3 Day Kyoto, Japan Itinerary

Kyoto is one of the best, quintessential Japan cities to visit during any Japan Trip! It’s the perfect blend of traditional and modern. Kyoto offers natural beauty, ancient shrines, and a delicious variety of foods, all summarized in this Kyoto Japan Itinerary.

Day 1

Afternoon: Arashiyama Monkey Park and Bamboo Forest

After checking in to our very lovely hotel Miru Kyoto Nishiki in Kyoto, we made our way to the Arashiyama Monkey Park before it closed to hike up the mountain to feed the monkeys some apples and watch them play. From there, we picked up a soft-serve (of course) and crossed the bridge to the other side of the river. We walked down to the Tenryu-Ji shrine which was really only a short stop to see just because it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site. On the walk there are some cute shops. Next we headed to a magical albeit short walk through the Bamboo Forest (it was sort of difficult to find, see screenshot with the route from the monkey park and subsequently follow the signs).

Night

That night we were craving some Thai food; the first place we found did not exist (this was really the only time Google Maps failed us lol). The painful part was that it was freezing outside but we did eventually find the perfect spot, Thai Curry Restaurant Siam which had a limited menu and a mom and pop feel; the food was delicious! We did not visit nearly as many bars as we would have liked, there are a TON in Kyoto, especially ones with a speakeasy feel, like Bee’s Knees and The Roots of All Evil. We ended up at a slightly gimmicky “insta” bar called Underbar, but ended up having a great time because we were the only ones there initially and got to play several rounds of Connect 4 with each other as well as with our bartender.

Day 2

Morning: Kimono Rental and Kiyomizu-Dera

The next morning we arrived for our Kimono rental reservation at 9am at Kyoto Kimono Rental Yumeyakata Gojo. A walk around Kiyomizu Dera is THE place for wearing a kimono if you are going to do so, you won’t feel out of place! This spot was middle of the road in terms of cost from my limited research. I’m just happy we found a place to make a proper reservation a few days in advance. Yumeyakata had a broad variety of kimono options and they were quick and professional. It’s definitely a bit of a walk from there to Kiyomizu Dera (on a main road lol) but we really didn’t mind that. We even stopped by a konbini in our outfits for breakfast that we ate outside. On the way we saw plenty of kimono rental spots closer to Kiyomizu, much cheaper, and no reservation required, but I can’t vouch for any of them. Dressing the kimono itself was so fun and worth the experience, especially for the pictures!

There is a main market street directly in front of Kiyomizu that’s the perfect place for souvenirs in Kyoto. After exploring the entire length of it, we ate a light lunch at a very hipster, eco-friendly vegan spot Tu Casa where I had the best vegan Earl Grey scone ever.

Afternoon

After returning our rentals, we headed to the huge, bustling food & goods Nishiki Market. We grabbed what we think is the best dessert we’ve had in Japan so far – a vanilla soft serve with yuzu syrup. We even got 100 yen glasses of sake!

Evening: Fushimi Inari

After lounging a little back at the hotel, which was conveniently situated very close to Nishiki, we made the trip down to Fushimi Inari. Fushimi Inari is a definite must-see and probably within the top 3 must-sees for any Japan trip. I would recommend seeing the 32,000+ torii gates when there is more light to really appreciate it. However seeing it in the dark had a spooky, eerie feel. Hiking to the city outlook took about an hour up and back. We did not do the full loop at the top of the mountain (there are plenty of signs for guidance).

Night: Dinner at Goichi

We found Goichi Pizza on Google maps that night and it did not disappoint. The owner and staff were extremely friendly; I had read that some tourists had been turned away from several pizzerias in the city (which is crazy) until they came here. Definitely highly recommend especially if you need a break from the Asian cuisine on your trip.

Day 3

Morning: Sake Brewery Tour & Tasting

The next morning we headed to our Kyoto Insider Sake Experience at the Gekkeikan Sake Brewery, the largest sake brewery in Osaka in Fushimi, which is the second largest producer of sake after Kobe, Japan. After scouring Pinterest for an elevated, comprehensive sake tasting experience, I can’t believe how lucky I got in finding this gem. VERY highly recommend it even though it is quite a ways away from the center of the city. We learned everything A to Z about how sake is made, all the different types, how to read bottle labels, characterizing how sweet/dry and acidic a sake is, and multiple different ways of food pairing, AND they gave us cheat sheet cards of al this information to keep in our wallets as well as sent us a PDF of the slides of everything we learned! It felt like a true course in all things sake but we also got to drink 10 glasses of sake LOL. We met some awesome people in our group as well.

Afternoon

Ronak and I were obviously on a sake high after this experience. Of course that meant found a random nearly place to drink one more sake flight on our own. We then went on a hunt to find sustenance, it wasn’t the easiest since we were out in the suburbs of Kyoto. There was a very Japanesified Indian restaurant nearby that wasn’t terrible and did the job.

Evening

We headed back to check into our one ryokan night at Kyokoyado Muromachi Yutone. Highly recommend a ryokan stay on a trip to Japan! The place was so serene with a beautiful zen garden and traditional Japanese exterior and interior. Everyone was so kind and accommodating. A main part of a ryokan experience is the food, however vegetarian options are typically nonexistent. We chose the option without dinner when reserving; our place was so nice to refund us the breakfast cost as well. This two-bed was one of their last rooms available, but it was cheaper than the single-bed options and we just pushed the beds together to make a megabed.

Night

We of course passed out for hours and then didn’t feel like venturing out to eat. We also were getting hungry and everything was starting to close. Uber Eats works really well in Japan!!! The familiarity of using the app was so convenient. There was no question about what we were ordering, where/when it was being delivered, and what the cost was. We went with Domino’s since it was one of the easiest options to customize for ourselves and still open. It arrived even before the app indicated! It tasted the same as America with the exception of the apple crisp dessert that was so much more light and flakey than it would ever be back home. So if you’re stuck late at night without any options, try Uber Eats!!!

Morning before departure

The next morning we ate at the cutest coffee shop called Astrea. It is run by one guy who took his time to carefully craft each item. We then made one more round in Nishiki Market, checked out of the ryokan, and headed for our Shinkansen to Osaka.

Other amazing shrines to visit are Heian, Nanzen-ji, and Higashiyama Jisho-Ji. We did not get a chance to go but the Starbucks Kyoto Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya. It is located in a building with traditional architecture seems like it’s worth visiting! The Michelin-recommended Vegan Ramen UZU Kyoto is also something we missed but will definitely try next time!

This blogpost was all about our 3 day Kyoto, Japan itinerary! Check out other blogposts on Tokyo, Osaka, Shibuya, and Japan Travel Tips.