KYOTO Things To Do for First-Timer (Ultimate Kyoto Travel)

KYOTO Things To Do for First-Timer (Ultimate Kyoto Travel)

Hi and welcome to our Japan travel series vlog. For today’s episode, we are going to bring you to Kyoto. [Music] Kyoto is a famous and a must visit place in Japan. And after experiencing it ourselves, we totally understood why. From its rich heritage and culture, beautiful temples and shrines to the profound serenity and stunning natural beauty, plus its delicious local delights. Kyoto is truly a beautiful place to be and that is why we are so excited to share with you the things to do in Kyoto, Japan. To truly enjoy Kyoto, our best advice is to start your day very early in the morning to avoid a crowd and to be able to immerse yourself better with the place you are visiting. Believe me when I said this because we’ve witnessed ourselves the massive difference with the crowds between arriving as early as 7 or even 8:00 a.m. and arriving in late morning at about 10 a.m. For our day one, we will travel around the central of Kyoto. First in the list is the scenic and traditional streets of Senzaka and Ninanzaka Alley. These small alleys allow you to experience a glimpse of Kyoto’s past. It literally feels like you’re back in time in an old Japanese village. Along the Nanzaka Alley, you can find the Hokanji Temple. This five-story pagoda is one of Kyoto’s iconic photo spot. Another interesting to try is the Starbucks Ninan Zaka. This Starbucks shop is extraordinary because of its Japanese traditional structure and design. However, crowd can get easily crazy and seats are limited and it’s a first come first served basis. On our turn, we had to take out our order, but we still managed to enjoy our meal on the streets because of the surrounding. Cheers. Oh, and their matcha latte coffee was really, really outstanding. It was actually the best matcha latte we had in Japan. [Music] And since we are in Kyoto, we should also try one of this matcha tango. These tango were so huge and also overflowing with sauce. Just at the end of Sanenzeka Alley is the Kiom Mizu Dera Temple. Kiom Mizoda which literally means pure water temple was built in honor of Canon which is the goddess of mercy. It is located on a hillside supported by massive pillars and offers a spectacular view city and surrounding landscape. Don’t also miss out to drink from one of the streams of Otoa waterfall which was believed to give good luck. Next we head to Gillon district. Some of the beautiful streets worth passing by are the Hanami Koji, Shirakawa Lane, and the Gillion Tatsumi Bridge. We also passed by the Emoi Shop, which is known for their purple sweets potato ice cream and the creme brulee sweets potato. For just few blocks away, we walked over to the Nishiki Market, which is known as Kyoto’s Kitchen. This is a place for Japanese culinary culture where you can find array of fresh ingredients, traditional food, and local delicacies. We had some freshlymade sushi, grilled cheese, [Music] and some fried snacks. After that, we head over to the Chow Chow Sanjo Ki Machi for some gyoza. Although, we had to wait for an hour for our turn and we got really frustrated and hungry at first. I can say that it was truly worth the wait. The chef and the staffs were very accommodating and entertaining. Their service was truly a topn They serve varieties of gyoza and it was really delicious. We really enjoyed the chaocha pork gyoza and the chocolate gyoza with vanilla ice cream. Traveling around can get overwhelming sometimes. So it is good to have a break and simply enjoy the nature. And that is why the next thing to do in our list is just to relax along the camel River. [Music] If you still have more time and interested to discover more the neighborhoods and some scenic natural pathways, you can pass by the cage incline and the philosophers path. Boats are relaxing and peaceful to walk around away from the busy crowded tourist places. [Music] For our dinner, we found this random ramen shop which turned out to be the best ramen we tried in Japan. Their ramen soup was creamy and packed with flavors and they were so generous with the meat. Charuir was so soft, fresh, and of good quality. We really love this dish. By the way, prior to this, we just had an amazing day trip to Nara. So, if you want to find out more about N, feel free to watch later our vlog on that through the link description below. Now, back to the video. For day two, we are going to travel a bit further away from the central of Kyoto. We started our day very early in the morning with a simple nice Japanese breakfast at Nakawa Kyoto, which is open 24 hours daily. We tried to eat in a Japanese way by eating the rice with a seaweed. All right, for our first location of the day, we’ll be at the Kyoto’s iconic site, the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. This attraction offers a serene atmosphere with the breathtaking natural beauty of towering bamboo stalks. Best advice to enjoy this peaceful walk is really by coming here very early in the morning. Just next to it is the Tenrio Gi Temple. What makes this temple special is its stunning Zen Garden that provides opportunities for deep peaceful atmosphere and cultural immersion. Here you get to appreciate the traditional Japanese landscape and architecture. The next on our list is my personal favorites and the highlights on our trip in Kyoto and that is to admire and immerse ourselves to the beauty of the Katsura River and its surroundings. It was like a tranquil escape when you experienced the serene atmosphere of the calming waters surrounded by the breath seeking landscapes of the lush mountains. To make it even better, you can also order a coffee from the percentage Arabica and enjoy this cup of coffee while admiring the view. Another interesting to do here is by riding one of this rick show right [Music] or you can simply walk over through the to get sukio bridge also known as moon crossing bridge. [Music] Then you even can go for a boat ride along the river. It was a relaxing and peaceful 1-hour boat ride, although it could get quite tiring for the one rowing the boat. Nah, I’m sure you can handle that. Oh, by the way, there is also a floating market by the river. And we had some mangoes, which we really, really liked. It has this perfect salty and sweet balanced taste. And the dango itself has a perfect chewiness, too. [Music] Another challenging yet exciting thing to do is the Iwatyama monkey park. The monkey park is located at the top of the mountain. So it involves a hiking and climbing of 120 stairs and you can reach on top in about 30 minutes. We consider the hike moderately difficult, but as you reach on top, you will be welcomed by this beautiful panoramic city view of Kyoto. And of course, an opportunity to witness this adorable snow monkeys, also called the Japanese macak, who were just living in their natural habitat. You also get to experience feeding them by purchasing this specially prepared food from a designated area, allowing a close and safe interaction with the monkeys. It was a special up close encounters with these adorable monkeys. Nope. [Music] Then we continue to explore around the Arashiamyama town where you can find lots of various shops and restaurants. [Music] We decided to have our lunch at this Japanese rice bowl restaurant and we had an opportunity to view the busy Arashiyama town from the bird’s eyee view. After that we took a bus to head to our next destination which is the Kin Kakuji often called as the Golden Pavilion. This majestic three-story pavilion is completely covered with gold leaves which reflects beautifully in the surrounding water of the mirror pond. You can continue to stroll around its surrounding gardens. [Music] Along the way, we happen to pass by this cute tiny coffee shop, Oro Espresso. So, we managed to get an iced cold latte for some energy boost. And for our final attraction, we headed down to the iconic landmark of Kyoto, the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Since it is open 24 hours daily, we decided to go here in the late afternoon. This is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. This place is specially known for its seemingly endless paths of thousands of fascinating vibrant red tory gates in different sizes. The shrine is home to numerous fox statues which are considered the messengers of Inari adding up to its mystical atmosphere. And we ended our trail walk with a mesmerizing sunset. And finally, the best way to end the trip here is by food tripping at the Fushimi Inari Market. First, we tried the Inari sushi. We also had the grilled menntico tempura, plus some grilled chicken skewers. And finally, trying out this premium Kobe beef. [Music] And there you have it, the things to do in Kyoto, Japan. By the way, for our entire trip in Kyoto, we checked in at Junstay Hotel. A plus bonus in this hotel is that they provide coin laundry service, which we really needed as we will be staying in Japan for almost 12 days. And as we end our last night in Kyoto, we headed to Kyoto station to take our midnight bus transport, which will bring us over to our next destination, Tokyo. Stay tuned for more upcoming videos featuring our Tokyo adventures, as well as our day trips in Mount Fuji and Kamakura. Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoy this video, please don’t forget to like and share this video and subscribe to our channel for more Japan and Asia travel vlogs. Bye. Hey.

Kyoto is a famous and a must-visit place in Japan! From it’s rich heritage and culture, beautiful temples and shrines, to the profound serenity and stunning natural beauty, plus its delicious local delights, you will totally understand why.

In this video, we are excited to share with you the Things To Do for First -timers in Kyoto, Japan. Enjoy your Kyoto Travel!

If you like this video and find it helpful, please help us back by liking and sharing this video. 😊 And if you want more travel vlogs around Japan and Asia, subscribe for more! ❤

Feel free to watch more of our Japan travel vlogs:
Nara Travel Vlog: https://youtu.be/cYcpeUc_Fq4
Osaka Travel Vlog:
https://youtu.be/26DNMP2JHGs
Universal Studios Japan Vlog:

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