The best things to do in Kyoto
The best things to do in Kyoto
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00:00What's going on everybody?
00:15This is IslandHopperTV and today we're coming to you from the cultural capital of Japan.
00:20This here is Kyoto.
00:21We are going to show you 26 things to do.
00:25First up on the list, we are here at Nishiki Market.
00:28Now it's open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. but I recommend you get here early because it does
00:33get very crowded and it is a very narrow food street.
00:37But this is definitely one of the best food streets I've ever been to anywhere in the
00:42world and certainly in Japan.
00:45I was blown away by the amount of variety in food you can find here.
00:50Everything from seafood to tempura, sushi, seafood skewers, also Wagyu beef, Kobe beef.
00:58Really a lot of variety here, even sea urchin.
01:02And at the end of the road is the Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine.
01:05It's actually a Shinto shrine that's at the intersection of the Teramachi shopping street
01:11for those of you looking to do some shopping outside of food.
01:14Plenty of different retail stores here.
01:17Also the good news is it's all under a roof in this area so if it's raining or snowing,
01:23you're completely protected.
01:24Here we have the Samurai Ninja Museum.
01:27This is right along the Teramachi street and it's worth it to go in there.
01:31It's a small museum but it's jam-packed with history about everything from the Samurais
01:37to the Shogun to the Emperors.
01:40You're going to learn a lot about Japan here and you're going to throw some ninja stars
01:44at the end where you compete against others who are in your museum tour group.
01:49Now here we are at the Kyoto Tower which is an observation tower located here in the heart
01:55of Kyoto right next to the Central Station.
01:58It's a steel tower and it's the tallest structure in Kyoto standing over 100 meters.
02:05The cool thing is you get great views overlooking the city 360 degrees as well as the mountain
02:12ranges that surround the ancient city of Kyoto.
02:17The ticket price is 800 yen which comes out to around $5.40 so it's really an affordable
02:24fun thing to do.
02:26I recommend going up there during sunset but again the big reason you're going up here
02:31is to get these views.
02:32I would suggest planning for about an hour to go up here.
02:36Also when you go down the elevator they have a bar with a restaurant that you can hang
02:41out at but you have to actually go and order a drink or something to eat.
02:47You can't just hang out and take pictures unless you're a customer.
02:51They also have a food court at the bottom level.
02:54Now here we are at Yomizo-dera, a temple on top of a hill in Kyoto.
02:59Now this is a Buddhist temple dating all the way back to 778 AD.
03:05It was owned by the Buddhist Kitahosa sect under the Enchin Shonin.
03:11It is one of several UNESCO World Heritage Sites here in the ancient city of Kyoto.
03:17Here you will find several shrines and temples with this great view overlooking Kyoto from
03:24the mountains here.
03:26One of the things I want to point out about the difference between Buddhism and Shinto
03:31shrines, so Buddhism is more dedicated to the transition into the afterlife, more of
03:38a spiritual transition, whereas Shinto is more of a respect for the earthly plane, things
03:46like wind, water, land, mountains, so Shinto shrines more about the world and Buddhism
03:54more about the transition into the afterlife.
03:57So those are the two main types of shrines you'll find around Japan.
04:01Now here we are at Arishiyama.
04:04This is the second most important sightseeing area around Kyoto with a variety of different
04:09attractions for you to check out.
04:12Here we are now at the bamboo forest.
04:15Like the bamboo forest you see here, now this is a naturally occurring forest here
04:20in Arishiyama.
04:21The forest consists mostly of moso bamboo and several pathways that tourists like to
04:27walk around and there's more than one little grove, so walk around and do check those out.
04:34You can also see shrines and other temples in the area which makes this even more unique.
04:42There's actually a lot of things for you to do out here in Arishiyama.
04:46Let's talk about the local food.
04:48Obviously you're going to have miso, ramen noodle, udon noodle, and then you have pot
04:52stickers with plenty of soups here, and then you have unique foods like Wagyu beef, chicken
04:59teriyaki, you're going to have that kind of food here, and then you have tempura which
05:04is a popular food all across Japan, and you have seafood at the markets, wash it down
05:11with an acai or a Sapporo beer.
05:14Now what do you say we head over to the railway museum?
05:16This is an interesting museum, especially here in Japan because the way I see it, nobody
05:22does trains like the Japanese do, whether it be the Shinkansen or the metro system.
05:30In fact in Singapore that amazing MRT system was designed by a Japanese company, so if
05:36you're really into transportation and trains, I highly recommend you come over here and
05:41take a look at all of the technology that has been evolving here in Japan with the railways,
05:48and definitely consider riding the Shinkansen while in Japan.
05:52Tickets cost 1,500 yen per person, that's around $10, and it's really worth it in my
05:59opinion.
06:00And just to let you know, the fastest train in the world is actually located here in Japan.
06:07It's the Low Series Maglev with a record speed of 603 kilometers per hour.
06:13Now from the railway museum we're actually going to head over to the Kamo River Walk.
06:18This here is a nature walk that goes right through the city, depending on the season
06:23you'll get different colors, if it's in the spring you'll get the cherry blossom, if it's
06:27in the fall time you'll get the fall colors, oranges and reds, but when I was here in late
06:34October the trees still had not started to transition into the fall colors, but either
06:39way I found this to be a very relaxing place to do some exercise, people like to fish from
06:46here as well, but definitely a place to do a little stroll.
06:51Now let's talk about some Kyoto nightlife, believe it or not there's actually way more
06:55happening than I ever suspected, and they have plenty of cozy streets for you to walk
06:59around and go in these little bars, do some karaoke, definitely be ready for some karaoke
07:05here.
07:06Some of those popular areas include Gion, also the Nishiki Market area, and then my
07:12favorite which was the Kiyomachi Dori neighborhood right there along the side of the river, but
07:17here's where you're going to find more of that cozy kind of ambiance that you expect
07:23from Japan, where you find those hole in the wall pubs with some ramen noodle afterwards.
07:29Like I said it's right there on the river, in fact I would suggest you do consider getting
07:34a hotel nearby Kiyomachi, I think this is probably the best area to get your hotel,
07:39especially if you're looking for the nightlife.
07:41Now we're headed to the Zen Buddha's temple known as Kinkaku-ji, it's actually a golden
07:46building right there on the lake, it's one of the most popular buildings in all of Japan
07:51and certainly in Kyoto.
07:53It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
07:57For me even more impressive than the actual golden temple was the grounds and the surrounding
08:03area that this temple is located on, really beautiful and scenic especially during the
08:09fall colors.
08:10I would suggest planning to do Arishiyama and Kinkaku-ji in the same day.
08:17Now here we are at the Fushimi Inari Shrine, this is popular with tourists because you
08:22walk up a mountain for about 2-3 hours round trip and it goes through a tunnel of more
08:29than 10,000 closely spaced orange torii gates that wind over the hills up the Mount Inari.
08:37This is a Shinto shrine that is actually the ethnic religion of the people of Japan, practiced
08:43by over 70% of the population.
08:46I did the hike up to the top of the mountain where they have the observatory, I would say
08:51definitely bring your hiking shoes for this one.
08:56Going up is definitely brutal but coming down is a breeze so that's a bright side to going
09:02up and then coming down getting an easy trek.
09:05But going up through these orange torii gates is quite nice.
09:09Now the reason it is painted this color red or orange is it's said to ward off the evil
09:15spirits.
09:16Now there is no entrance fee for this shrine.
09:20The best time I recommend visiting here is early in the morning between 7-8am if possible
09:26or during the night time, especially during the summer.
09:30But when you get up here you can see the observation views looking down into the Kyoto Valley area
09:36that connects to Osaka so great vantage point up here and it does make it worthwhile.
09:43And the trek down from this point is about 3 times faster than it is to come up.
09:48And then by the time the hike is done you have a great big appetite to try some of the
09:52street food here on the Fushimi Inari food street where you're going to find plenty of
09:59different varieties of Japanese food.
10:01But after a hike like that I would recommend some Kobe beef or maybe some Wagyu beef, maybe
10:07even some seafood or Takoyaki.
10:10By the way we did a full things to do travel guide for Osaka as well as 51 things to do
10:18in Tokyo.
10:19I highly recommend you watch those videos.
10:20I will put links to those below in the description and in the comments so don't forget to watch
10:26those after this one.
10:28And as we continue to show you the best things to do in Kyoto I want to thank all of our
10:32channel members who are supporting this channel and all of you subscribers really appreciate
10:37it.
10:38And once you get to the bottom of the food street here there is going to be a train that
10:43you can catch going on to the next destination.
10:46Like Gion this is an old heritage area, very historical here.
10:51You can get food, check out some of the shrines in the town, in the city area.
10:57Really popular with tourists and locals alike.
11:00So if you want an old town area this is where you're going to go right here in the heart
11:05of Kyoto in my opinion.
11:07Located in the popular Gisha neighborhood that actually bumps right up next to the Shiho
11:14Avenue and between the Yasaka Shrine in the east and the Kama River.
11:20And here we are at the Yasaka Shrine which is also known as the Gion Shrine.
11:24It's one of the most famous shrines in Kyoto.
11:27It was founded around 1350 years ago and they hold many festivals and ritual events here
11:36supporting local performances and other ceremonies.
11:40Actually when I was here there was a wedding of some sort going on so that was cool to
11:45see.
12:02Now we're headed over to the Nihojo Castle which was built in 1603.
12:07It was the primary residence for the first Shogun of the Edo period from 1603 to 1867.
12:16So as you know Kyoto was the former capital of Japan from 794 to 1868.
12:25That's why Kyoto is sometimes called the thousand year capital.
12:29The population of Kyoto is around 1.5 million people and home to 1600 Buddhist temples and
12:37400 Shinto shrines.
12:40So truly many shrines and temples here in Kyoto.
12:44Like the Tenryuji Zen Temple in Arashiyama which is the highest ranked of the five Zen
12:52temples around the Kyoto area and it's famous for its Japanese garden.
12:59And just a bit of information about what exactly Zen means.
13:03It's a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism which emphasizes the value of meditation and
13:10your intuition rather than the ritual process or study of scriptures.
13:17And just up the way is the Saga Torimodo Old Town which is another great place to walk
13:23around.
13:24You're going to find cemeteries and a really cool old village right at the foot of the
13:30mountains here.
13:32This one here is for those of you who want to get out of the city and get out of the
13:36hustle and bustle and into nature but an old town environment and finding old Japan right.
13:43So that's why you would come out to a place like this.
13:45And it's not too far from Arashiyama.
13:48Maybe 20 minutes by foot.
13:57And now here we are at another popular area.
13:59It's a food street.
14:00This is Sananzaka and here I basically came right down from Yomizu-dera and I was on this
14:08food street.
14:09It's very crowded here but definitely worth trying some of the food if you're hungry.
14:15One thing I would like to say is that each city I went to around Japan had a different
14:22popular food or cuisine that I came across.
14:25I would definitely say Osaka more the Wagyu and the Kobe beef.
14:30Whereas here it was more of the fried foods and ramens.
14:35Even Tokyo is a bit different than Kyoto and Osaka.
14:39Obviously in Osaka they have more of the Takoyaki.
14:43So these food streets exploring each town and then each food street and each city.
14:49Really amazing and definitely something you should do.
14:52And here I ended up getting some Japanese beef as you can see along with some pot stickers.
14:59And just putting a little bit of chili powder on the beef.
15:07And if you've ever wanted to try on a kimono or rent a kimono, this is the place to do
15:12it here in Kyoto.
15:13It's very popular with tourists and locals to wear one.
15:16Right now we're here at the Kyoto Imperial Palace.
15:19The Imperial Palace is open to the public year round and admission here is free.
15:27So that's a great thing to do right?
15:29Now there were many different mansions and tea houses around the area.
15:34Most of them have been torn down.
15:36Partially in part to natural disasters.
15:40Many of the builders have ravaged this area.
15:43Mostly because it's made of wood.
15:45But yeah it's a great place to walk around if you want the history of the old Japan.
15:51Learning about the emperors and the shoguns and basically how old Japan was run.
15:56This is really the main area for that.
16:00You're also going to find some Japanese gardens, koi fish ponds.
16:04They're not the best that I've seen in Japan but they're still pretty nice.
16:08In fact most of it was closed off unfortunately when I was there.
16:16Now something I did while here was get a haircut Japanese style.
16:20It's totally different than any style haircut I've ever gotten.
16:24Some of the things they use, the methods, the cutting techniques.
16:28And I found it to be interesting although typically there's going to be a language barrier
16:33that you have to overcome.
16:34But if you are up for it, go for it.
16:37It was definitely up there with one of the best haircuts that I've ever received.
16:41It was very clean cut and done with precision.
16:51Now here we are at the Kyoto Aquarium.
16:54Now whether you know this or not but Japan is definitely known for their aquariums.
16:58So I decided to check this one out.
17:01It's not on the level of Osaka that's for sure.
17:04But if you have kids you're probably going to want to bring them here.
17:08I wouldn't recommend this for adults if you're a couple.
17:13But if you have kids I do recommend this.
17:15Probably the highlight of the aquarium here is going to be the dolphins.
17:19But for me it was the salamanders.
17:35Now that we've shown you all around Kyoto I want to give you my final thoughts on whether
17:39or not you should visit here.
17:41My answer is absolutely.
17:43I would say that between Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, I would put Kyoto as number two just
17:53after Tokyo as a place you must visit.
17:57So don't miss this one.
17:59I would say if you're going to do Osaka you might as well include Kyoto.
18:03See you guys on the next one.
18:05You can also watch Tokyo and Osaka travel guides next.