Guidebook for Kyōto-shi
Food Scene
Great food with stylish decor
Kokora Ya
332 EbiyachōDecent Japanese style Izayaka with tatami mat for kids
Trendy Japanese Italian style restaurant with great cost performance. Visit their English supported website to make reservations online
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RIGOLETTO SMOKE GRILL & BAR
570-192 Gionmachi MinamigawaTrendy Japanese Italian style restaurant with great cost performance. Visit their English supported website to make reservations online
祇園ねぎ焼 かな 東店
月見町-13 東山区Tasty Teppanyaki / Okonomiyaki close to Gion that will not break your wallet
Sagan
93 RokurochōCafe that opens early for breakfast. Tasty and trendy
Bakery popular to the locals. Try their croissant and red bean bums!
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Nitta Bakery
Tamonchō Higashiyama WardBakery popular to the locals. Try their croissant and red bean bums!
The World's First Starbucks With Tatami
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Starbucks Coffee Kyoto Nineizaka-Yasaka-Chaya
349 MasuyachōThe World's First Starbucks With Tatami
Great pizza by the river. Lunch buffet offered.
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PIZZA SALVATORE CUOMO & GRILL Kyoto
90 NakajimachōGreat pizza by the river. Lunch buffet offered.
鉄板食堂 ことら
529 Gionmachi MinamigawaFriendly teppanyaki that tastes great
Super tasty Yakitori and friendly owner. Entrance can be hard to find but just enter the building and find the stairs immediately to your left.
Tosayamuroto
Super tasty Yakitori and friendly owner. Entrance can be hard to find but just enter the building and find the stairs immediately to your left.
Drinks & Nightlife
Kyoto can pleasantly surprise you at night at well
BARこまり
183-1 ZaimokuchōA secret trendy bar in the heart of Pontocho.
Peekaboo Cafe（ピーカブーカフェ）
139-2 TominagachōGreat fruits cocktails and conversations
Sightseeing
Kyoto is full of historical wonders, check them out
Nijo Castle
541 NijōjōchōWorld heritage castle
Yasaka Shrine
625 Gionmachi Kitagawa
Hanamikoji Street
Gionmachi Minamigawa Higashiyama WardOrigin of Maiko-san
Food, sightseeing. The famous Nishiki market street!
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Nishiki Market Shopping District
Nishidaimonjichō Nakagyo WardFood, sightseeing. The famous Nishiki market street!
Kiyomizu-dera
World famous Kiyomizu Dera
Arashiyama Station
63-1 嵯峨天龍寺芒ノ馬場町Access to the world famous Bamboo Grove
Lined with beautifully restored traditional shophouses and blissfully free of the overhead power lines that mar the rest of Kyoto, Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka are a pair of pedestrian-only lanes that make for some of the most atmospheric strolling in the whole city.
In fact, it’s here that you are most likely to be able to imagine what Kyoto looked like before modernity descended in full force. You’ll find plenty of restaurants and teahouses to refresh yourself as you explore, including the single most atmospheric teashop in the city Kasagiya. The only caution is this: During cherry blossom season, these two hills will be utterly crammed with people. In this season (and any other time of year), an evening stroll is highly recommended.
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Sannenzaka Ninenzaka
Kiyomizu-2 Chome-221 Higashiyama WardLined with beautifully restored traditional shophouses and blissfully free of the overhead power lines that mar the rest of Kyoto, Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka are a pair of pedestrian-only lanes that make for some of the most atmospheric strolling in the whole city.
In fact, it’s here that you are most likely to be able to imagine what Kyoto looked like before modernity descended in full force. You’ll find plenty of restaurants and teahouses to refresh yourself as you explore, including the single most atmospheric teashop in the city Kasagiya. The only caution is this: During cherry blossom season, these two hills will be utterly crammed with people. In this season (and any other time of year), an evening stroll is highly recommended.
Lined with beautifully restored traditional shophouses and blissfully free of the overhead power lines that mar the rest of Kyoto, Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka are a pair of pedestrian-only lanes that make for some of the most atmospheric strolling in the whole city.
In fact, it’s here that you are most likely to be able to imagine what Kyoto looked like before modernity descended in full force. You’ll find plenty of restaurants and teahouses to refresh yourself as you explore, including the single most atmospheric teashop in the city Kasagiya. The only caution is this: During cherry blossom season, these two hills will be utterly crammed with people. In this season (and any other time of year), an evening stroll is highly recommended.
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Nineizaka (Ninenzaka)
桝屋町-清水-2 東山区Lined with beautifully restored traditional shophouses and blissfully free of the overhead power lines that mar the rest of Kyoto, Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka are a pair of pedestrian-only lanes that make for some of the most atmospheric strolling in the whole city.
In fact, it’s here that you are most likely to be able to imagine what Kyoto looked like before modernity descended in full force. You’ll find plenty of restaurants and teahouses to refresh yourself as you explore, including the single most atmospheric teashop in the city Kasagiya. The only caution is this: During cherry blossom season, these two hills will be utterly crammed with people. In this season (and any other time of year), an evening stroll is highly recommended.
Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社, Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds.
Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital's move to Kyoto in 794.
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Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine
68 Fukakusa YabunouchichōFushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社, Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds.
Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital's move to Kyoto in 794.
Rengeoin Sanjusangendo
657 SanjūsangendōmawariTemple with 1001 human sized statues
Hanamikoji Street
Gionmachi Minamigawa Higashiyama WardKyoto's most famous geisha district
Walking trail famous for cherry blossoms
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The Philosopher's Path (Tetsugaku no michi)
Jōdoji Ishibashichō Sakyo WardWalking trail famous for cherry blossoms
Yasaka Shrine
625 Gionmachi KitagawaPopular shrine hosting the Gion Festival
Tenryuji (天龍寺, Tenryūji) is the most important temple in Kyoto's Arashiyama district. It was ranked first among the city's five great Zen temples, and is now registered as a world heritage site. Tenryuji is the head temple of its own school within the Rinzai Zen sect of Japanese Buddhism.
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Tenryuji Temple
嵯峨天龍寺芒ノ馬場町-68 右京区Tenryuji (天龍寺, Tenryūji) is the most important temple in Kyoto's Arashiyama district. It was ranked first among the city's five great Zen temples, and is now registered as a world heritage site. Tenryuji is the head temple of its own school within the Rinzai Zen sect of Japanese Buddhism.
Kinkaku-ji
KinkakujichōTemple building covered in gold
Railway museum great for both adults and kids. Enough content for you to visit at least half a day.
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Kyoto Railway Museum
Kankijicho Shimogyo WardRailway museum great for both adults and kids. Enough content for you to visit at least half a day.
A trolley train experience with great scenery along the way. Look up for "Sagano Romantic Train" online to reserve tickets.
Sagano Scenic Railway trolley train
A trolley train experience with great scenery along the way. Look up for "Sagano Romantic Train" online to reserve tickets.
Getting Around
五条京阪前（バス）
Higashihashizumechō Higashiyama WardKiyomizu-Gojō Station
Miyagawasuji-8-chōme Higashiyama WardKyoto Station
Higashishiokōji Kamadonochō Shimogyo WardCentral hub station
Gojozaka station
Yūgyōmaechō Higashiyama WardMajor bus stop with access to major attractions
Entertainment & Activities
Daikoku-yu
284 YamashirochōPublic bath for the locals
Pontocho (先斗町, Pontochō) is one of Kyoto's most atmospheric dining areas. It is a narrow alley running from Shijo-dori to Sanjo-dori, one block west of Kamogawa River. The alley is packed with restaurants on both sides offering a wide range of dining options from inexpensive yakitori to traditional and modern Kyoto cuisine, foreign cuisine and highly exclusive establishments that require the right connections and a fat wallet.
Feel free to take a stroll at night, when it's most lively.
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Pontocho Area
Kashiwayacho Nakagyo WardPontocho (先斗町, Pontochō) is one of Kyoto's most atmospheric dining areas. It is a narrow alley running from Shijo-dori to Sanjo-dori, one block west of Kamogawa River. The alley is packed with restaurants on both sides offering a wide range of dining options from inexpensive yakitori to traditional and modern Kyoto cuisine, foreign cuisine and highly exclusive establishments that require the right connections and a fat wallet.
Feel free to take a stroll at night, when it's most lively.
My son's favorite. Large, excellent museum about trains in Japan
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Kyoto Railway Museum
Kankijicho Shimogyo WardMy son's favorite. Large, excellent museum about trains in Japan
Nostalgic sightseeing train through a scenic valley. Book your ticket online on the JR West website or try your luck with same day tickets onsite.
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Saga-Arashiyama Station
11-1 Sagatenryūji KurumamichichōNostalgic sightseeing train through a scenic valley. Book your ticket online on the JR West website or try your luck with same day tickets onsite.
Neighborhoods
Kawaramachi-dori Street
Kawaramachi-dori StreetShopping, with a beautiful river running along the back alleys
Pontocho Suishin
Active at night and full for restaurants and bars. Visit for walks and photos.