Things to See:

  • Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion)
  • Fushimi Inari Taisha
  • Kiyomizu-dera
  • Ryoan-ji
  • Ginkaku-ji (the Silver Pavilion)
  • Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
  • Togetsu-kyō Bridge / Okochi-Sansō Villa
  • Gion district
  • Monkey Park

Tip: Kyoto is famous for engraved chopsticks — get your name in English on one and Japanese on the other; they make great gifts. Also famous for matcha if you want to take some home.

Restaurants:

  • Monk – wood-fired Neapolitan pizza on the Philosopher’s Path. Really good book in advance
  • Kichi Kichi – the best omurice in Kyoto, run by a famously eccentric showman chef who flips and plates the omelette as a full theatrical performance. Reserve ahead
  • Itsukichaya – aesthetic kaiseki with views near the Bamboo Forest.
  • Kara-Kusa Curry – the best curry in Kyoto and dirt cheap ($5–10); next-level, nothing like the standard brown-curry-and-cutlet. Go at an odd hour to beat the line
  • Kyoto Kanigin – all-you-can-eat king crab — A once-in-a-lifetime type meal; go hungry. Book about a month out
  • Yakiniku Yazawa – very high-end wagyu/kobe BBQ, some of the best meat going (pricier). Book one to two months out
  • Wagyu Hitsumabushi – great wagyu omakase
  • Menya Inoichi Hanare – ramen and tsukemen
  • Hikiniku To Come (Kyoto) – insane burgers, 3-patty set. It looks touristy but one of my faorite meals on the trip can also do it in Tokyo but Kyoto cooler. Get the extra patty..
  • Honke Owariya – soba noodles
  • Tatsumiya (Uji) – historic 19th-century ryotei, matcha-focused seasonal kaiseki overlooking the Uji River.
  • Tsudaro (Gion) – Kyoto kaiseki in a former geisha teahouse on Hanamikoji; antique tableware and a courtyard. Smart casual; closed Wednesdays and the third Tuesday
  • Gion Hanasato – teppanyaki (Kobe and Yonezawa beef) in a renovated machiya townhouse
  • Kodaiji Wakuden (Higashiyama) – two-Michelin-star flagship kaiseki near Kodaiji Temple. Smart elegant
  • Mankamero (Kamigyo) – 300+ years of history, imperial court cuisine, two Michelin stars. Smart elegant

Tip: Use Tabelog over Google Maps for reviews in Japan. Most great spots have lines unless you reserve ahead — and many of the best are tiny 8–10 seat stalls, so don’t skip a place just because it’s small.

Lodging:

A ryokan stay is highly recommended for a night or two — an old-school sliding-bamboo-door house, often with an onsen. Pricey but a genuinely authentic experience you can’t really get elsewhere (the one repeatedly recommended was Nishiyama, in Arashiyama). Other options: Kyoto Garden Ryokan Yachiyo and Kyoto Nanzen-ji Ryokan Yachiyo.

Nightlife:

  • Pontocho Alley – riverside bars and whiskey hunting
  • Zaza Pub
  • L’Escamoteur – famous speakeasy cocktail bar
  • Scotch and Branch