After spending three days in Urayasu for Disney – more to come on that – we said goodbye to my mom and hopped on the shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto. There, we met up with my mother-in-law and spent five rainy days in Kyoto. These are the highlights of our time there, activities and locations I would highly recommend:
Outdoor Spot: Kyoto Gyoen National Garden
As much as I enjoyed the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, it was packed the entire time we were there – unlike the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden. Right by Kyoto the Imperial Palace, the garden is incredibly spacious and offers a lot more to take in – including cherry blossoms! The weather was less than ideal while we were there (it actually snowed on us), but this is pretty centrally located and would be an excellent spot to while away the hours.
Hotel: Kyoto Four Sisters Residence
The Kyoto Four Sisters Residence is an apartment-style hotel, and it was the perfect spot for us to call home during our time in the city. They offered a kitchen as well as two bedrooms, so we had plenty of room for three adults and two children. The staff was incredibly friendly, and we found the location worked well for us in terms of accessibility – we could walk to the nearest metro stop in approximately ten minutes! I would definitely stay here again.
Restaurant: Lino
You might not expect an Italian restaurant to be our favorite from our time in Kyoto, which should tell you just how fantastic this was. When we got there, they only had bar seating available – the tables were filled up on a Tuesday night! While it was a little on the pricier side (~$100 for both of us, including drinks), it was definitely worth the splurge. If you’re looking for a date night, you should look no further. I keep talking about how tasty my seafood risotto was!
Other restaurants we enjoyed:
- Cafe & Wine Bar Knuckles gave us a little taste of the US at a great price, and the staff was so nice.
- Kyo-Umare Gohan-Biyori – Karasuma Marutamachi has a huge selection to choose from, so everyone can get what they want.
- School Bus Coffee Bakers makes for a lovely breakfast spot with bus-shaped bread.
- Ebisugawa Gyoza Nakajima is a cash-only restaurant; they’re known for their gyoza, but we enjoyed everything!
Kid-Friendly Activity: Kyoto Railway Museum
I had read about the Kyoto Railway Museum on The Tokyo Chapter, so I had this place on my radar already. Our son’s ticket was 200 yen (~$1 USD), while we spent ~$10 USD each for the adult tickets. This space is huge, and it will be a hit for any transportation-loving kid, with many exhibits on all parts of the train. They do have a restaurant and food truck on-site, as well as a play area upstairs for when the kiddos get antsy. Definitely a strong rainy day activity.
Day Trip: Nara, Japan
We managed to get an express metro to Nara – this is definitely worth the price – and we spent our morning petting and feeding the local deer! There are several vendors around the parks selling 10-packs of crackers for 200 yen (~$1 USD), so we found ourselves going back to buy more when we ran out. The deer know when you have them! This was such a different experience from anything I’ve done before, and I’m glad we made the trip over.