If you are looking for a quintessential Japanese experience of history and culture, Kyoto has it all. I spent about 36 hours exploring the city. The video includes an overview of the following 10 places to go and things to see:
Nidec Kyoto Tower
Hagashiyama District
Hōkan-ji Temple or Yasaka Pagoda
Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine
Arashiyama District
Togetsu-kyo Bridge
Nonomiya shrine
Okochi Mountain Villa
Tenryu-ji Temple (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Sagano Scenic Railway, or the Romantic Train
@seniorsolotravel
For Senior Travelers: Many of the historic places require a bit of hiking, in particular the Okochi Mountain Villa and Hagashiyama District. There might be other ways of accessing them, but I had to hike uphill. Just make sure to do some research if you have mobility limitations.
For Solo Travelers: Overall Japan is extremely safe. I did have problems with the Google Maps app when in certain areas and the train terminals, but otherwise was able to get around easily.
Other Japan Videos:
7 Things to Know Before Visiting Japan: https://youtu.be/R2TYnvjknwk
Tokyo Japan: https://youtu.be/sXPHIG1FhN4
Ghibli Museum Day Trip: https://youtu.be/tzuhTJ3vzDQ
Mt Fuji and Hakone: https://youtu.be/Gm5zz7bdCEM
Tokyo DisneySea: https://youtu.be/E68-ZB6UEqs
Kanazawa-Matsusaki Ryokan: https://youtu.be/z3LQosJgYqU
0:00 Intro
0:21 Nidec Kyoto Tower
0:40 Hagashiyama District
1:25 Yasaka Pagoda (Hōkan-ji Temple)
2:05 Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine
2:47 Arashiyama District
3:15 Togetsu-Kyo Bridge
3:40 Nonomiya Shrine
3:51 Okochi Mountain Villa
4:35 Tenryu-ji Temple
5:18 Sagano Scenic Railway (Romantic Train)
5:50 Kyoto Station
I recently completed a month-long trip to Japan and South Korea this video will cover the Kyoto portion of the trip where I spent about 36 hours I arrived in Kyoto around 10000 p.m. I had taken trains from kazawa after finding my way out of the massive Kyoto terminal I walked to my hotel which was several blocks away I wanted to get some sightseeing in since my stay in Kyoto was short so I headed to the nidek Kyoto Tower which is very close to the Kyoto TR main station I paid 900 yen to take the elevator to the top floor the view from the top allowed me to get my bearings and pinpoint various sites I wanted to explore I then headed to the higashiyama district which is a preserved historic district I decided to walk since it wasn’t too far it turned out to be a bit of a hike but it was nice to take in some other areas of the city along the way the higashiyama district is a very fun and active place with lots of tourists the narrow streets are lined with many little shops and food stalls the streets all have some fairly steep elevation and by the time you get to the top you have some nice views looking down the street there were many ice cream shops that had some fun-looking cones which I guess were popular because they had some long lines I also saw many people dressed in the traditional hook they have shops that rent the attire and it seemed to be very trendy I decided to take a side path that looked picturesque and it led to the yasaka Pagoda I recognized it from many photos I had seen of Kyoto it seems to be the chosen spot for photographers I happened to hit it right at Sunset so it was quite beautiful even though I was tired I was glad I ventured out this evening I really enjoyed this little village with the preserved Japanese architecture in the narrow winding streets this seemed to me a quintessential Japanese evening the next day was my only full day in Kyoto so my travel agent had booked a private guide for the day this was fabulous and my guide was one of the best guides on my month-long trip she had a planned agenda but when I mentioned I wanted to see the Fushimi Inari Tasha Shrine she took me there first I had seen many photos of the shrine with its magnificent orange arches it was very impressive but also quite crowded we walked around while she shared some of its history she also taught me how to wash my hands bow and Make A Wish by the time I was done there was a long line of people waiting to make their wishes later I passed by the same area and there were over 50 in line so I guess I was fortunate to be there early we then started walking through the Arches from what I understand you can walk quite a distance however there was so much to see in one day that we turned around rather quickly we then headed to the riama district on the western outskirts of Kyoto the area was a popular destination back when kiyota was called haon Nobles would come here to enjoy its natural setting we walked through the famous bamboo Groves and my guid seemed to know some areas where there weren’t as many tourist so we wandered through many more secluded areas I was really enjoying the luxury of having a private guide we also took in the famous bridge to getok Kio Bridge all of the area is very beautiful and photow worthy here are a few more images of the area [Music] and there were Rick Shaw drivers for hire throughout the park and numerous historical and noteworthy sculptures Gardens buildings and structures we went to the NoNo Mia Shrine which is a Shinto Shrine where in ancient times unmarried Imperial princesses stayed for a year or more to purify themselves we then visited aochi Mountain villa which is the former Villa of the popular Samurai film star aochi Dano and consists of several beautiful gardens and buildings including living quarters tea houses and a Zen meditation Hall the entire area was absolutely gorgeous and because we were high up on the hillside the views were magnificent this was one of my favorite areas because there weren’t as many tourists it had some lovely Pathways and perspectives nearby was a pavilion where there was free tea and refreshment available here are a few more images of the area [Music] we also visited ten ruji which is ranked among kota’s five great Zen temples and the largest and most impressive temple in this arashiyama area founded in 1339 the temple is one of Kyoto’s UNESCO world heritage sites the temple has a beautiful Pond and some very pretty Gardens surrounding it the traditional architecture with the clay tiled roof is quite stunning there was a long wooden platform that provided an area for reflection on the gardens and was a great place to relax before continuing our journey we finished our stay with a traditional Buddhist vegan lunch after eating some strange food a couple days earlier in kazawa I was happy that this meal was quite tasty we then rode on the Sagano Scenic Railway also known as the Romantic train it is a sightseeing train line that runs along the hug gawa River it has these char farming old-fashioned train cars that wind their way through the mountains at a relatively slow pace it takes about 25 minutes to make the 7 km Journey you follow a forested Ravine and the river and enjoy beautiful scenery along the way it was definitely the most scenic part of the day we then took a local train back to Kyoto but since we had a little more time the guide showed me around the Kyoto train station I knew it was massive but I was amazed at everything that it houses it had art galleries restaurants Shops Outdoor plazas sculptures and there was even a Pianist in the midst of these hanging banners so [Music] cool that concluded my long day in Kyoto I loved all the areas I visited which were rich in history culture and Japanese tradition I really don’t think I would have been able to accomplish as much without the help of a private guide she really was amazing and got us from one place to another very efficiently I just loved this day it was one of the best I had in all the 17 days in Japan please see my other Japan videos I have left links in the description below and as always feel free to ask questions in the comment section or join the new senior solo travel Facebook group for More Travel discussion and if you’d like to follow my senior in Solo travel Journeys please like And subscribe cheers