Kyoto: Where to Eat, What to Do and Where to Stay

A first Kyoto trip comes down to five decisions, in this order: where you arrive from, where you sleep, how many days and which of them leave Kyoto, how you get around, and which dates. Each one answered briefly with its numbers, then linked to the page that settles it in full.

Two days in Kyoto, ordered by the things that actually decide it: where you sleep, which day carries your luggage, the season, and which of Fushimi Inari, Arashiyama and Nara earns a morning. With the opening hours the temples and the railway publish, the crowd forecast Kyoto City runs, and what to cut.

Kyoto's two subway lines miss Kiyomizu-dera, Ginkaku-ji and Kinkaku-ji, and the city's day pass covers none of the trains to Fushimi Inari or Arashiyama. Four conditions, in order: where the day goes, how you leave Kyoto Station, your suitcase and the clock, and whether the rides make the ¥1,100 Subway & Bus 1-Day Pass pay.