With its centuries of history, beautiful temples, old shrines, ancient districts, and stunning gardens, Kyoto should be at the top of every traveller’s Japan itinerary. In this travel vlog I’m going to show you how to spend the perfect 48 hours in Kyoto, including where to visit, the best things to do, what to eat, and the best spots you can’t miss!
I recently spent two days in Japan’s former capital and loved exploring the little streets, visiting many of the top attractions, and admiring all of the views. I hope you enjoy the video!
Read my travel guides:
One day in Kyoto- https://www.solosophie.com/one-day-in-kyoto/
Best things to do in Kyoto- https://www.solosophie.com/things-to-do-in-kyoto/
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With it centuries of History beautiful temples old shrines ancient districts and stunning Gardens Kyoto should be at the top of every traveler’s Japan itinery in this video I’m going to show you how to spend the perfect 48 hours in the city including where to visit what
To eat and the best spots you can’t Miss this is Mama Coffee and it’s one of the best places to get coffee in the morning in Kyoto in the cherry blossom season this area is filled with cherry Blossom the first attraction we’re visiting is the UNESCO World her AG listed in Kakui officially named the rui this Buddhist Zen temple was founded in the 14th century and has previously been ranked number 85 Most Holy place on Earth the highlight of this illustrious Temple is the golden Pavilion which is
Surrounded by a tranquil Lake and plenty of greenery overlooking the large Kiyoko Chi or Mirror Pond the golden Pavilion stands as a timber frame with a clay tile roof it’s actually a 1950s replica of a previous one on site which unfortunately burned down after you’ve seen the golden Pavilion you’ll carry on
The trail through the Temple’s Gardens designed like that of a traditional Japanese strw garden the space is not only to be enjoyed visually but it’s also a place of reflection we’ve just arrived in a traditional Japanese tea garden and for 500 yen per person you get a traditional
Sweet and also a green tea you’re meant to eat this sweet fast as it’s kind of sweet and it combats the more bit Taste of the tea the sweet even has pieces of gold leaf on it all in all it’s fairly far from the center of Kyoto and you
Only need an hour or so to explore but the beauty and Tranquility of the place makes the journey worth it while you can take a bus to reach the temple we took a taxi on the way back to save precious exploration time and make the most of our time in
Kyoto we’re headed into the Nishiki Market which is one of the most popular things to do here in Kyoto it’s a covered Food Hall let’s go this Market is often called Kyoto’s kitchen because there’s all things food related here the passage is around 400 m in length and 130 fenders are packed in
Here it’s only 3.9 m in width but there’s restaurant fresh food and also kind of take away goodies for sale we got a straw Mai filled with red bean paste and the rul is that you have to eat in front of the shop that you bought At To be honest one of the greatest joys of visiting Kyoto is simply strolling around the streets and allowing the city to reveal itself to you one of the most gorgeous places to visit is the camo River particularly at sunset or during the cherry blossom Season the next stop of the day is kizu Dara which is known as the pure water temple it’s a UNESCO world heritage listed site and is one of the largest temples you can visit in Kyoto upon entry you’ll come across a three-story Pagoda which at 31 m in
Height is one of the tallest of its kind in Japan head further into the complex and you’ll come across the star of the temple a balcony wooden stage that was built entirely without nails the whole complex gives views onto the Maple Forest below and the City of Kyoto Beyond as a result of this Maple Forest the temple is
Particularly famous to visit during the fall when everything is vibrant Reds and oranges in the Edo period it was believed that people who jumped off the 13 M high jump from the stage would be granted their wish in total around 400 people jumped but unfortunately there was only around an 85% survival
Rate from the temple it’s easy to explore the most famous District of Kyoto Gon this area is most closely associated with gisha and is also home to countless traditional wooden houses you’ll probably want to spend an hour or two window shopping all of the authentic Japanese gifts for sale at the little boutiques including fans sets local street food and more there’s also lots
Of beautiful photo opportunities but do be wary as there are a number of streets that do have no photography signs and so it’s best to avoid these head directly south and you’ll be in southern higga shiama head here for one of the most beautiful and unique buildings in the
City a pagoda that is known as the Tower of yasaka this five-story Pagoda is All That Remains of a sixth Century Temple by the name of hokanji now a popular tourist attraction the Pagoda can be spied from all over the district and is best seen at Golden hour This is Ichigo Army which is strawberries on a stick covered in a hard candy they’re really popular let’s try it it’s really good we have seen a lot of unique vending machines in Japan but I think this is probably the most unique it sells all kinds of meat
Products C Kyoto also has its own Tower which you can go up for a fee next door one location in Kyoto which is somewhat of an attraction in of itself is the main Koto train station this is where the shinkansen bullet train departs from and also where all of the buses and
Subways which will take you all over the city leave from from here head out onto the subway and spend the evening exploring the corar matchi district which is a lively area known for its modern buildings shopping arcades and numerous bars and restaurants We enjoyed the noodles at Kyoto engine Ramen and they even had a spicy vegan option that was so good we went back three Times the next day set your alarm clock to get up bright and early to make it out to one of the most popular places to visit in the entirety of Japan Fushimi Inari [Applause] we’re at Fushimi Inari which is a Shinto Shrine dedicated to the rice God Inari this is just south of Kyoto and is very famous because there are 10,000 Tory Gates leading up mountari it’s also believed that foxes are The Messengers from the God so you’ll find little
Statues of foxes all over the shrine and up the hill It’s open 24/7 and it’s completely free to visit not only that but it’s just so stunning that you can see it’s popular for a reason when you get here you’ll notice it’s very busy but one of the best ways to avoid the crowds is to make your way
All the way to the top of mountain Nari Tory Gates Mark the temporal world where people live versus the holy Precinct of the deities each Tory gate is donated by an individual or a business and on the left hand side when facing the gate you’ll find the name of the organization who donated it on the left hand side you’ll
Find the date that the gate was donated using the Japanese Imperial year after exploring Fushimi Inari head back to the train station which will take you to the central area of the Fushimi District this area is famous for its sake breweries and you can visit one of the many breweries which have a
Tasting Room we personally visited fujioka shuzo there you can sit on T Tami sample various sake just be careful because it’s pretty alcoholic and enjoy some accompaniments such as fried fish and even a Sak Le butter which is a leftover from the SAR production Process if you have more time then here are a few other areas and attractions that I’d like to draw your attention to firstly the Sakura if you’re able to I highly recommend visiting during chry blossom season is just the best time to go and you’ll be really Amazed by all of
The beautiful blooms all over the city ginkakuji is also known as a silver Temple and is largely regarded to be one of the most beautiful temples in Kyoto the temple was established in the 16th century and is famed for its sand Garden one of the more iconic Pathways of Kyoto is the Philosopher’s path the best time to visit this 2 km long walkway is in the spring when both sides of the Little River are filled with cherry blossom trees in bloom you can visit this pathway at the same time as a
Silver Temple as they are located just a few few minutes walk away from one Another if you’ve ever seen a photo of Kyoto then no doubt you’ll have come across snaps of the Bamboo Grove located in the arashiyama district of Kyoto this sport can get pretty crowded so head here early in the morning of possible thank you so much for watching and don’t
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