This is for starters though: you could spend two full days covering core sightseeing alone, and that’s before you’ve started on cultural activities mentioned above. Personally I think I could live in Kyoto (we can all dream…!) and never run out of things to see, do, and experience.