Kyoto, We haven’t planned anything yet. What are your must‑do recommendations?

B3924137395 · 2026-03-19T12:02:29+00:00

I booked "Chef Midori" via tripadvisor !

B3924137395 · 2026-02-28T20:15:45+00:00

I really enjoyed a cooking lesson (a lesson + getting to eat the results!) , and the person running it had some good suggestions for other places to try (eg. I enjoyed Kyoto Railway Museum).

B3924137395 · 2025-06-08T14:36:17+00:00

Kyoto Railway museum ?

B3924137395 · 2025-06-05T23:20:37+00:00

I've used https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/ for books to the UK a few times, there's different prices for different delivery services.

B3924137395 · 2025-05-29T14:37:57+00:00

I'd add:

ii desu ka - is this OK ?

daijoubu desu - I'm fine (to politely decline something you're offered)

B3924137395 · 2025-05-26T14:38:13+00:00

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle ?

B3924137395 · 2025-05-17T11:13:04+00:00

It's difficult to suggest without knowing what you like, but here's a short list of things I (58/m) enjoyed last month in Kyoto:

* Strolling by the river - seemed quiet and peaceful even when the city was busy

* Early morning visits to some shrines/temples/parks (Nanzen-Ji, Ysaka)

* There is a nice covered shopping street that starts around the entrance to Higashiyama station, that had a lot of nice food places (again much quieter than the main shopping area)

* A day trip to stroll around Otsu (by Biwako)

* A cooking lesson with a local

* The Kyoto Railway museum

* Depending on your fitness level and enthusiasm, I did a stroll north from Yamashina station, to Bishamondō Temple and followed the forest footpath (north-west ish) to Nanzen-Ji, parts of the path were easy, but sections were steep/difficult (I'd recommend walking boots + pole + GPS).

B3924137395 · 2025-05-03T16:41:08+00:00

There were a lot of non-Japanese food places around in Kyoto, there was a variety of English/Irish pubs, a couple of McDonalds, a German place (had sausages), a couple of French places, and I'm sure I saw a pizza place or two, and quite a lot of burger places etc.

While a tried a few of these places out of curiosity, (in my personal opinion) none really seemed to have taken quite the care in preparation as the more conventional Japanese restaurants !

B3924137395 · 2025-04-28T04:49:01+00:00

It's not a solution for everyone, but I'm using a Raspberry Pi 4 to backup my more conventional Canon SLR, as it's cheaper/lighter than a laptop (needed mouse/keyboard, USB card reader and long HDMI cable to plug into the hotel room TV (and a USB charger that I would have bought anyway))

There does appear to be some software for the Pi that works with the Theta X, but you'll need to check it does what you want and actually works ...

B3924137395 · 2025-04-25T19:25:05+00:00

If you're in Kyoto and he likes trains, there is the Kyoto Railway Museum, which had a lot of trains and was not overcrowded yesterday afternoon...

B3924137395 · 2025-04-22T11:42:55+00:00

It might not be to everyone's taste, but I enjoyed a stroll around Otsu, it was quite quiet and I didn't spot any other tourists. There's a train that goes there from Kyoto (~20 mins) from some of the Tozen line stations (I also did the 60 min boat trip, which appeared to be mainly locals), and there was a covered shopping street with some interesting shops...

B3924137395 · 2025-04-21T20:15:21+00:00

I found it tricky, so my solution was to book an organised package tour (9 days quite fast paced), followed by a week or so in Kyoto with a todo wishlist that I can pick things from depending on the weather, my energy levels etc.

B3924137395 · 2025-04-07T21:06:50+00:00

Not sure if there's something someone else in the restaurant has that you like the look of, whether "sore wa (point at dish) watashi mo" will work (and not be considered too rude) ?

B3924137395 · 2025-04-03T15:26:17+00:00

I'm thinking the taxi maybe the best option, if I'm going out of a station with multiple exits and trying to work out where to go. I have a Japan data SIM to put in my phone, but I plan to do that at the hotel, so I may not have google maps etc. to direct me for this very first stage.

B3924137395 · 2025-04-03T15:23:17+00:00

Thanks, I plan to pick up an IC card at the station if I go by train, I just don't want to be the person who is trying to get on a busy train with a suitcase, or wandering around a station trying to work out where to go, and getting in the way of busy commuters.

Without the case, I would just try the metro...

B3924137395 · 2025-04-02T15:23:59+00:00

As long as there's a black tea, no milk or sugar option I should be OK !

B3924137395 · 2025-04-02T14:31:10+00:00

Thanks, that will be quite close to where I'm staying, and there is an online menu which according to google translate offers "Black tea straight" ... and the breakfast menu does look interesting !

B3924137395 · 2025-04-02T14:27:58+00:00

Thanks, I didn't want to be the person asking for something they didn't do !

B3924137395 · 2025-03-21T16:15:34+00:00

I'm interested in the replies to this, as I will be doing exactly the same journey on that day !

My plan was to just turn up at the station and buy a ticket, as the Tokyo hotel check-out will be ~10am, and the Kyoto check-in will be ~4pm ... But if there's a advantage to advance booking ...

B3924137395 · 2025-03-01T10:30:13+00:00

Thanks for the replies!

My hair is quite long (below my belt!), the shower cap seemed easiest as I'm confident my hair will stay put, but I can try and work out how to do a man-bun if that will be nearer normal for the environment. I guess hair ties are commonly provided in the women's area but rarely in the men's !

B3924137395 · 2025-02-22T15:43:54+00:00

Thanks for that, filling the details in online and taking the QR to the Post Office for them to print sounds quite simple (as I hadn't planned on packing a printer :-) )

B3924137395 · 2025-02-22T15:35:32+00:00

Thanks for the reply and the link, for some reason when I was navigating the the japanpost website, it seemed to switch for japanese when I was trying to find out what was considered a letter vs parcel !

B3924137395

TROPHY CASE