What to See

観光地

Ordered by how far you have to walk, not by fame. Everything in the first section is closer than the nearest convenience store in most cities.

有名さではなく、宿からの距離順に並べています。

Walking times are approximate, measured from the front door. Opening hours change with the season, so each entry links to Google Maps rather than listing times that go out of date.

徒歩時間は玄関からの目安です。拝観時間は季節により変わるため、各項目はGoogleマップへのリンクにしています。

Within five minutes

徒歩5分圏

You can step out after dinner and see all of these before bed.

夕食後の散歩で回れる範囲です。

The Kamo River — two minutes away.鴨川。徒歩2分。

Pontocho alley at dusk — Pontocho at dusk — seven minutes, across the bridge.夕暮れの先斗町。橋を渡って徒歩7分。

Hanamikoji street, empty in the early morning — Hanamikoji, early. By ten it looks nothing like this.早朝の花見小路。10時にはこの景色ではありません。

The garden at Kennin-ji seen from inside — Kennin-ji, founded 1202 — four minutes away.建仁寺。1202年創建、徒歩4分。

Your nearest temple is also one of the best

最寄りの寺が、実は屈指の名刹です

Kennin-ji is four minutes from the door and is Kyoto's oldest Zen temple. Most visitors walk past it on their way to somewhere more famous, which means it is often quiet.

建仁寺は徒歩4分。京都最古の禅寺でありながら、他の名所へ向かう人が素通りするため、比較的空いています。

The twin dragons painted on the ceiling of the Dharma Hall at Kennin-ji — The twin dragons on the Dharma Hall ceiling, painted in 2002 for the temple's 800th anniversary. You lie back on the floor to look at them. 法堂天井の双龍図。創建800年を記念して2002年に描かれたものです。

The Wind God and Thunder God screens — The Wind and Thunder Gods, by Tawaraya Sotatsu — a national treasure belonging to this temple. The original is held at the Kyoto National Museum; a full-size reproduction is displayed here. 俵屋宗達筆「風神雷神図屏風」。建仁寺所蔵の国宝です。原本は京都国立博物館に寄託されており、寺では高精細の複製を公開しています。

Kamo River	鴨川	2 min. The riverbank path runs for miles. In summer, restaurants build wooden terraces out over the water — kawadoko. Early morning here is the best free thing in Kyoto.	徒歩2分。河川敷の遊歩道が続きます。夏は納涼床が並びます。
Kennin-ji Temple	建仁寺	4 min. Kyoto's oldest Zen temple, founded 1202. The twin dragons painted on the Dharma Hall ceiling are worth the visit alone. Halls open from 10:00 — the grounds are quiet and walkable well before that.	徒歩4分。1202年創建、京都最古の禅寺。法堂の双龍図が見どころ。拝観は10時から。境内は早朝から静かに歩けます。
Hanamikoji Street	花見小路	5 min. The teahouse street everyone photographs. Go at 7 in the morning and you will have it almost to yourself.	徒歩5分。朝7時頃なら人がほとんどいません。
Miyagawa-cho	宮川町	2 min. One of Kyoto's five remaining geisha districts, and the quieter one. It begins at the end of our lane.	徒歩2分。五花街のひとつ。この路地の先から始まります。
Pontocho Alley	先斗町	7 min. A lantern-lit alley barely wide enough for two people, packed with restaurants. Cross the bridge and turn left.	徒歩7分。四条大橋を渡って北へ。提灯の並ぶ細い路地。

Ten to twenty-five minutes

徒歩10〜25分圏

Yasaka Shrine	八坂神社	10 min. Open at all hours, lit through the night, and free. The shrine at the head of Shijo Street, and the origin of the Gion Festival.	徒歩10分。24時間参拝可能、境内は無料。祇園祭の起点です。
Shirakawa Canal	白川	10 min. Willows, stone bridges and old wooden houses along a narrow canal. Quieter and, many think, prettier than Hanamikoji.	徒歩10分。柳と石橋と町家。花見小路より静かです。
Maruyama Park	円山公園	12 min. Behind Yasaka Shrine. Its weeping cherry is one of the most famous trees in Japan.	徒歩12分。八坂神社の奥。しだれ桜で知られます。
Chion-in Temple	知恩院	15 min. The largest wooden gate in Japan. Standing under it is the point.	徒歩15分。日本最大級の三門。
Nishiki Market	錦市場	12 min. A covered street of food stalls, five blocks long. Most close by early evening, so go in the afternoon.	徒歩12分。夕方には多くが閉まります。
Kodai-ji Temple	高台寺	15 min. Best known for its illuminations in spring and autumn, when the garden is lit after dark.	徒歩15分。春秋のライトアップが有名です。
Ninen-zaka & Sannen-zaka	二年坂・産寧坂	18 min. Stone-stepped lanes of preserved shopfronts climbing towards Kiyomizu. Beautiful, and shoulder to shoulder by ten in the morning.	徒歩18分。清水寺へ続く石畳の坂。午前10時には大変混雑します。
Kiyomizu-dera Temple	清水寺	20–25 min, uphill at the end. Opens at 6:00 in the morning — see below.	徒歩20〜25分（最後は上り坂）。朝6時開門。下記参照。

Yasaka Shrine — open at any hour, lit through the night.八坂神社。24時間参拝可能。

Kiyomizu-dera — opens at 6:00.清水寺。朝6時開門。

The best advice on this page

このページで最も伝えたいこと

Go early. Absurdly early.

とにかく早い時間に行ってください

Kyoto's famous places are crowded from about nine in the morning until late afternoon. Before eight they are nearly empty, and they are a completely different experience — you can hear the gravel under your own feet.

主要な観光地は午前9時から夕方まで大変混雑します。8時前はほとんど人がいません。

Jet lag is on your side. If you wake at five, do not lie there — go out.

時差ぼけで早く目が覚めたら、そのまま出かけるのが得策です。

6:00 — Kiyomizu-dera. It opens at six. Walk up through Sannen-zaka with the shutters still down and the stones wet from the night.
6時 — 清水寺。開門と同時に。産寧坂は店が閉まっていて静かです。
Any hour — Yasaka Shrine. Never closes. Lit all night.
時間を問わず — 八坂神社。24時間参拝可能です。
6:30 — the Kamo River. Two minutes from the door. Herons, joggers, and the hills going pink behind the city.
6時半 — 鴨川。玄関から2分です。
7:00 — Hanamikoji and Shirakawa. Empty. The one hour of the day when photographs of these streets do not have forty other people in them.
7時 — 花見小路・白川。ほぼ無人です。

Come back for breakfast afterwards. You will have seen more by nine than most visitors see all day.

朝食は戻ってからでも十分間に合います。

Half a day out

半日〜1日

Fushimi Inari	伏見稲荷大社	9 min by train from Gion-Shijo, no changes, about ¥240. The thousands of vermilion gates. Open 24 hours — go at dusk or after dark and the difference is extraordinary. The full climb up the mountain takes two to three hours.	京阪で9分、乗換なし、約240円。24時間参拝可能。山頂までは往復2〜3時間。
Nanzen-ji & the Philosopher's Path	南禅寺・哲学の道	25 min by bus or 40 min on foot. A Roman-looking brick aqueduct in a temple precinct, then a canal-side walk north under cherry trees.	バスで約25分。水路閣から哲学の道へ。
Arashiyama	嵐山	45–55 min. Bamboo grove, river, monkeys on the hill. Go before nine or after four.	45〜55分。竹林、渡月橋、モンキーパーク。
Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)	金閣寺	40–50 min by bus. Small site, enormous crowds, and still worth it — particularly under snow.	バスで40〜50分。雪の日は格別です。
Tofuku-ji	東福寺	15 min by train. The best autumn colour in the city, and correspondingly impossible in late November.	電車で15分。紅葉の名所。11月下旬は大変混雑します。

The bamboo grove at Arashiyama. Go before nine or after four — in between it is shoulder to shoulder. 嵐山の竹林。9時前か16時以降が狙い目です。

Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion — Kinkaku-ji — small site, enormous crowds, still worth it.金閣寺。混雑しますが一見の価値があります。

Round temple windows framing autumn maples — Temple interiors reward a slow visit — and work in the rain.堂内の眺めは雨の日にも楽しめます。

Going further — Osaka, Nara, Uji →さらに遠くへ — 大阪・奈良・宇治 →

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