Kyoto

When anyone mentions Japan there's two obvious images that jump to mind. On one side you've got the crazy, techy world of flashing neon and walking robots, which I'm guessing is all waiting for me in Tokyo. At the other end is the world of ornate temples, geisha and streets that look like samurai movie sets, and for all that Kyoto's the place to go.

I usually avoid long stays in big cities if I can, but to be honest if you could only see one place in Japan I'd have to put Kyoto top of the list. If you ever had the cliched Hokusai Wave poster as a student or "just love" the aesthetics of Ghibli movies then Kyoto ticks every box. You can turn any corner here and fall straight into an amazing Shinto temple, or be on the bus and whiz past a huge, ornate temple that looks amazing to Western eyes but on the scale of Kyoto doesn't even make the top ten. It reminds me a bit of London, how the centuries-old architecture just slots in along shiny new offices, but one thing I always forget is how colourful Buddhism is, all vivid reds, oranges and gold.

It's also generally a great city, voted Best In The World by readers of one of those magazines that does those polls. Like everywhere in Japan it's clean (but can you find a bin anywhere?), the pace of life seems pretty mellow and in the inner city there's a nice European vibe, with Italian restaurants and French bakeries sitting between the ramen shops and ryokans. Apparently 'Kyotalian' cuisine is actually a thing, someone shoot that Time Out writer. Overall it's just a really nice place to explore: good food, friendly people, and it doesn't have the pressure-cooker feel of a lot of cities. Obviously any city also offers the chance to grab a rejuvenating McDonalds if you're mostly living in the countryside like me. Sssshh it was so worth it.

Now, I read in a guidebook that to visit every shrine or temple in Kyoto in a year you'd have to fit in five a day. Firstly, who the fuck's got time for that? You'd go insane. Secondly, you absolutely don't need to see them all. Just because Kyoto's full to bursting doesn't mean every shrine's all that interesting, unless you're a keen student of the history of Shintoism. I'd say three days is enough to hit the main sights, get a culture fix and then move on, unless you're stuck on a coach trip or reeeeeally want to listen to every audio guide. So in the interest of being useful here's my attempt at an itinerary guide, a mix of must-sees and some lesser-known favourites. I won't go into deep detail, everything's on Tripadvisor, but each day was pretty full and covered a good 10-12km walking route. You could fit more in but I'm famously shit at getting out of bed and it was November so getting dark by 5pm.

I stayed in an AirBnB just south of the Imperial Castle park which was a good cost option. Kyoto hotel prices seemed fucking bananas when I looked, especially at peak season which is mid-late November for the autumn leaf change, and that's the time to go if you can. Instead of the varying shades of brown we get for UK autumns the Japanese trees fire off the craziest shades of red, it's a stills photographer's wet dream.

DAY 1 - Konkai Komyo-ji. Nice starter temple, doesn't get many tour bus groups. - Honen-In. Cool little mossy temple not visited by the main tourist crowds. Feels very Mononoke. - Ginkaku-ji. You have to pay to enter which is a shame when so many others are free. It gets busy, but it's pretty. - Philosopher’s Path. Take your girlfriend/boyfriend/dog/whatever. Get a coffee. Meander. - Zenrinji. Do not miss it. Stunning gardens and temples, it basically sums up the reason you decided to visit Kyoto. That's it. - Nanzen-ji. Huge buildings, massively impressive. The grounds are free so don't bother paying for the extras unless you really need to see a zen garden. - EVENING: Pontocho. Guide books would lead you to believe this is a great area for people watching, but it's a bit too rammed and hectic for that. But there's hundreds of dinner options hidden in some cool little alleys. DAY 2 - Fushimi Inari Shrine. Despite the hundreds of shoulder-rubbing tourists shuffling along you shouldn't miss it. A genuinely special place even if you won't beat the photos from your guidebook. - Tofukuji. Another temple collection where you can pay, but the free grounds hold plenty of great sights. I did pay to go in the scenic forest bridge - do it if the autumn leaves are really kicking off. - San-Ju San Gen Do. I didn't actually go in, I'd got bored of entry fees and wanted to save for later in the day. But the guidebook made it sound good! - Kiyomizu-Dera Temple. Really cool temple. Great city views, good people watching. Go up the hill via the walk up through the graveyard just south of the main pedestrian route. Much nicer and less rammed. - Gion area. Another must-see. I'd usually steer clear of wall-to-wall crowds but here the people watching's just too good. The streets feel like walking into another century and it's where loved-up couples try to stay graceful in hired kimonos while the odd geisha scurries past. Good gift shopping too. EVENING: Menya Takakura Nijo for ramen. FUCK ME IT'S GOOD. Borderline Michelin Star quality food, and only about a tenner for a bowl and a beer.

DAY 3 - Nishiki Market. It's a food market. Just like any of these around the world people will say "oh it's amazing go and sample the blahdey blah and the famous yackety yack". Do you like food markets? I like them for photos but rarely actually eat anything.

- Teramachi Mall. Great shopping precinct, everything from fashion to crafts with some geek and gaming in the mix. Must-do if the weather turns bad, great place to grab a coffee and see some city life. - Nijo-Jo Castle. The big-dog 1600's castle. Expect tour bus groups. - Walk through Imperial Palace/Sento Palace grounds. It's not actually easy to get into the Palaces, I think you need an appointment, but both are in the same park so take an hour or so to do a lap of the walls. - Arashiyama area including Tenryu-ji Temple & Bamboo forest. The bamboo forest is a bit over-hyped in the guidebooks, it only takes about ten minutes to walk through the two paths, but the rest Arashiyama's really cool. An easy train hop out of the city centre leaves you by a nice river view with plenty of cafes and Tenryu-ji is (another) lovely temple with gardens. I'll always regret not having time to visit the owl and bengal cat cafe...

- Hafuu. It's a bit of a luxury, mostly serving gourmet steak at unshockingly hefty prices, and you have to hit it just right if you don't want to queue. But the breaded steak sandwich is a mighty lunch. Two places I didn't have time to visit: Kangaan temple bar and Kinkakuji, both well recommended.

It's worth mentioning Osaka - it's super weird having two of Japan's biggest cities a half hour train ride apart. Imagine if Manchester and Birmingham almost overlapped? I only spent a couple of days there for a New Japan wrestling show but it seems nice, less historic and more functional than Kyoto. Ichiran Dotonbori is amazing ramen and a weird little ride into semi-automated Japanese restaurants. Nipponbashi Denden Town is decent if you're a huge nerd like me and want to browse trading cards and toy shops. That's about all I saw.

#travel #japan #Workaway #iwanai #hokkaido #japanese #apps #izu #kofu