Kyoto Day Itinierary #1: The Temples of Higashiyama#

I recommend getting to Kiyomizu-dera as early as you can stomach. It’s one of the most popular sights in Kyoto, and the crowds will build early. The bus drops off at Kiyomizumichi - at the base of the hill. If you take a taxi, you can get dropped off much farther up.

If you’re up for a hike, you can visit a bunch of beautiful temples. The objective of this route is to hike from Kiyomizu-dera to Ginkaku-ji - it’s about 5 kilometers overall.

Here’s the waypoints to visit:

• Kiyomizu-dera
• Kodaiji-temple
• (I wish I had noticed this when I was here) the Grave of Ishikawa Goemon. He’s the Robin Hood of Japan.
• Nanzen-ji
• the Philosopher’s Path to…
• Ginkaku-ji. Called the “Silver Pavilion” in comparison to Kinkaku-ji’s “Golden Pavilion”, it’s my favorite of the two. The pavilion itself is indeed less impressive, but the gardens on the grounds are much better.

I actually don’t recommend walking the Philosopher’s Path itself the whole way if you’re going to visit the temples along the way - you’ll have to hike up and down the hillside over and over. Just hike up once, then route through the residential area at base of the temples. If you route from temple to temple, Google maps can show you the way.

Alternatively, if you’re there during cherry blossom season, the Philosopher’s Path is one of the most famous places to see the flowers. Whether or not you want to deal with the concomitant crowds is up to you.