If you are specifically looking for a two and a half-day Kyoto itinerary, this means you are most likely pressed for time and you would like to make the most of every second of your stay. Keeping this in mind, in this page we present an itinerary that we believe can satisfy your needs. The programme minimises transfers and difficulties in planning all aspects of your stay without sacrificing the enjoyment of the experience.
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Two and a half days in Kyoto (how to allocate the available time; suggested places to visit)
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Evening arrival (suggested itinerary)
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Morning arrival (suggested itinerary)
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Where to stay (best locations)
Kyoto 2.5-day itinerary
A two-day itinerary in Kyoto usually revolves around Higashiyama and two or three major temples in other areas of the city, such as Fushimi, Kita or Sakyo. Higashiyama deserves at least one full day. Besides, spending a half-day in Higashiyama would be quite impractical, as you would not be able to enjoy long walks in the district, which are a not to be missed experience. Given this assumption, we have to choose where to spend another full-day.
We believe you should choose Arashiyama, a historical scenic site where natural and cultural landscape coexist in perfect harmony. Similarly to what happens with Higashiyama, visiting Arashiyama requires at least one-full day. Not doing so would greatly limit your freedom.
The remaining half-day can be spent to visit either Kinkaku-Ji and Ryoan-Ji temples or Fushimi Inari Taisha, a wonderful shinto shrine. The latter is always open and very atmospheric at dawn or sunset, which makes it an ideal choice for the half-day available. The shrine is very close to Kyoto Station, which makes it a perfect destination if you are planning to leave Kyoto around noon. Conversely, if you are to reach Kyoto around noon, in choosing what to see you should take into account that most temples, shrines, museums close around 17:00 (or 16:30 in winter).
Evening arrival itineraries
If you reach Kyoto in the evening, you can reach your hotel, check in and spend some hours taking a walk around Gion or Ponto-cho, some of Kyoto’s most atmospheric areas at night.
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Evening arrival in Kyoto Higashiyama, Ukyo, Fushimi |
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Where to stay |
Kyoto Station area |
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Day 1 |
Destinations: Higashiyama (Kiyomizu-dera, Sannen-zaka, Ninen-zaka, Yasaka-no-To, Maruyama Park), Philosopher’s Path, Ginkaku-Ji
How to get around:
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Day 2 |
Destinations: Arashiyama (Togetsu-Kyo Bridge, Tenryu-Ji, Sagano Bamboo Grove, Jojakko-Ji, Rakushisha, Gio-Ji, Daikaku-Ji)
Optional visit to Nijo Castle: you can add a visit to Nijo Castle along the transfer from Kyoto Station to Arashiyama. If you choose to do so, you will have to cancel at least 2 visits in Arashiyama
How to get around:
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Day 3 (morning) |
Destination: Fushimi Inari Taisha
How to get around:
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Morning arrival itineraries
If you reach Kyoto by noon, we suggest you leave your baggage at the station and begin your journey right away.
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Morning arrival in Kyoto Higashiyama, Ukyo, Fushimi |
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Where to stay |
Kyoto Station area or Gion (Higashiyama) |
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Day 1 Afternoon |
Destinations: Fushimi Inari Taisha and another destination
Additional destination:
How to get around:
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Day 2 |
Destinations: Kinkaku-Ji, Ginkaku-Ji, Maruyama Park, Ninen-zaka, Sannen-zaka, Kiyomizu-dera
Optional visit to Gion: instead of Kiyomizu-dera temple you may choose to visit Kodai-Ji and Chion-In, interesting temples located near Gion
How to get around:
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Day 3 |
Destination: Arashiyama (Togetsu-Kyo Bridge, Tenryu-Ji, Sagano Bamboo Grove, Jojakko-Ji, Rakushisha, Gio-Ji, Daikaku-Ji)
How to get around:
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Visit to Uji
Another option, particularly suitable to those who wish to visit Nara, is to devote the half day for an excursion to Uji, historic town served by the Kyoto-Nara railway line. Uji is home to important temples and shrines and offers a unique atmosphere of serenity and attachment to tradition.
Where to stay
As mentioned, an aspect you should consider carefully when you accept the idea of such a short stay in Kyoto is how to properly choose the area where to find the accommodation.
For such a short stay we suggested considering only two options:
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Kyoto Station area (Shimogyo and Minami);
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Gion area (including nearby Nakagyo district).
Staying in these areas will allow you fast and easy transfers, which is a fundamental need for such a short journey.
As you might have noticed, our recommendation on where to stay depended on the visiting programme.
We also suggest that you reach Kyoto the night before the first day of visit, so as to avoid any loss of precious time.
Related articles:
Kyoto 3 day itinerary | Kyoto 3,5-day itinerary
Ideally this programme is part of a 10 to 12-day journey between Tokyo and Kyoto. See: Japan 10-day itinerary.
Nearby destinations:
Nara 1,5-day itinerary | Uji 0,5-day itinerary
