What to Do in Kyoto in 2 Days (Vlog & Travel Guide)

What to Do in Kyoto in 2 Days (Vlog & Travel Guide)

good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Kyoto [Music] to say that I feel much better compared to yesterday is actually an understatement oh my goodness that trip flying from London all the way to Nagoya and then taking a train to Kyoto absolutely ended all of us but today is a fresh day and we have a very ambitious plan of things to do and things to see in this beautiful city that it’s just 8:00 a.m at the moment and we decided to kick off and try to get as much in the itinerary as we possibly can to kick off our day in Kyoto we’re definitely going to start with the Fushimi Shrine which is pretty much the gateway to the famous Tokyo Trail it’s not really far from where we’re at it’s stuck somewhere in the mountains over there so we’re going to take a little train from a station somewhere there that just does two stops i want to say one of the very cool things about Kyoto and I mean Japan in general is that we’re just walking towards the station when we bumped into this and I mean this is not even really on Google Maps i don’t think is anything too famous or too popular or too big but this is so absolutely pretty it’s a little temple but I just love how you can just walk around and find this beautiful beautiful things we’re going to quickly pop into this grocery on the way to the station as we got to get some water [Music] now one thing I definitely need to kickstart my day is coffee and what I love about Japanese grocery shops is that they have the biggest selection of everything that you possibly may crave i do love the look of a matcha latte but I do love the look of everything i think for me this morning might be a nonsweet latte and nonsweet just because you know it’s 8:00 a.m i’m going to get a lot of coffee today just to function and power through the whole day so I think this is probably what I’m going to go for and to go with my coffee I’m 100% gonna get one of these which I think is one of the most ingenious inventions of humanity just a cup with ice so it so it keeps cool [Music] [Music] really good what is it exactly you’re drinking this is literally sparkling water with a little bit of taste of grapes so what do you like it
no not at all fine and now let’s try to figure out how to get board the train to go to anari station oh very I have to be fully honest in saying that actually understanding how to buy tickets and transport in Japan is super complex especially as soon as you land like you don’t really have much of an idea what you’re doing and I found myself always asking for We [Music] just got in the train how busy is this i think we all heard somehow how Kyoto has a normal tourism problem and I think this is what is really showing here cuz we are nearby Fushimi Minish we’re just at the tube station and I actually fear that this is going to be the station across the entire trail well finger across is not this is the very beginning of the very famous Kyoto Trail as we are right now in Fushimi and Irish R there’s a few things I would like to mention before we move on and first and foremost I would like to say that while you’ve seen countless of pictures online this is not just a selfie opportunity this place is really magical it really is a water on its own did you know that also Fushimar is the place where a 4 kilometer walking trail begins and this is a trail that is very famous and very well known because he has to end of Tori which are Shinto gates among the other cool things of this temple is that it is very very old hushiminari dates back from the 8th century before Kyoto became the capital of Japan the origins are associated to the very powerful semi-leendary Hataklan and today it mostly serves as the head shrine for over 30,000 shrines nationwide now one thing you’ll probably be wondering is what’s on with all the fox statues cuz there is quite a bit scatter around in Japanese folklore foxes are believed to be intelligent and magical and this is the reason why in Shinto they’re considered messengers of Inari [Music] we’re just at the beginning of the walking tour where all the Shinto gates are shinto gates are set to mark the boundary between physical and spiritual wood so passing through hundreds of them is considered the ultimate spiritual trip the slightly annoying part about the crowds is that I mean it is really crowded but you can actually walk through it with the many people that are here the problem is that there is people every 3 seconds stopping at every entrance of every gate that creates so much congestion that’s the only thing that is not fantastic about this place i’ve read online that it’s really advisable to come here early cuz there’s a lot less people but I mean it’s not that late at the moment it’s just where it’s 10:00 a.m so far honestly for a slightly more peaceful spot just walk outside the main gates on the side not a person so much better to just walk and take a picture and experience this amazing place i have to say this is the first attraction that we visit in Kyoto and it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen already i’m so excited to continue exploring this city so what we’re going to do now is we’re going to make our way to the next step the next stop let’s go i got to say also the area around the shrine is absolutely beautiful and fantastic there are so many little shops that do so much food and beautiful things and I kind of want to try all of it next stop is Njo Castle we’re gonna take the train and it shall take about 30 minutes man we’re trying to make our way to Njo Castle but we bump into this like local market with food and stuff and this is fantastically delicious like look at this look how fresh this sushi is look at they have Wagyu sushi we also found some sake and my dad want to try some so let’s see let’s see how this works one yes thank you [Music] i actually thought it was going to be a bit more tangly more spicy it’s quite good actually also not to mention it only cost 100 yen for a double shot glass 100 yen is like 50p in British pounds or 60p if you’re speaking yours all right enough distractions let’s go get the train we are now in Zaka tube and actually I thought I’ll show you a little tour of how this trains look the tube is clean smells nice and it’s nothing like London tube it’s not really too crowded at the moment but the main touristy stops like towards the temple and I’m sure as we head to downtown are going to be incredibly packed but for the rest is a very nice and clean train let me show you a bit more of it i love the color combination this green is very nice and this is the station once again doesn’t look too crowded and yeah we got 10 minutes now before we arrive to Ninja Castle [Music] as we now left Sanjo station we found oursel in downtown Kyoto which is one of the most beautiful areas of the city we’re just by the river and this is really a compact area that packs everything you may want to see in Kyoto downtown is also full of shops whether you’re looking for luxury you’re looking for boutique or you’re looking for some traditional Japanese other souvenir or non-souvenir shops it’s also the area that holds some very famous Kyoto attractions like Nishiki Market and Nij Castle which is where we’re going to be heading in a bit also figured there’s not really a better place than downtown Kyoto which is the area where all the main shops and bougie boutics are to show you my very cheap outfit well what matters is that I’m dressed in green and I’ll try to do a nice sort of matching outfit got a green sweater green trousers shorts and I even got green socks and green shoes and I’m joined today by my cousin which she’s wearing a bit of a better fit today i’m going to ask her what she’s wearing
i’m wearing all Zara so pretty simple
well it’s pretty simple but it’s very stylish and I like the colors and everything kind of curious to know who fits best in the Kyoto vibes is it the Zar outfit or is it the cheap green outfit let us know and we’re finally just about to get to Nij Castle it’s literally just the next ride as I flip the camera on this road so not this one the one after just a short distance northwest of the shopping area in downtown you can find Ninja Castle which we finally reached this is one of the most beautiful attractions in the whole of Kyoto it’s a feudal era palace built in 1600 as the first residence of the Shogun and we’re going to go inside in a second the main entrance is just on that side by the east gate and what you see here at the moment used to be the defensive walls cuz obviously when the palace was built the situation wasn’t as peaceful let’s go and have a look it’s full of gardens and a lot of things to see and explore on the inside there’s just a short queue to go through as soon as you arrive that moves kind of quickly and when it comes to ticket prices that’s 1300 for an adult which is roughly £7 can we have a stroller [Music] uh it’s four of us one two three four please keep your ticket
we’ll keep them thank you very much thank you this is the entrance gate so we got the map of the castle just behind us looks like there is an area for which going to pay extra to enter not exactly sure have a look yeah it’s a fairly big palace as you can see over here and just over here we probably see one of the most beautiful features of the palace this is called the Caramong gate and gate architecture can be used as a display of wealth and as you can see behind here well this screams nothing but wealthy there’s a very beautiful gate let’s go through it into the castle we just come out of the palace sadly you couldn’t take any pictures or videos uh cuz I really want to show you it’s a really cool palace inside and one thing that actually stuck out to me and I I’m not going to forget it because I really enjoyed learning about it was the nighting gale floor which is bit of an old way to create an alarm but essentially they installed some nails and other strange things on the floor so that the floor cracks when someone walks on it and this was to alert of any intruders that potentially came into the palace at night when they couldn’t be seen but anyways we’re going to continue our walk and we’re going to go see the garden which supposedly also quite beautiful as we cross the little bridge we now are in the main circle of defense in fact as you can see on my right we have the defensive walls and on the left we have the building that has been used as imperial residence since this was built mostly actually since there was a fire in the in the 1800s that burned part of the palace now sadly the Imperial Palace which official name is On Maru is mostly closed to visitors supposed to be open on some occasions but apparently it almost never is [Applause] we’re almost out of Ninj castle just stopping for a final little stop in the gift shop which is actually like kind of cute let me show you they sell a lot of like Japanese things prices are not too offensive uh you can get some nice things for sort of decent value but then you know obviously if you want to buy cheaper souvenirs shops in central a better deal cuz this is a prime tourist attraction in in Kyoto as we now left Nij Castle we’re making our way to our next stop which is called the Kioma and is a temple on top of mountain however it’s quite far from Midor castle so if you want to get there the bus way is probably get a taxi else there’s a bus but buses I haven’t really investigated how they work but I found them in principle a bit complex to understand just because the whole tickets and stuff so we got we’re getting the equivalent of an Uber uh we’re using this app which is quite cool for a fairly decent price to be fair the whole trip from Najor Castle to the temple which is about 15 to 20 minutes drive comes at about12 and yeah also the car is quite lush quite spacious really like it we just got off the taxi in a very very very busy part of Kyoto well this is a very different Kyoto this in fact is the Kyoto picture books and postcards where you literally see wonderfully preserved wooden houses and oldfashioned streets and it feels like walking into the Edo times this is absolutely so beautiful the world’s lined full of shops there’s so many people there’s people wearing traditional Japanese dresses and honestly I’m here for it we just found a little coffee shop that makes ice creams and chocolates and stuff and it’s Snoopy themed i don’t know if you know the cartoon but this is so cool
look at this all right let’s leave this place and continue [Music] hello thank you as we just approached the gate of the famous Kyomi which is a complex of temples that dates back to 1200 years ago aka to the 1700s I just want to say that this temple is one of the most beautiful ones and is a world heritage site as I said this is just the entrance gate which already speaks volumes about how beautiful this complex can be the name Kio Mizuera translates to a pure water temple and just because it was built over a waterfall and from top of there you actually get stunning views all over Kyoto hopefully we get a chance to pop in but yeah we’re a bit strict on time so we’re going to try our best we did find some time to sneak in uh sneak in i mean it’s still open so not doing anything weird look at just this above me so we figured most of the temple complex is free to walk however this part just behind me is something you have to pay for however definitely goes a six so we won’t have enough time but if you come in here you get to walk a sort of trail that goes all the way to that small temple in the back
just there so like definitely worth it if you come here a bit earlier than 6 it’s funny because we were initially planning on coming to this area in the early afternoon but because we’re quite late on schedule we’re actually here today in the evening but you know I don’t I’m not complaining this is proving incredibly beautiful even as the sun goes down cuz the lights are starting to come on and honestly the vibes is just beautiful the only sad thing is that I’ve I’ve started to notice that quite a few shops are closing down and I think this has to do with the fact that the temple closed at 6 so the shops kind of follow that but there’s still a lot of shops open still a lot of things to do and such a beautiful area to explore okay are we
I have never really tried to film first of all without my microphone cuz it’s gone off battery but second of all at night time in fact it’s gone dark since we left and we’re now in Geian still uh you can see a beautiful temple just behind me and we’re now making the way to the river cuz along the riverside there is quite a bit of restaurants and food and bars and things you can just chill at so we’re going to try to go there and see what’s the situation looking like but the night walk is so fantastic as I said before Gon or Gillon is really a fantastic area to come to at night uh because all the lights come alive and honestly there is a lot to see here and it’s so beautiful so definitely recommend to come here in the evening for a fantastic experience and I’m so happy things went wrong and we arrived here in the evening not in the afternoon we finally made it to a very nice restaurant where we got the chance to sit up a bit after a very long day and I wanted to show you a couple things well first and foremost how do you order in a Japanese restaurant well there is a tablet here where you have the whole menu and how this works is that you just go through the menu and then upon clicking something you sort of create a basket and then you place the order directly from the tablet which is fantastic you obviously also have your paper menu as you can see over here [Music] and this menu is fantastic cuz it’s full of pictures so it makes it quite easy when it comes to choosing the restaurant we’re in is in the downtown area it looks really lovely and I hope that the food will be just as nice [Music] good morning from Kyoto it’s day two feeling a lot fresher than yesterday these days are so long and we’re visiting so many things that we feel so tired by the end of the day but anyways we’re here got our new coffee we’re looking for platform 33 as we head to a very famous bamboo forest that is here in Kyoto just outside town so we’re going to take a little train seven stops and we shall be there pretty soon this is so crazy we just got off the train and we did miss one stop uh so we’re making our way back to the next stop but this station is so strange it’s completely immersed in nature and honestly I do love this there’s a little river there’s a lot of trees and we’re just outside Kyoto but it’s such a different vibe i actually can’t believe this there are some people camping just by the river i generally couldn’t be more jealous do you see them they’re just uh over there they’re two tents honestly like this station is completely random i know we didn’t miss a stop we’re not supposed to be here we’re meant to get off at the previous stop for the bamboo forest but this is absolutely wild this must be one of the most beautiful train stations I’ve ever been to but yeah now we’re just waiting for the next train which apparently will be here in about 30 minutes hopefully cuz this station looks completely like abandoned i mean it’s not but we were the only people that got off here all right we are in good luck there is a train that is just approaching in this very moment [Music] it was incredibly quiet a minute ago but this station is nothing but quiet this area I think is actually really really popular with tourists and locals as well not only has really nice walks but he also has really nice temples and a lot of things you can do around here but I’m really really excited to go to the bamboo forest i mean you know we we’ve all seen bamboos you find them in Europe we found them in London but it’s a patch yeah it’s three bamboos all together like I never been in a forest so I’m kind of curious to see how that looks like no way look how cool this is someone had some fun pulling these stones all together you can definitely tell we’re at the edge of K in fact if you look straight ahead it’s just mountains [Music] oh that’s exciting starting to see a couple bamboo trees isn’t this so cool look how high they go it’s also so cool to see these bamboos from this forest just being used in construction as you can see the fence is done with bamboos and also like everything is on bamboos look at this i think we just got to the main bit the one that you see on every single Instagram picture stop is Togetsu Bridge to get to I’m not sure how you pronounce it i’m I’m I’m really sorry cuz I feel really bad for not knowing how to speak Japanese i wish I could but yeah we are on top of this like sort of like hail mountain and we’re making our way down the bridge looks quite pretty i just love how beautiful the nature here is it’s just stunning also there’s monkeys around some if we see any i don’t think I’ve ever felt so free this is incredible i could just stay here like and no need to go back to civilization ever do you trust monkeys cuz I definitely don’t and we’re just walking to a monkey park so let’s see how that goes i mean probably we won’t really get too close we got some drinks and some food with us so that will be probably the end of us if a monkey sees that but let’s go check it out let’s see maybe they’re friendly no idea so I’m curious to see if we can actually get into the monkey park looks like Yeah okay looks like you have to pay 800 yen for adults for 100 for kids and that’s about £5 i think it could be worth it you need to be mindful that it takes a lot and when I say a lot of steps all the way to the top in fact feeling quite tired i’m actually curious what kind of monkey we’re going to find i mean I’m kind of guessing something very small looks like we’re almost getting there this is such a climb but starting to see bits of Kyoto from top of this mountain this is really high up we finally got to see two monkeys if you look on the roof just behind me they’re grooming each other what are your thoughts on this place so far it’s pretty exhausting but
we really hope for the best when we will get to the top of the mountain we’re starting to see some monkeys which is good but yeah I guess probably the biggest reward is getting to see Kyoto from above
i want to hope that you get good views but it looks like
finger crossed almost there almost there we are on top but this was totally worth it not for the monkeys as I said for the view behind me [Music] [Music] and we’re just now about to leave Monkey Park all in all definitely recommend it it was so pretty to look at the monkeys and to look at the view of Kyoto from above definely as we said a bit of a steep climb but that makes it fun on the way down and it’s kind of raining but we’re going to make our way to the next stop anyways which is 40 minutes on the Jeep so hopefully that means that when we get out no more rain don’t expect me ask to explain how we teleported from the monkey to this grocery shop that I’m in right now we were initially planning on heading northeast Kyoto before but we actually changed our plans because we figured we hadn’t been to Nishiki Market so we’re like “All right you know what let’s go to Nishiki Market.” And I haven’t been filming for a bit because on the way there were a couple trains a couple buses that we took and it was a bit of a journey really but we got off the bus we were walking towards Nishiki Market and we went into this grocery shop and oh my god like I don’t even know where to start how to show you this place because this is the jewelry it’s not a grocery shop this is the most insane place I’ve been to yet you’ve definitely heard about one of the most famous meats in the world which is Wagyu Meats and I mean I can’t even begin to imagine how much this would cost in London it’s not really that expensive here i mean it is cuz it’s still Wagyu but it’s not London price and honestly like I think the plan for the evening is that instead of eating out in the same way we’ve been doing for the last few days we may actually just get some food to go because we have a little kitchen in the hotel we’re staying at and you know what if we buy food here and we have a kitchen that means that we’re going to have the most amazing dinner tonight leaving the super posh and nice and clean and organized uh grocery store we find ourselves in an equally beautiful and incredible place but it’s such a different shopping experience we are in fact in Nishiki Market which is one of Kyoto’s most iconic spots it’s often called Kyoto’s Kitchen it’s a narrow five block shopping street lined with hundreds of shops many of which have been run by the same families for generations it’s absolutely beautiful here you can find everything from fresh seafood pickles matcha sweets traditional cookware and seasonal Kyoto delicacies [Music] there are so many lovely shops around Shiki Market area this is a little vintage secondhand clothing shop and we’re on a hunt for some good deals have you ever been in a tech shop in Japan well we are now in a shop called Ed on it’s eight floors of tech and they have the modest things [Music] [Applause] [Music] i did have very ambitious plans for the day but you know when you’re shopping in a big group town starts to feel tired at some point so leaving the Shiki market we’re going to make our way back to the but not until we have stopped once again like the grocery shop we went a minute ago at least another one that is just nearby the So we’re going to stock up on a few groceries and head back to the hotel for a little dinner in tonight which I think will be quite nice show you what we’re going to eat oh gosh we are back in the hotel i feel so not good i decided we’re going to have dinner in and I want to show you what we actually got from the grocery shop we got some sushi which actually actually looks so fresh and so delicious we got some noodles it’s one of those like instant ramen pots where you just put like some water in and like they’re ready in like 3 minutes and then we got some sort of like deep fried stuff that we just need to warm up which we’re in the process of doing and yeah we’re having a little bit of a feast in Yo it’s It’s quite a vibe from the hotel bathroom i’m going to say bye-bye for today cuz we are so that tired food was really really lovely but we have a big day tomorrow because we’re heading to uh Oaka yes we’re heading to Oak Zaka we’re going to be there for three days we have the expo that we’re going to be visiting and yeah tomorrow morning we’re just going to wake up take the train and go straight there well I think I’m going to close the video for now as well actually my hair is a mess but that’s a good reflection of how tired I feel kyoto has been one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to in a very long time it’s a stunning city it’s a mix of modern and old it’s very touristy and gets very crowded especially in the areas where you mostly expect to find tourists in but all in all we definitely recommend visiting Kyoto do I want to say that 2 days was enough i probably want to say the 2 days was barely enough 3 days is probably the best amount of time you was spending Kyoto cuz it’s not too big but it’s also not really too small uh more than 3 days maybe you know you could spend those days elsewhere 3 days is preferable time in two days i think we got to see most of it but we could have spent another day here um but yeah this is all i hope you enjoyed spending two days in Kyoto with us um I hope that I get a chance to visit the city back at some point in the future and I will see you guys next week in my next video from Mozaka

Wondering hat to do in Kyoto in 2 days? I thought of filming this vlog and 2-day itinerary guide to help you make the most of your time in Japan’s cultural capital. From the famous Fushimi Inari Taisha and Kiyomizu-dera Temple to the bamboo groves of Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and the streets of Gion, I take you through the best things to do in Kyoto in 48 hours. Some of the things I talk through include practical travel tips like how to get around Kyoto, what taxis cost, and where to find local food. It’s part guide, part personal travel experience, perfect for first-time visitors to Japan or anyone building a Kyoto itinerary.

Feel free to subscribe to join my travel community and never miss out on new videos! Thank you for tuning in, and let’s explore the world together! 🌎✈️ ✨

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➮ Timestamps

00:00 – Kyoto Video Trailer
00:47 – Welcome to Kyoto!
01:56 – Japanese Grocery Store
03:34 – Visiting Fushimi Inari Taisha (Iconic Red Torii Gates)
08:45 – Kyoto Municipal Subway (Kyoto Metro)
09:21 – Exploring Downtown Kyoto
11:03 – Nijo Castle Tour & History
15:21 – How to Get a Taxi in Kyoto + Taxi Prices
15:59 – Walking Through Higashiyama District
17:25 – Visiting Kiyomizu-dera Temple
18:39 – Ninenzaka & Gion Streets of Kyoto
20:12 – Dinner Out in Kyoto
21:21 – Hozukyō Station (Hidden Scenic Stop)
23:11 – Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
25:58 – Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
28:47 – LIFE Grocery Shop Kyoto
29:59 – Exploring Nishiki Market Kyoto
30:36 – Central Kyoto Shopping
31:24 – Hotel Dinner & Final Thoughts on Kyoto

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#KyotoTravel #KyotoVlog #2DaysInKyoto

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