Kyoto Before 8 A.M.
The famous sights are crowded by mid morning. Here is a simple early start plan that gives you the city at its quietest.
Kyoto has around two thousand temples and shrines, and by ten o'clock it can feel like every one of them has a tour group in front of it. The fix is not complicated. Set an alarm. The city wakes up slowly, and if you get there first, you get a very different Kyoto.
6:00 a.m. Fushimi Inari
The shrine with thousands of vermilion torii gates is open around the clock and free to enter. At dawn the lower gates are nearly empty, and the further up the mountain you hike, the quieter it gets. Most visitors turn around well before the top. You do not have to.
7:30 a.m. Arashiyama
The bamboo grove is short, famous and, by late morning, shoulder to shoulder. Early, it is just you, the wind and the creak of the stalks. Afterwards, walk along the river or into one of the smaller temple gardens nearby while the area is still waking up.
Or start at Kiyomizu-dera
If you are staying on the east side of the city, Kiyomizu-dera opens early and the walk up through the old lanes of Higashiyama, before the shops open, is half the experience.
A few things that make the day easier
- Get an IC card for buses and trains and keep some cash. Plenty of smaller places still prefer it.
- City buses get crowded. Combining the subway, trains and your own two feet is usually faster.
- In Gion, some private lanes are off limits to tourists. Follow the signs and do not chase anyone for a photo.
- Spring blossom and autumn colour are stunning and also the busiest weeks of the year. Early mornings matter even more then.
Spend the middle of the day somewhere unplanned, take a nap if you need one, and come back out for the evening. Kyoto rewards people who keep strange hours.
