Kyoto in One Day - Tour

General information

Program details

This is a popular tour visiting the renowned sights of Kyoto including several World Heritage sites. On this tour you will be accompanied by an English speaking guide. This tour consists of a visit to Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji Temple, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Sanjusangendo Temple, and Kiyomizu-dera Temple. This tour will take you to famous temples, a shrine, a castle, and other majestic places of interest in Kyoto.

Nijō Castle - A flatland castle in Kyoto built in 1603 and consists of two concentric rings. The grounds house a renowned Japanese landscape garden, the Ninomaru Palace Garden

Kinkaku-ji Temple -  Listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994, it was named Kinaku-Ji, meaning 'Temple of the Golden Pavilion', because of the famous Golden Pavilion, which was actually a pagoda built to house the sacred relics of Buddha.

Kyoto Imperial Palace - The palace, known historically as Dairi, was the residence of the Emperor and the establishment dates back to the year 794 during the Heian-kyo Relocation.

Kitano Tenmangū (if Kyoto Imperial Palace is closed) - The Kitano Tenmangu Shrine is a shrine built in the northwest section of Kyoto over 1000 years ago and was built during 947AD by the emperor of the time in honour of Sugawara no Michizane.

Fushimi Inari Taisha - Dedicated to Inari, the deity of a good harvest and success in business, Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head of all of Japan's Inari shrines

Sanjusangen-do Temple - It is located in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto, it houses a representation of what is immortal. Particularly impressive is its collection of 1001 statues.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple - Halfway up Mt. Otowa, one of the peaks in Kyoto’s Higashiyama mountain range, stands the temple, to which large numbers of visitors come to pay their respects to Kannon, a deity of great mercy and compassion.

This tour is recommended for those traveling to Kyoto for the first time. After the tour, participants will be dropped off again in Avanti (across from Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit).

Important information

The Kyoto Imperial Palace is closed to visitors on the following days: Mondays (it is also closed on the following day if Monday is a national holiday) and whenever there is an Imperial Household event, so the tour will visit Kitano Tenmangu Shrine instead. If the closed day falls on the 25th, the tour will visit Nishi Hongan-ji Temple. 

Nijo Castle is closed on Tuesdays in January, July, August, and December. (It will also be closed on the following day if Tuesday is a national holiday). If closed, Ryoan-ji Temple will be visited instead.

Participants will need to walk from the parking lot to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine (about 15 minutes one-way).

The order of activities and arrival times may differ depending on road conditions and congestion at destinations.

There will be no designated seats.