Three beautiful weeks during the Japanese autumn (page 2 of 4)

Day 9: Kanazawa (end): Final stop: the old geisha district, split into two parts: along the river is Kazuemachi District, and the other, more famous (and crowded) one is Higashi District.









The drink menu at the restaurant. Thanks, Google Translate!

Thanks for this lovely update on Japan. I went there a year ago during the same period and really enjoyed Kamakura, but your photos of central Japan make me want to go back!

We had booked the evening restaurant (Sabar), which specializes in a variety of dishes with mackerel.

Note: For dinners, we didn’t really feel like looking for a place on the same day because restaurants are often packed. So for our restaurant reservations (usually 3 to 4 days in advance), I went with Google, Tablelog, or HotPepper.

Day 10: Heading to Kyoto Two trains (always right on time), including one shinkansen, get us to Kyoto by 10:30 AM. Wow, what an amazing modern roof at the station! We take the subway to drop off our bags at our Airbnb (listed as "Kyoto Shi" on Airbnb, but "Oyado Shogoin" on Google Maps). We’ll be staying here for 5 nights. The whole house has a living room, a small kitchenette, one bathroom, a laundry room (super handy after 10 days on the road), and upstairs, two bedrooms with futons. Nothing luxurious, but it’s exactly what we need.

Our "living room"

I chose this location near Sanjo Station because it’s close to lots of attractions and the eastern Kyoto train stations. We head out on foot to Nijo Castle. It’s not really a castle—more like a collection of pavilions. The interiors are pretty, but they all look similar to other places we’ve seen. No photos allowed inside, though.







Next, we head to Nishiki Market. We try some octopus skewers and crab claws before finding a cool café (all black and white) for a nice matcha.







On our way back to the Airbnb, we walk through some shopping arcades near Pontocho before heading out for shabu-shabu (meat hot pot). Between shabu-shabu and yakiniku (grilled meat), we prefer the latter—just a matter of taste.

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for this trip report—it’s given us (well, *me* ) a chance to discover new sides of Japan.

Day 11: Southeast Kyoto: Gion district We grab a nice little breakfast at one of the few small cafés in the Shinbashi district that opens at 7 a.m. because we want to get to the areas near Kiyomizu-dera temple early before the crowds. Great idea, as the famous Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka alleys are quiet.











It’s 8:30 a.m. when we enter Kiyomizu-dera.







But what a crowd when we leave at 10 a.m.! The shops all open after 9 a.m., which might partly explain why people start arriving from 9 a.m. onward.

Day 11: Kyoto SE continued: Our second temple visited is Kodaiji. Surprisingly empty of tourists. A cute little bamboo grove completes the charming garden.











Right next door, a large statue catches our eye: the Ryozen Kannon temple, dedicated to the victims of World War II. The statue is impressive, but that’s about it.



We find a small restaurant to grab some ramen. It’s not easy to find a place with a table for 4 in this touristy part of Gion. In the afternoon, we stop by Kennin-ji temple, then walk down Hanamikoji Street (meh, it’s nothing special—it’s prettier in Takayama or Kanazawa).

Day 11: Southeast Kyoto (final part) We spend a little time at Yanaka Shrine attending a religious festival before our daily matcha tea in Maruyama Park.









At 4 PM, we attend a one-hour dance performance by maikos and geishas as part of the 10-day "Gion Odori" event. As soon as reservations opened three months earlier, I managed to get tickets through our landlady because it’s a highly popular show and seats sell out fast. 6000 ¥ per person. No photos allowed during the performance. It consists of eight dance tableaux, accompanied by six musicians. Okay, I’ll admit their singing isn’t great, but it’s all part of the show. A truly beautiful experience.

It's just magnificent! Really great report! I went there over 10 years ago—I’m just dreaming of going back to Japan! In the meantime, your photos took me on a trip!

Day 12: West Kyoto: Arashiyama, and South: Fushimi Inari Took the subway then transferred at Nijo for the San'in Line train to Arashiyama. Gorgeous weather. It's 8:30 AM and everyone's crowding to get into Tenryu-ji Temple. Not us. When planning our trip, I decided to skip 3 famous spots (Tenryu-ji, the Golden Temple, and the Silver Temple) because I noticed other temples are just as pretty and less crowded. And we were right. Kyoto is full of "kawaii" temples that aren't packed. We also skipped the Monkey Park attraction—it's not really our cup of tea. So we headed straight through the bamboo grove to Arashiyama Park for the stunning viewpoint over the Katsura River gorge—absolutely beautiful with the early November colors.



Then we went far north to Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple. A lovely, peaceful walk to get there. A real favorite for all four of us. Some very pretty houses and a cute little temple in a beautiful green setting called the "Moss Temple" (Gio-ji).











Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple has a special feature—it's famous for its cemetery with 8,000 Buddhist statues standing in honor of the deceased. Next to the temple, there's also a magnificent bamboo grove.





I think we should've spent even more time in this area—it's so beautiful—and visited two other spots like Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple and Jokakko-ji Temple, but we had to make choices.

Day 12: Western Kyoto (continued): Back to the super crowded center of Arashiyama at this midday hour.







We take the train to Kyoto Central Station and from there, walk to Tofuku-ji Temple. Lovely zen garden and bridge spanning the maple forest, but I wouldn’t rank it in Kyoto’s top 3.

Day 12: Fushimi Inari

We’re starting to feel the fatigue. We’ve already walked a lot today, but it’s still a 15-minute walk to Fushimi Inari Shrine. In our travel planning, we’d debated whether to visit early in the morning or late in the day. Great call to go just before sunset—it let us see it without the crowds and with the lovely nighttime lighting.









Back to Sanjo on the Keihan train in 10 minutes before heading to enjoy a nice meal at a small izakaya near our place (Hisano).

Day 13: Excursion to Kibune-Kurama We take the train from Demachiyanagi Station for a 30-minute ride to Kibune. First, a quick visit to the two small shrines in Kibune before making the long forest climb up to Kurama Shrine. Luckily, previous hikers leave walking sticks behind.







Despite the overcast weather, we really enjoy the place, surrounded by red autumn foliage.





At the bottom of the descent on the other side of the hill, we have an excellent vegetarian lunch before spending a few hours at the Kurama onsen. It’s not as pretty as Hirayu Onsen, but it’s still very relaxing.

Day 13: Gion by night

Back in Kyoto early in the evening after returning from Kurama, before grabbing dinner and strolling through the Gion district by night.

Day 14: Northeast Kyoto region Since we’ve already seen tons of temples, this morning we decided to visit only Nanzen-ji Temple and skip Eikan-dō to keep things relaxed. Besides, Nanzen-ji is huge and varied, and it already took us 1.5 hours.







We continued with the lovely Philosophers’ Path walk under a warm, generous sun.





Since we’d also decided to skip the Silver Pavilion, we took a detour to Honen-in Temple, which is totally worth it. No one else was there.

Day 14: Kyoto NE continued:

A quick lunch on the go (gyozas, matcha ice cream) before heading out to explore a lesser-known temple with a tricky name (Shinshogokuraku). The walk through various non-touristy neighborhoods gives a better glimpse of local life.









From the temple, we’ll head to the Ozaki Shrine, dedicated to rabbits, passing through a cemetery and enjoying a lovely view of the city.





The day wraps up with a visit to the Shinto shrine Heian Jingu and its stunning gardens.

Day 15: Heading to Nara We take the subway to the Rokujizo terminus. From there, the Nara line takes us to Nara (obviously).

They’re really well-behaved here. A 15-minute walk to our hotel (Hen na), where instead of a reception desk, we have to chat with robots. Fun, but not exactly easy—still fun, though.



And off we go for a 5-hour stroll through the park and its various sites. Still sunny and warm (20°C on November 7th). Kofuku-ji, Yoshikien Garden, Todai-ji, Nigatsu-do, and Kasuga Taisha Shrine.













We end our walk at Ukimido Pavilion, then head back to the center via the garden of the former Daijyo-in Temple.

Day 16: Walk in southern Nara Still full sunshine! It’s so pleasant, especially since I planned a hike in southern Nara: part of the « Yamanobe no michi », easy access by train; a walk starting in Tenri and ending in Miwa. As usual, we set off really early, so we’ll spend almost the whole day there. Here, we’re far from the well-known Japan on this well-marked pilgrimage path. We didn’t meet any foreign tourists—just a few Japanese hikers.











Beautiful Japanese countryside, dotted with tiny villages and shrines, and fruit trees bursting with persimmons.



The hike ends at Omiwa Shrine, one of the oldest existing shrines in Japan. Its 32 m torii is the second tallest in Japan. As in all temples, you can get a calligraphy stamp in your goshuin travel journal.

Day 16: Arrival in Osaka

The Yamanobe-no-Michi walk was a nice break before the hustle and bustle of Osaka, where we arrived at 6 PM. A spacious room (32m²) was waiting for us at the Alps Hotel, conveniently located near Nippombashi Station.

View of the room The stroll through Dotonbori was a stark contrast to our daytime walk. Flashy storefronts and kitschy decor everywhere. We also tried a sake bar where we had to pay a 500 yen cover charge before enjoying some excellent sake.

Day 17: Osaka Nasty weather today, with a fine drizzle. Funny how it only rains when you're in a big city... Visited Osaka Castle this morning.



All sorts of ramen for lunch.

Wandered through the shopping arcades in the afternoon before relaxing at the hotel since the rain was really coming down. In the late afternoon, the rain stopped just as we left the hotel for the Shinsekai district. Another overload of flashy and kitschy vibes.





We went up to the top of the Abeno Harukas tower. Luckily, the sky cleared of the heavy clouds, and we could admire Osaka by night.





Couldn’t leave Osaka without trying their famous okonomiyaki omelette. We didn’t feel like eating in the crowds of Shinsekai, so we found a tiny restaurant near the tower. It was already late, and the place was the only one open in the small shopping arcade (Hayashi). Yikes. What are we getting ourselves into... We peeked inside—only 3 tables and 3 counter seats. Packed. The owner told us to wait outside until a table freed up. Another great find. And an excellent omelette. As usual, the chef walked us to the exit, especially since we told him "oishikattadesu" (it was delicious).