Kyoto and the Nakasendo
Four days of temples, then two walking the old post road to Tokyo.
City Classic · 7 days · Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov
The classic Kyoto week, with the half that most people miss bolted on: after four days of temples, gardens and Gion, you take the train into the Kiso valley and walk a surviving stretch of the Nakasendo — the Edo-period highway between Kyoto and Tokyo — between two preserved post towns. It ends in Tokyo, which makes the contrast the point.
Day by day
- Day 1
Southern Higashiyama
Land, drop bags, and take the eastern hills while the light is still low.
15:00Fushimi Inari Taisha
Arriving late is an advantage here — the gates empty out after four and the shrine stays open.
Free and open around the clock. The crowds thin sharply about twenty minutes up the hill.
18:30Nishiki Market
A first dinner that needs no reservation and no Japanese.
Most stalls shut around 18:00; the covered arcade's restaurants run later.
- Day 2
The temple walk
Kiyomizu-dera down through the preserved lanes to Gion, on foot, all day.
07:30Kiyomizu-dera
The single best argument for setting an alarm on a holiday.
Opens at 06:00. By nine the approach lanes are shoulder to shoulder.
09:15Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka
Two preserved stone lanes that connect the morning's temple to the afternoon's.
10:45Kodai-ji
The bamboo grove here is a tenth the size of Arashiyama's and a hundredth as busy.
17:30Gion at dusk
The lanterns come on around six and the district changes character completely.
Photography is banned on the private lanes off Hanamikoji, and enforced with fines.
- Day 3
Arashiyama and the north-west
The other side of the city — bamboo, a moss temple, and the golden pavilion late.
07:30Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
Before eight it is quiet; after ten it is a queue with trees.
Fifteen minutes long end to end. Everything else in Arashiyama takes longer.
08:45Tenryu-ji garden
A fourteenth-century pond garden that has survived eight fires unchanged.
15:30Kinkaku-ji
Late afternoon light hits the gold face directly; morning does not.
One-way path, about forty minutes at a walk.
- Day 4
Nara, then east
A day trip to the older capital, back for an early night before the walk.
09:30Todai-ji
The Great Buddha Hall is the largest wooden building most people will ever stand in.
11:30Kasuga Taisha
Three thousand bronze and stone lanterns, along a path through the deer park.
- Day 5
Into the Kiso valley
Train to Nagiso, then the old road: Magome up over the pass and down into Tsumago.
10:30Magome-juku
A stone-paved post town on a hillside, and the start of the walk.
There is a same-day baggage forwarding service between the two post towns — use it.
12:00Magome-toge pass
The surviving cobbled section of the Edo highway, through cedar forest and two waterfalls.
About 8 km and roughly three hours at an unhurried pace. Bear bells hang along the route; ring them.
15:30Tsumago-juku
The best-preserved post town in Japan, and quiet from four o'clock.
Power lines are buried and cars are banned on the main street through the day.
- Day 6
Kiso morning, Tokyo evening
The valley before the trains fill, then the Shinkansen east.
08:30Nagiso Wooden Bridge
A 1920s suspension bridge over the Kiso, twenty minutes from the station.
18:00Senso-ji
Lit after dark and nearly empty — the opposite of the same temple at noon.
The grounds are open and lit all night; the main hall closes at 17:00.
- Day 7
Tokyo, briefly
One morning in the city before the flight.
08:00Tsukiji Outer Market
Breakfast that is worth getting up for, and it closes by early afternoon.
The wholesale auction moved to Toyosu in 2018; the outer market stayed.
10:00Imperial Palace East Gardens
The old castle keep foundations, ten minutes from Tokyo Station with luggage.
Free, closed Mondays and Fridays.
Questions
- How long is the Kyoto and the Nakasendo itinerary?
- The Kyoto and the Nakasendo itinerary runs 7 days and covers 18 stops across Kyoto, Tsumago, Tokyo.
- When is the best time to do the Kyoto and the Nakasendo itinerary?
- Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov is the best window for the Kyoto and the Nakasendo itinerary.
- What happens on day one of the Kyoto and the Nakasendo itinerary?
- Day one is southern higashiyama: Land, drop bags, and take the eastern hills while the light is still low.
Sources
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