See what to do, where to eat, how to get to the bamboo forest, the best way to get to and around Kyoto, my complete guide, or a minute video of my trip!
To see a video of the Top 10 of what to do in Kyoto click here or a video on the Best Way to Spend $40 in Kyoto click here. Saturday, June 29th, 2019 I tried to navigate my way from Osaka to Kyoto using the subway and that had it's challenges. One of the machines was only in Japanese so I just picked the stop I could and hoped it went well! When I finally got to Kyoto it was a little after 7 P.M. so the first stop, SUSHI! I headed to Ganko which won't blow you away but was cheap and a good starting place.
I then headed back to my hostel to rent a bike. It was raining pretty good and the receptionist was like, ‘You know it’s raining right?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I know I’m only here a couple days and gotta do all the things!’.
I was heading over to see some temples but made a stop by some shops before checking out the Philospher's Path before heading into Higashiyama Jisho-Ji. Just a heads up you’ll need a ticket to get in. Around the corner was a good noodle place called Omen. I got the udon noodles with two pieces of sushi. The food was great, they taught me how to make the noodles, and took my card. I highly recommend it! 
Philosopher's Path
Higashiyama Jisho-Ji
Next came Eikan-do Temple and you’ll need a ticket to get in.
Matcha is a big deal there so I stopped by Jouvencelle for a match ice cream and chocolates. They accept card so that is always a winner. Okazaki park and the Heian Shrine.
Heian Shrine
Heian Shrine
I then headed over to Chion-in Temple which needed a ticket and then to Maruyama Park and Hokanji Temple which don’t.
I continued my temple journey by going to Sanjusangendo. There was a ticket to get in and I was running low on cash so I just looked and continued on. My last stop was at Fushimi Inari Taisha which didn’t need a ticket but what are you going to do. I walked through the the lower part where there were a lot of people but as you move up the mountain the crowds die down. There is a bamboo forest about half way up that I thought was the famous one, it wasn't, but I thought it was actually better. You also have the option of going all the way to the top and I don't recommend it as I thought there would be a look out but there is only a look out about half way up.
When I got back to the downtown area I walked through Teramachi Mall, Nishiki Market as I headed to Ippudo for ramen and dumplings. The ramen was pretty good and I could use card.
Monday, July 1st, 2019
Distance - 12.9 Miles As I said there weren’t much for breakfast options so my hostel had an all you can eat buffet option and I didn’t eat a whole bunch when I was in Beijing so I went to town on the buffet. I then headed to Nijo Castle where I needed a ticket but was able to use card.
Nijo Castle
One of the big things to do in Kyoto in the bamboo forest so I took Bus 93 to Arashiyama. It costed 230 yen so about $2.20 and took an hour.
Once I got over there I got off on the wrong stop and stumbled across the Tenryuji Temple. As I was heading in some dude asked me how to get to the bamboo forest and was having a hard time- foreshadowing! 
Tenryuji Temple
Right outside of the Tenryuji Temple
I tried to follow my google maps to the bamboo forest and ran into a Monkey Park which was like $5.50 to get into and about a 20 min walk to the top. I didn’t go in because I’ve seen monkeys and actually saw a wild one as I was lost!
So I continued to wander aimlessly trying to find this dang forest and saw some boat rentals which looked cool. I finally found a map to the Bamboo forest which saved me and it was free! But, I honestly thought the other bamboo forest wast better.
The whole thing was pretty discouraging and was about to give up on the day as I couldn’t figure out how to get to the next bus stop so I just took the same bus 93 back into the city and figured out how to navigate from there. I was happy I did because I ended up making it to Ryoanji Temple. None of these pictures really do it justice.
I then took a quick walk over to Kinkaku-ji which was the thing I thought was the coolest. You need tickets for both of these last two temples just as an FYI. 
Kinkaku-ji
Once I made it back into the city I headed to Sushsei. Being a tall, blonde, American traveling alone I tend to stand out. I was sat between two couples and one on my right was older and had been married 55 years.
Kyoto Thoughts:
Getting Around: 7/10 - The city is decently sized and I either walked, rode a bike, or took city buses to get around and had no issue. They do have a subway and taxis but those are expensive and they may not know English. If I didn't have a bike on that first day I have no idea how I would have saw as much as I did. Things to do: 8/10 - There is a lot of things to do in Kyoto and in my two days I filled the time I could. It would have been nice to have more time to enjoy what I was seeing or absorbing the culture. I wasn't able to make it to Mt. Fuji, it would have been cool to eat in the Pontocho area over looking the Kamo river, or even spending more time in the Gion district and rockin' a kimono. Food: 8/10 - I really liked the food that I had but if you were looking for a traditional American breakfast I didn't have a whole lot of luck. That isn't a bad thing but I felt the breakfast options were limited which was a bummer. Overall: 8/10 - I really liked Kyoto and wish I was there longer. The city provided an authentic experience and interaction with Japanese culture. Whether that was seeing all the temples and gardens or women walking around in kimonos in the Gion district. I felt there was plenty to do and could have easily spent more time exploring each of the neighborhoods. I would have liked to eat at a restaurant in the Pontocho area and look over the river or even grabbed snacks and sat down in the grass. When it came to the food I enjoyed everything I had, but just wish there was a better breakfast selection. I feel this is one of the more visited cities in Japan and it's for good reason! If you want to see where Kyoto ranks against the other places I've gone click here. See what to do, where to eat, how to get to the bamboo forest, the best way to get to and around Kyoto, my complete guide! To see a video of the Top 10 of what to do in Kyoto click here or a video on the Best Way to Spend $40 in Kyoto click here. What to Bring
To see what I bring on all my trips that is right here.
If you are interested in getting travel insurance I recommend TravelInsurance.com. They are considered one of best in the industry, you can easily compare coverages and get the right one for you.  My Non-Obvious Kyoto Recommendations:
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I'm Jake, a dude interested in personal finance and travel creating the life I choose. In 5 years I went from living in a basement with Craigslist roommates to paying off 90k of debt, backpacking 3 continents, getting a house for myself and 5 rental units. Read my story in the about me section. All photos on the blog are from my travels
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