Three Days in Kyoto: Temples, Torii Gates, and a Very Uncooperative Stroller

If Tokyo is Japan showing off its future and Osaka is Japan feeding you until you can’t move, Kyoto is Japan quietly reminding you it’s been doing this for over a thousand years. As the imperial capital from 794 all the way to 1868, Kyoto wears its history the way most cities wear graffiti — everywhere, unavoidable, and honestly kind of the point. With more than 2,000 religious sites tucked into its streets (roughly 1,600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines, for the record-keepers among you), it’s no mystery why this is the Kansai region’s most-visited destination, headlined by heavy hitters like Kinkaku-ji, Fushimi Inari, and Kiyomizu-dera.

We spent three full days here, and we’re fairly convinced that’s the bare minimum. Here’s how we did it — bamboo forests, gold pavilions, fox shrines, a very grumpy stroller, and all.

Getting to Kyoto (and Around It)

Flying into KIX: The easiest route into the region is landing at Kansai International Airport and taking the train in via Osaka. The Haruka Express gets you from KIX to Osaka in about 50 minutes, and Kyoto is another 15–20 minutes from there (longer if you’re on a local train instead of the limited express). You can buy a Haruka ticket at the airport, or use it for free if you’re already holding a JR Pass.

Coming from Tokyo: If Kyoto is one stop on a longer Japan itinerary, the Tokaido Shinkansen makes the trip in about 2.5 hours flat. It drops you right at Kyoto Station, JR Pass–friendly and about as painless as high-speed rail gets.

Getting around once you’re there: Kyoto’s public transport is excellent and Google Maps will happily route you through all of it. We relied mostly on buses to get between neighborhoods, and only really needed the JR line for the one trip out to Arashiyama.

Where to Stay

Here’s the uncomfortable truth about Kyoto accommodation: everyone else wants to stay here too. Rising global travel interest, plus a healthy assist from Instagram and travel influencers turning every alley into a photo op, means Kyoto hotels sell out — and mark up — fast. Cherry blossom season in April and autumn foliage season are the worst offenders; if you’re chasing either, book 4 to 5 months ahead or watch your options evaporate.

If that timeline stresses you out, there’s a workaround: base yourself in Osaka instead and train in. It’s only 15–30 minutes from Osaka to Kyoto (15 if you spring for the Shinkansen with a JR Pass), and Osaka’s accommodation market is both cheaper and far less prone to selling out overnight.

We chose to actually stay in Kyoto for our three days — Fujiya BnB, specifically, a highly rated Trip Advisor favorite with genuinely friendly, fluent-English-speaking staff, a guest kitchen, included breakfast, and paid day-excursion options if you want them to do the planning for you. The one catch: no ensuite bathrooms. In practice this was a non-issue — there were plenty of clean, well-maintained shared bathrooms and we never once queued.

Day 1: Arashiyama, Kinkaku-ji, and the Philosopher’s Path

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. On the western edge of the city, this is the “yes, I’ve definitely seen this on Pinterest” stop of any Kyoto trip — and it earns the hype. Take the JR train to Arashiyama Station (about 30 minutes from central Kyoto), then walk in through Tenryu-ji Temple’s gorgeous garden — cherry blossoms and all, if you’re there in season — before emerging into the bamboo grove itself. The paths weave through impossibly dense, glowing-green bamboo that seems to swallow the outside world whole. Give it at least an afternoon.

Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion). If you only have room in your itinerary for one temple, veteran travelers will fight you over whether it should be this one — and honestly, they’d have a point. The top two floors are covered, quite literally, in gold leaf, and the way it glimmers over Mirror Pond (Kyōko-chi) is the kind of view that makes you understand why people build entire trips around a single photograph. Don’t skip the White Snake Pagoda on your way through. It’s officially open daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, admission is a refreshingly modest ¥500 for adults, and there’s a bus connecting from Arashiyama — though we caved and took a taxi to save time. Fair warning if you’re stroller-bound: it isn’t stroller-friendly. There are stairs along the pathway, so we ended up carrying the stroller while our daughter walked it herself, all the way to the souvenir stalls and food stands near the exit.

The Philosopher’s Path. Tetsugaku no Michi is a quiet, canal-side walking path connecting the old streets near Nanzen-ji to Ginkaku-ji, named for philosopher Kitaro Nishida, who reportedly used the walk as daily meditation. It’s postcard-perfect under cherry blossoms in spring, but genuinely lovely any time of year. We started at the Keage Incline, passed through Nanzen-ji, and followed the canal all the way up to Ginkaku-ji — a mellow, reflective close to a very full day.

Day 2: Fushimi Inari Shrine

No introduction needed for this one — thousands of vermillion torii gates marching up the wooded slopes of Mount Inari (233 meters) have made this southern Kyoto shrine one of the most photographed spots in the entire country. As the most important shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice, it’s watched over by fox statues throughout the grounds, since foxes are considered Inari’s messengers. The shrine itself predates Kyoto even becoming the capital in 794, and the current Romon Gate at the entrance was donated in 1589 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi — so yes, you’re walking through some genuinely old history before you even reach the gates.

The full hike to the summit and back takes 2–3 hours, but nobody’s obligated to make it that far. About 30–45 minutes in, you’ll hit the Yotsutsuji intersection roughly halfway up, where the crowds thin, the gate density drops off, and you get a solid view over Kyoto — a natural (and very popular) turnaround point. Along the way, small shrines and food stalls sell local specialties like Inari sushi and kitsune udon, both featuring aburaage (fried tofu) — Inari’s favorite, allegedly.

Practical note: it’s not stroller-friendly, and most visitors just abandon theirs at the base. We got a bit smarter and left ours at a storage area in a restaurant near the shrine, turned back at Yotsutsuji, and had lunch there on our way out. Fushimi Inari is free and always open — the easiest “yes” on this whole itinerary.

Getting there: JR Inari Station is right outside the shrine, two stops from Kyoto Station on the JR Nara Line (about 5 minutes, ¥150). Fushimi Inari Station on the Keihan Main Line also puts you a short walk away.

Day 3: Nijo Castle, a Cherry Blossom Picnic, and Kiyomizu-dera After Dark

Hubby had one non-negotiable request for the trip: he wanted to see where the shoguns actually lived. So we hopped a bus to Nijo Castle, the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, first shogun of the Edo Period. Construction started in 1601 and wrapped up 25 years later under his grandson Iemitsu; the city took ownership in 1939 and opened it to the public not long after.

Highlights inside include the ornately carved Karamon Gate — a magnet for photographers, and it’s easy to see why — and Ninomaru Palace, five buildings and 33 rooms of hinoki cypress construction, floored throughout with 800 tatami mats. Its famous “nightingale floors” squeak underfoot by design, an ingenious low-tech security system for detecting anyone sneaking around at night. (No photos allowed inside, so you’ll just have to trust us — or go see it yourself.) Just outside, the Ninomaru Garden, designed by legendary tea master and landscape architect Kobori Enshū, centers on a pond dotted with three symbolically named islands: Hōrai-jima (Eternal Happiness), Tsuru-jima (Crane), and Kame-jima (Turtle).

We visited during cherry blossom season, and the castle grounds delivered — 400 cherry trees across 50 varieties, mostly planted between the mid-1950s and mid-’60s, in full bloom around us, with staff visibly prepping for the evening’s illumination event. Current admission runs about ¥800 for the castle grounds, plus an additional ¥500 if you want to go inside Ninomaru Palace itself — worth every yen. One warning: this is not stroller territory. The paths are sandy gravel with the occasional staircase, so be ready to carry your stroller, and your patience, up a few flights.

Maruyama Park. From Nijo Castle we made our way to Maruyama Koen for our own hanami — a picnic dinner under the cherry blossoms while we waited for the sky to properly darken. Food stalls line the park, so dinner was less “meal prep” and more “grab, sit, repeat.”

Kiyomizu-dera, illuminated. Once it was fully dark, we walked over to Kiyomizu-dera. Google Maps promised 19 minutes; reality delivered closer to double that, mostly because the walk is uphill nearly the entire way. During cherry blossom season and again in autumn, several Kyoto temples — Kiyomizu-dera included — open specially at night with illumination events, so if you can’t make it during the day, an evening visit is a genuinely worthy substitute. On regular days the temple runs from around 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM; during illumination periods it stays open until roughly 9:30 PM (last entry around 9:00 PM), with standard admission now sitting around ¥500. Seeing the whole complex lit up against the night sky, wooden stage and all, is a completely different experience from the daytime crowds — moodier, quieter, and honestly the better version.

Final Thoughts

Three full days is, in our experience, the bare minimum for Kyoto — and we still only scratched the surface. Between the crowds (worse if you’re visiting during cherry blossom season like we were) and the sheer density of world-class sights, two temples or shrines a day was about our realistic ceiling. We chose to actually base ourselves in Kyoto rather than day-trip from Osaka specifically because we wanted to feel the difference in pace and atmosphere between the two cities — and it was worth it. Osaka hums with energy after dark; Kyoto exhales.

Bring good walking shoes, book your accommodation early if you’re chasing sakura season, and if you’re traveling with a stroller — bring your arm strength too. Enjoy Kyoto!