Oh Kyoto! SO much to see, so little time! More of the “old Japan” feel. We spent about 4 days there and were amazing at how much we accomplished AND how much left there was to explore.
We took the JR bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto, which was about a 2 hour ride or so (cost covered by our pass we had bought prior to the trip as mention here). Buses are efficient and pretty easy to use in Kyoto.
Must do’s in/near Kyoto:
Fushimi Inari-Taisha– All the red toriis (donated by businesses). This place is incredible, but be prepared to walk a lot it you’re up to it! Don’t miss this!
Kinkakuji– The breathtaking gold temple. Beautiful walk and we were lucky enough to experience a Buddhist ceremony near the exit.
Goin– This is where you’ll find a real Geisha if you’re interested. We saw about three “floating” by and it really was an incredibly site. You are most likely to find them in the evening around Shijo Avenue between Yasaka Shrine in the east and the Kamo River in the west.
Bamboo Forest– If you take the train here, you’ll be in the same area as the monkey park, so might as well do both!
Iwatayama Monkey Park– Worth the walk up! My kids loved feeding the monkeys. We also thought it’s interesting that there is only one species of monkey in Japan!
Nara– We made this a half day trip and spent the other half in Osaka. Nara Park is filled with deer! You can buy food for them and they are not shy! Another winner for the kids especially.
Osaka Castle– Breathtaking! Definitely worth the journey. We could have spent more time exploring the city, but the castle was at the top of my list.
Hiroshima– We spent one night here, mostly to visit Memorial Park, which was eye opening and beautiful. I do wish we would have had more time because it did seem like a charming place with good shopping!