biking Kyoto

Kyoto surprised us with how overcrowded with tourists it was. Smaller than Tokyo, it seemed like there were more Americans than actual Japanese inhabiting the city. Hopefully, due to this amazing Airbnb we rented, we got a free access to a couple of city bikes and let me tell you: it was the most fun way to discover the city and escape the crowds at least a little. Here you can find the map with our favorite places in Kyoto and below a very short itinerary day by day. And if you're interested in our full 2-week Japan itinerary, you can read all about it here. 

Day 1: Gion by night
As we arrived to Kyoto in the afternoon, we decided to start with discovering Gion by night. It's one of the most famous areas of Kyoto thanks to the sill alive geisha culture. The main street is rather crowded so it's well worth turning into one of the side alleys and just enjoying the unique atmosphere of the area. Yasaka shrine amazes at night even more than in daylight! 

Day 2: Temples of Kyoto
Our first day in Kyoto was dedicated to exploring all of its beautiful temples: we started off with the peaceful Ginkaku-ji, followed with Konkai-Komyoji, Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji, Shoren-in Monzeki, Ryozen Kannon, Hokan-ji and ended with very busy Kiyomizu-dera.

Day 3: Arashiyama
Even though it was too hot to get there by bike, we hopped on a bus and headed to see the famous Arashiyama Bamboo Groove first thing in the morning. We also spent some time in the nearby Monkey Park, which was impressive not only because of the monkeys running around free, but also because of a beautiful panorama of Kyoto you can spot from the top of the hill. 

Day 4: Fushimi Inari Taisha
On our last day, just before taking a midday train to Nara, we decided to see the beautiful Fushimi Inari Taisha temple. It's ways of countless orange doors were extremely impressive and even though the heavy rain, the atmosphere was pretty special. It is actually quite a hike if you want to follow the path all the way to the top of the hill - we didn't know and regretted not having time to see it all.