If You Can Only Stay in One City in Japan, Make It Kyoto

1. Back from Japan: a life-changing experience
2. JAL business class vs. Delta premium select (review of our flights to/from Japan)
3. Japan sightseeing and transportation logistics for the lazy and/or mobility-challenged 
4. Why you should consider renting a machiya during your family vacation in Japan 
5. If you can only stay in one city in Japan, make it Kyoto (this post)

During our recent family trip to Japan, we had a chance to stay in Kyoto, Hiroshima, Tokyo and Hakone. All of these destinations are unique and worthy of your time and money. That being said, if someone asked me if I could only pick one base in Japan and what city it would be, I would say Kyoto. No hesitation whatsoever. Kyoto to me is Japan in a nutshell. It’s full of history, yet has many modern elements. Plus, if you want the excitement of a big city, you can always take a train to Osaka, located only 40 minutes away.

If you are not intimidated by bullet train day trips, you can even go to Hiroshima or Tokyo in the morning and be back in Kyoto in time for bed. In that case you should look into a JR train pass, just be aware that the price will go up substantially in October of this year. Again, I don’t necessarily recommend going this route, as it would be quite hectic. But if my husband insisted on staying in only one place, I would cough up the cash on JR train passes and we would just do day trips via bullet train. There is no way I would give up Kyoto.

Of course, many folks visiting Japan only go to Tokyo and the surrounding area, and are perfectly happy. I’m simply giving my personal opinion, which may or may not align with your interests.

Here are the things we did while staying in Kyoto:

1) Explore historic Gion district and walk along the banks of Kamogawa river

In Kyoto there is history around every corner. Since we stayed in a residential area close to Gion, simply going for a walk can reveal amazing surprises.One time we even saw a geisha hurrying to her appointment (I didn’t take a photo, as you are not supposed to do that). It’s true that some  streets  are  crowded  with  tourists,  but walk just a few feet, and you can find peace and serenity. Plus, if you are into people watching, you are in for a treat. It was really neat to see so many Japanese (and non-Japanese) wearing kimonos.

 Just ten minutes from our machiya rental, you can find amazing gardens in Kiyomizu-dera area, that you can admire for free.

I also enjoyed walking along Kamogawa river, which reminded me of Neman in Grodno (the city where I grew up). It actually made me feel a bit nostalgic and wonder if I will ever see Belarus again.

Even if you don’t do any expensive tours, Kyoto will not disappoint.

Have you ever seen a Starbucks that looks like that?

2) Enjoying a Maiko experience in a local restaurant

I looked into booking a geisha show, but they were super expensive, starting at around $100 per person. And we had five people in our party. I kept searching the internet for a cheaper alternative and was happy to find a restaurant offering a maiko experience. Maiko is a geisha apprentice, so they charge way less, and you essentially get the same exact thing. The lady who performed for us was about to become a geisha, having “served” her four years as maiko.

Since I was dealing with a restaurant directly via email, I was able to cut out a fee usually charged by a middle man. My total cost came to $200, or $40 per person. I can live with that. They sent me an invoice via email, and I had to put down a $60 deposit to reserve s specific date and time. The rest was charged to my credit card after the show.

I was told that there may be several more parties watching the performance, and that was fine by me. I actually had to commit to pay for six people, but if more folks booked the same slot, we would only pay for five. That’s what ended up happening.

You can see all the relevant information on this page (pays me no commission). I recommend adding the tea ceremony, since it’s only $4 extra per person. Plus, you get to enjoy a biscuit and a matcha drink. If you decide to book, click on “Contact us” and go from there. It was a very simple process, and the best price in town to my knowledge. The owner spoke decent English, which is a good thing, since our maiko only spoke Japanese.

After preparing the tea, maiko performed a traditional geisha dance and afterwards answered questions from the audience. I asked how her parents felt about her decision to become a geisha, and she said they didn’t like it at first. But she managed to convince them. She seemed like a very sweet girl, who really enjoyed all the perks that come with being a maiko. Her favorite thing was dressing up according to the season.

Overall, it was a fascinating experience we all enjoyed, including the kids. To me, the whole geisha culture is an appropriate metaphor for Japan itself. Rigid, full of arbitrary rules, yet graceful and steeped in tradition. Love it or hate it, it’s admirable that Japanese are determined to preserve that part of their culture.

Recommended.

 

3) Visiting Nijo castle and Nishiki market

As mentioned in my previous post, we hired a private guide for 4-hour tour of Kyoto at a cost of $135 total, which included visits to Nijo castle and Nishiki market.

As you can see, we went there on a rainy day

I absolutely think that Nijo castle is a must-see if you are into history like I am. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, so here is a link to the official site. Tickets are only $7 per person, and you can buy them ahead on Klook.com. It’s not necessary, but could be worth doing if you don’t want to stand in line.

I thought it would be fun to finish our Kyoto tour in Nishiki market, but if I could go back, I would probably leave it out. It was an interesting place, but super crowded and touristy. Plus, we were all very jet lagged after flying to Osaka the night before. I did buy some spices and matcha candy, so there is that. And we got to try some weird local delicacies.

So, I would give it one thumb up and one thumb down. If you hate crowded spaces (that’s my husband), you will likely not have a good time. But it’s an interesting place, for sure, and a good option for a rainy day since it’s covered.

4) Visiting Arashiyama district

We hired a 10-hour charter with a driver for $330, and this was the first stop I chose for the day. Arashiyama is located quite far from the center of Kyoto, and getting there by public transportation could be challenging depending on where you are staying. That’s why having private transportation was quite handy.

Most tourists come here to only see the famous bamboo grove. If that’s all you want to do, I’m not sure it’s worth it. It is a scenic place, but quite crowded, unless you get here very early in the morning.

I was lucky to get this shot without the sea of people in it

However, there is more to Arashiyama than just bamboo trees. Inside Kyoto  (a very useful resource) recommended visiting Okochi-Sanso Villa and I was intrigued. According to that website, they have one of the most beautiful gardens in Japan. I would have to agree. It does cost about $7 per person to enter, but you get a free matcha tea and cookie served in a beautiful teahouse when you are done touring the gardens.

The view from the garden

However, I obviously didn’t do enough research because it’s not really a good place for mobility-challenged people. When I saw that in order to see the gardens you had to climb uphill via slippery stones, I told my MIL we would just have the tea and cut our losses. She was like: no way, you paid for it, we are going. Ok then. So we did.

Definitely recommended if you plan to be in Arashiyama anyway. There is also a monkey park in the area that I really wanted to visit, but my MIL would not be able to handle the uphill walk. Sadly, that one had to be cut.

5) Going to the pug cafe

When I found out that Kyoto has the only pug cafe in Japan, I simply had to include it on our itinerary. It is a bit out of the way, but once again, having a van at our disposal took care of the logistics.

Is it worth paying $21 per person (cash only) for 70 minutes of interaction with a bunch of dogs? It really depends if you are into pugs. It was 100% worth it for my kids. They absolutely loved it, and list this cafe as one of their top three experiences in Japan. YMMV.

It is a quirky place, for sure, and the owner is a bit weird (though super friendly). Then again, you have to be a bit weird to put frilly dresses on pugs. All I can say is, my husband and I had a blast watching our kids have a blast.

6) Going to Osaka for a few hours

The charter I booked technically included the city of Nara, located about 50 minutes from Kyoto. It’s actually older than Kyoto, and has some interesting architecture. I was really looking forward to it, but decided to swap it for Osaka instead. You see, one of my husband’s coworkers said to absolutely go to Dotonbori street in Osaka for some amazing street food. My husband got all excited and asked me if we can add that to our itinerary.

Well. I wasn’t planning on it, but I really wanted to make him happy. Also, I saw that Osaka has a Nintendo store, and figured we could take the kids there. Originally, I was planning to go to Nintendo store in Tokyo. However, I put together such a hectic itinerary for Tokyo, I figured it would be one less thing to worry about.

Anyway, the charter company agreed to do the swap and off to Osaka we went. We did the Nintendo store first, obviously, because the kids wouldn’t shut up about it. Two hours and four hundred dollars later they were done shopping. Btw, I forgot to apply for duty-free exemption and lost $40. Dumb. Don’t be like me.

Ok, let’s go to Dotonbori street for some food! Except my husband and MIL were exhausted and said they didn’t feel like walking anymore. So we ate at a Korean restaurant located in the same building as the Nintendo store.

I loved it, but my husband didn’t. In fact, he said he didn’t want any more Asian food for the rest of the trip, though thankfully changed his mind on the last day. Should you go to Osaka while you are in Kyoto? It really depends. If you plan to visit Tokyo later on, I would say no. Both cities appear to be quite similar. But if you are into food, apparently Osaka is the place to be. That Korean mall diner was awesome.

Final thoughts 

We only had four nights in Kyoto, but as you can see, they were packed with excitement. To me, only our Osaka detour was truly skippable, though my kids would strongly disagree. They were thrilled to get their Nintendo merch at the beginning of the trip. Of course, the main reason to come to Kyoto is to see the old Japan. In that respect the city delivered, big time.

If you are on a tight budget, you can offset some of these travel costs by using points to erase charges, if you happen have a card like Capital One Venture X (our affiliate link). It’s not a glamorous type of redemption, but I’ve done just that and have no regrets.

Hiroshima is up next.