Kyoto
Kyoto Before the Crowds
Four of the most photographed places in Kyoto, taken in the order that keeps you ahead of the day — starting at a mountain of torii gates that never closes, finishing in a bamboo corridor before eight.
4 stops · one day
The route
- 01
South Kyoto · Fushimi · From Kyoto Stn · ~10 min · Better early
Fushimi Inari Taisha
Japan's most famous torii-gate mountain — open 24 hours, free, minutes from Kyoto Station.
What to look for
- First torii gate — the large gate directly in front of Inari Station, marking the start of the approach
- Senbon Torii — twin rows of roughly 800 close-set vermilion gates behind the main hall
- Yotsutsuji intersection — a crossroads about halfway up with an open view over Kyoto
- 02
East Kyoto · Higashiyama · From Kyoto Stn · ~25-30 min · Better early
Kiyomizu-dera
Kyoto's most famous temple in early-morning quiet, up the pottery lane, not the crowds.
What to look for
- Chawanzaka pottery lane — the old approach lined with Kiyomizu-yaki ceramic shops, leading up to the gate
- The wooden stage — the main hall's platform, projecting about 13 metres out over the hillside
- Nail-free joinery — tall wooden pillars and beams locked together with traditional carpentry instead of nails
- 03
East Kyoto · Higashiyama · From Kyoto Stn · ~45 min · Better early
Ginkaku-ji
A UNESCO World Heritage temple plus a two-kilometre cherry-lined canal walk, calmest right at opening.
What to look for
- Ginshadan and Kogetsudai — the raked "Sea of Silver Sand" and a tall cone of sand shaped for viewing the moon
- Moss garden and pond — a strolling garden of moss, ponds and bridges, with a hillside viewpoint
- The Silver Pavilion (Kannon-den) — a two-storey National Treasure of the Muromachi period — never actually covered in silver
- 04
West Kyoto · Arashiyama · From Kyoto Station · ~25 min · Better early
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
A world-famous 400m bamboo corridor — free, open 24 hours, and almost empty early.
What to look for
- Nonomiya Shrine — a small shrine within the grove, tied to the imperial saio priestesses and to The Tale of Genji
- The bamboo tunnel — roughly 400 metres where dense Moso bamboo stalks arch overhead into a green canopy
- Tenryuji north gate — the path passes the back gate of Tenryuji, a Zen temple founded in 1339 and a World Heritage Site