Skiing in the Hakuba Valley
The Hakuba Valley is located deep in the Japanese Alps, approximately 3 hours from Tokyo.
Once the capital of Japan, Kyoto is a city on the island of Honshu. It’s famous for its Buddhist temples, peaceful gardens, imperial palaces, Shinto shrines, traditional wooden houses, and so much more.
Over a few days, I recommend at least four, it’s easy to explore the city by dividing it into east and west of the Kamo River that runs through the city centre.
To the northwest, a train ride from the city centre to Arashiyama, where after a short walk, you’ll arrive at the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. The winding path takes you deep into the forest, with the enormous and spectacular bamboo rising upwards, creating a green canopy.
Nearby, the park goes down to the Katsura River, where men push and steer the traditional boats up and down with long bamboo poles.
Walk along the riverfront to the village of Arashiyima, with lots of cafés, and restaurants to relax it’s a great place to watch as the rickshaw runners wait for their next ride as the young local girls wander up and down dressed in kimonos.
A 40-minute bus ride will take you from Arashiyama village to Kinkakuji Temple, a Zen Buddhist Golden Pavillion, whose top two floors are covered in gold leaf, and the surrounding gardens, is a beautiful way to spend a few hours, many locals come to burn incense and give offerings.
From The Golden Pavillion, a bus can take you back to Kyoto main station.
Explore the eastern side of the city by starting in the north at the Ginkakuji, Jishō-ji Temple or even Silver Pavillion, and from there, it’s a 5km walk south, which takes you back to the Higashiyama district via Gion.
In contrast to the Gold Pavillion, the Silver Pavillion isn’t covered in silver, but it is said the temple, which was once covered in black lacquer, would reflect the moonlight, giving a shimmering silver glow.
Explore both the beautiful and tranquil Upper and Lower gardens with it’s ponds, springs and stone bridges.
From here, wander south towards and along the 2km Philosopher’s Path before making your way towards Gion, Kyoto’s most famous Geisha district. Here, you’ll find boutiques, restaurants, tea houses and rows of wooden merchant houses.
View the exquisite Geisha or the intricate dance of the Maiko (young Geiko), to the wistful sounds of the Shamisen in the beautiful Gion District, finishing with a traditional tea ceremony.
Once refreshed from tea, make your way up to Sannenzaka on the lower slopes of the eastern mountains. This is one of the city’s best-preserved historic areas, with narrow lanes and businesses selling pottery, sweets and crafts.
Head back into the city and make your way to the narrow Pontocho Lane for dinner.
It’s easy to spend a day in the city centre. Look up to see the tangle of wires above the streets before finding the food markets and their range of fresh produce, although it’s disappointing to see so much wrapped in plastic.
The Kyoto main train station is anything but traditional with its structure of metal and glass. If you visit at night, you’ll see the illuminated stairs that tell stories about Japan.
Ride the escalator up to the food hall to find small ‘hole-in-the-wall’ shops selling delicious Ramen.
Last but certainly not least, 3 km southeast of the city is a highly recommended early morning hike, before the crowds, to the top of Mount Inari.
This Shinto shrine, dating from 711 A.D., with its path of thousands of vermilion traditional Tori gates dedicated to the Shinto God of Rice, is incredible.
Wander up the mountainside in the shade of the gates at your own pace, and once you reach the top, the views across the city of Kyoto are also spectacular.
Nicole x
Below is a map with all the places mentioned above located. I covered this over 3 days which left a day to take a day trip to Hiroshima on the Shinkansen Train from Kyoto station.
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