10 Things to do in Kyoto (Japan) for First Timers

Kyoto is such a beautiful place to visit, with lots of temples, shrines and gardens. Although it has become a lot more crowded in the past few years, it still retains its traditional and peaceful charm, which we really love about it.

This guide is for first timers, including must-see attractions and our favourite experiences in Kyoto. We’d recommend spending at least 3-5 days, especially if you want to do some day trips (like Arashiyama, Uji and Nara).

1. Visit Fushimi Inari Shrine

Fushimi Inari Shrine is extremely famous for its thousands of red torii gates, which you’ve probably seen before! This Shinto Shrine is the most important of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto God of Rice, and you’ll see lots of fox statues around, since foxes were believed to be Inari’s messengers.

🎟️ Admission: Free
✍️ Tip: to avoid the most crowds, we’d recommend going very early (we went around 7am). It’s also better to take your photos away from the entrance (since everyone stops there). If you walk further up the trail, it’s quieter, more peaceful, and you’re more likely to get photos without anyone in them.

2. Visit Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)

Kinkakuji is a Zen Buddhist Temple, with its top two floors covered in gold leaves, which is why it’s also known as the ‘Golden Pavilion’. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular amongst tourists, so it can get very crowded.

🎟️ Tickets: 500 yen to enter

3. Kimono Dressing & Tea Ceremony

This was one of our favourite things we did in Kyoto! We both got dressed in a traditional Kimono, experienced a traditional tea ceremony and also made our own plate from gold leaves (or you can choose to learn calligraphy).

It was such a beautiful and memorable experience, and we did all of this at Nishiki Orizuruya (next to Nishiki Market).

In general, you can also rent kimonos to wear out for a day via Klook.com. Get up to 10% off with our discount code FEASTONITKLOOK.

4. Explore Gion

Gion is Kyoto’s geisha district, known for its traditional wooden houses, teahouses, quiet laneways, and rich cultural heritage. It truly feels like you’ve stepped back in time!

Things to do in Gion:

Wander through Hanami-koji Street, which is lined with traditional wooden houses and tea houses where geiko and maiko entertain. It’s the best place to soak up Gion’s historic charm.
Stroll along the Shirakawa Canal District – a picturesque area along a canal, where you can also see Tatsumi Jinja Shrine.
Visit Yasaka Shrine – one of Kyoto’s most important Shinto shrines, and well known for its summer festival, the Gion Matsuri (celebrated every July).
We were exploring the streets in Gion and randomly stumbled upon The Common One bar, which had matcha cocktails! The bar was stylish and hidden away, so there weren’t too many people when we went. We also loved all the cocktails we tried, particularly the matcha cocktail.

5. Explore Higashiyama District

Just a short walk from Gion is the Higashiyama District - one of Kyoto’s most beautifully preserved historic areas, located between Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Yasaka Shrine. It’s also a great spot to snap a photo with the iconic Yasaka Pagoda as your backdrop.

Things to do in the Higashiyama District:

Wander through Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka - two stone-paved pedestrian lanes, lined with traditional buildings, shops and snack stalls. They also lead directly up to the famous Kiyomizudera Temple, so it can get quite busy!
Visit Kōdai-ji Temple – a Zen temple with beautiful gardens, bamboo groves, and seasonal light shows. We saw the annual ‘Autumn Illumination show’ (late October - early December) so the temple grounds and gardens were illuminated with lights and there was a beautiful light show (pictured below).

6. Visit Kiyomizudera Temple at sunrise or sunset

Kiyomizudera is one of Kyoto’s most iconic temples, famous for its massive wooden stage that offers breathtaking panoramic views of the city.

It’s especially stunning during cherry blossom season in spring and the vibrant foliage of autumn. Within the temple grounds, you’ll also find the romantic Jishu Shrine and the sacred Otowa Waterfall.

🎟️ Tickets: 400 yen
✍️ Tip: For the best experience, visit at sunrise or sunset - but be prepared for large crowds, particularly during peak seasons!

7. Visit a 100-Year-Old Tea House

Rokujuan is a 100-year-old tea house and the former residence of Japanese-style painter, Imao Keinen. It’s a peaceful spot with a small beautiful garden that also adds to its charm.

We mainly came here to try their hanawarabimochi (pictured below) - a delicate rice cake dessert with edible flowers inside. It was light and refreshing, and served with homemade brown sugar syrup and soybean flour.

✍️ Note: you’ll need to remove your shoes when entering the tea house.
🗓️ You can make a reservation via their website or walk in.

8. Explore Arashiyama

Arashiyama is incredibly beautiful and packed with so many things to see and do, such as visiting the famous Bamboo Forest, Okochi Sanso Garden, Monkey Park, and Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple - just to name a few.

We’d recommend spending a full day here to make the most of it.

Read our detailed guide on ‘Things to do in Arashiyama’

9. Collect Goshuin as a souvenir

If you’re planning to visit several temples and shrines, we highly recommend purchasing a Goshuin book and collecting Goshuin.

Goshuin is a unique stamp or seal that commemorates your visit to a temple or shrine. Each one is beautifully hand-inscribed by temple or shrine staff and typically includes the temple name, date, and a short message or prayer.

They usually cost between 300 – 500 yen (cash only), and you can choose to have them written directly into your book or opt for a paper version to glue in later. We personally loved getting them written straight into our book, and it was so calming to watch the calligraphy being done right in front of us!

10. Visit Uji (Matcha Capital of the World)

Uji was one of our favourite places to visit in Japan and you’ll find all kinds of matcha here, like Matcha Ice Cream, Matcha Gyoza, Matcha Dango, Matcha Parfait, and even Matcha Ramen!

🚂 To get there, it takes ~30 minutes by train from Kyoto.

In Uji, you can also grind your own matcha and learn about the whole process at Chazuna Museum. It was such a fun experience and one of the main reasons we wanted to visit Uji! You can book tickets here.

You can also visit the famous Byodo-in Temple (which is also featured on the 10 yen coin) and the world’s oldest tea house (Tsuen Tea).

Plus, check out the different temples and shrines, such as:

Uji Shrine
Ujigami Jinja Shrine
Kōshō-ji Temple
Eishin-in Temple
Mimurotoji Temple

11. EAT !!

We’d recommend these places to eat in Kyoto:

Coco Ichibanya: one of our favourites! This is a popular chain in Japan, which serves delicious Katsu Curry. If you love spice, they even have spice levels up to Level 20 in some locations across Japan!
Pontocho: an alley with various bars and restaurants. We randomly stumbled upon Yuzugen Pontocho - a hot pot restaurant specialising in Yuzu, so most of their dishes and drinks use Yuzu!
Gion Tanto: serves Okonomayaki, but make sure to go early or when it opens, since the line can get really long. You’ll also need to take off your shoes and some tables require you to sit on the floor.
Udon Main: serves udon in a small, quiet indoor area. The noodles are thinner than the typical Udon noodles you may be familiar with, but we still really liked it! It was also not crowded like other restaurants, so we enjoyed coming here a few times to escape the crowds.
Chao Chao: very famous for their dumplings, but the wait can be up to an hour! The dumplings were good, but we personally didn’t think it was worth waiting this long for them.
Brulee: they serve a Crème Brûlée Donut, which they’ve called the ‘World’s Best Donut’. It was definitely really delicious and we would get it again!

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