Three nights in 京都 (Kyōto)

Part of our Spring 2025 trip to Japan

This was my third trip to Japan’s ancient capital. I visited in 2011 and then again in 2023. While in town we stayed in a 京町家（kyōmachiya） just off of 五条通（Gojō-dōri） in 下京区（Shimogyō Ward）, not far from the center of town.

A child stands in front of a traditional Japanese house. The house is brown and yellow, and has two storeys.

A woman sits at a small dining room table in a brighly-lit room. The back wall of the room is actually a traditional Japanese sliding door.

That first night we were still very jet lagged. We got dinner nearby at 赤まる（Akamaru）, and went to bed soon after.

Our first stop the next morning was Wanderers Stand for coffee and toast. Lovely coffee and lovely toast, though no obvious connection to Bolton. Then it was back to Kyoto Station to catch ひかり（Hikari） 535 to Himeji (which see). After returning to Kyoto on ひかり（Hikari） 508, we took the 嵐山本線（Randen Arashiyama Line） to see 天龍寺（Tenryū-ji）, the Bamboo Forest, and 大河内山荘（Ōkōchi Sansō）.

A statue of a Buddhist priest stands on a pedestal. There’s a small box for offerings in front of the pedestal. — 夢窓（Musō）疎石（Soseki）

Old stone stairs ascend a small hill. Lots of small brush and some trees surround the path. — Steps at Tenryū-ji

A white-and-dark-wood traditional Japanese building stands in front of some trees and a courtyard. — Tenryū-ji

timbray I’m on a train in Kyoto and the girl sitting opposite me has a sweatshirt that reads: “UNAVAILABLE ERR 451 PRIVATEREASONS”.

24 March 2025

A child with long, dirty blonde hair stands amid a forest made entirely of bamboo. She’s in a colorful, floral dress. — Erin among the bamboo

We worked up quite an appetite putting all those steps in, so we ate dinner as soon as we got back to Kyoto Station. We went to かつくら（Katsukura） up on the 11^th floor for 豚カツ（tonkatsu）. It was super yummy.

We spent the morning of our second day in town at 伏見（Fushimi ）稲荷（Inari）大社（-taisha）, which I’d been to twice before. I was really excited to show it to Erin. She hiked up the whole way! I was so proud.

The edges of a number of traditional Japanese roofs. There is a combination of woodwork and a golden-colored metal. A rope with paper and tassels is strung below one of the roofs.

A woman and a child pose for a photo at the end of a tunnel made of many vermilion torii gates.

The back of a child’s head and one of their ears is visible in the foreground. In the blurred background, some vermilion torii are visible, as are some stone kitsune wearing red cloth bibs.

A child in a pink sweatshirt with a long ponytail walks alone in a tunnel made of many vermilion torii gates.

A statue of Dakiniten, often identified with or merged with Inari Okami in syncretic Buddhist/Shinto thought, stands beyond several stone and vermilion torii gates.

A child and a woman climb stone steps within a tunnel of vermilion torii gates. The gates are lit up by the sun in a very vibrant manner.

A child with a neutral expression poses for a photo. It seems likely the child did not particularly want the photo to be taken. Behind the child are several small, red torii gates.

A woman and a child walk away from the camera, down a tunnel of vermilion torii gates.

After climbing up and down the mountain shrine, we had a surprisingly decent lunch at the generically-named お食事処いなり（Inari Restaurant）. Then we went to Nara.

After some train-related challenges on our return to Kyoto, we had dinner at 柚子元（Yuzugen） on the main alley of 先斗町（Pontochō）, very close to the 鴨川（Kamogawa）.

A woman and a child walk single-file down an incredibly small alley between buildings.

A modern looking tower is white, with a windowed section at the top lit up in red and a similar section at the bottom lit up in blue.

A crane stands in a small stream. It’s looking up to the roof of an adjacent building, on which stands another crane.

Until next time, Kyoto.