Escape into serenity with these day trips out of Kyoto
There are beautiful rivers, myriad shrines, a World Heritage-listed site, and much more within easy reach of the renowned Japanese city.
It’s been more than a decade since we last visited Kyoto. Back then we were in full-on family holiday mode, racing with our young son from one stunning temple to the next, seeking out origami workshops, even taking a jaunt to a quirky ninja museum.
Now we’re back in Japan’s old capital, this time on our own terms. It’s early autumn, the maples are just starting to turn, and the plan is to avoid the throng and venture further afield into the lush, green hills around Kyoto for a few days of healthy hiking before a two-night stay at the coolest new hotel in town.
On our first full day we catch the bus to Takao, a mountain hamlet 45 minutes northwest from Kyoto Station. Our backpacks stuffed with bento boxes, we set off in splendid isolation and dappled sunshine along a glorious riverside trail, stopping first at two Buddhist temples, the ninth-century Saimyō-ji and Jingo-ji (781). In the Jingo-ji Temple grounds we stop at a stall to buy kawarake – a set of small clay discs – and hurl them like Frisbees from the cliff edge into the valley below.
Having thus, as tradition dictates, warded off evil spirits and released our residual bad karma, we follow the shady trail beside the Kiyotaki-gawa River for several hours past jade-green pools, through towering stands of matchstick-straight cedar trees and over vermillion footbridges. The trail passes through a village before the river converges with the wider Hozu-gawa, bearing boatloads of tourists. After emerging from a tunnel, we descend to a railway bridge and wait for the train back to town.
Next day we board the Eizan Railway and settle into an outward-facing seat for the scenic 30-minute trip north to Mount Kurama. At the final station we’re greeted by a 4 metre-tall statue of a tengu, a mischievous mountain goblin with an enormous red nose. Making our way up this sacred mountain – birthplace of the reiki healing method and home to its own nature-centric school of Buddhism – we pass a giant 800-year-old sugi (cedar) tree that stands as a Shinto sentinel before the Yuki-jinja Shrine, then climb the lantern-lined steps to the famous Kurama Temple, founded in 770 as Kyoto’s northern guardian.
The path continues over tangled tree roots, through verdant stands of towering cedars and into the next valley where, in the pretty town of Kibune, we enjoy a memorable traditional meal served on a wooden platform over a clear running stream.
We have one more day to explore Kyoto’s outskirts and our next stop is Uji, 30 minutes by train south of the city on the Nara line.
Uji is renowned for its temples and green tea, and indeed the entire place is a shrine for matcha devotees. Shops selling every possible type of matcha tea-flavoured sweet, food and beverage – even matcha-flavoured espresso – line the road leading to the gates of the 10th-century Buddhist Byodo-in Temple, a World Heritage-listed site. Inside, a path leads around a lake, past the strikingly elegant Phoenix Hall to a modern museum containing a staggering array of temple treasures.
For our last few days we check in to our hip urban oasis, just three subway stops from Kyoto’s central station. The Ace Hotel Kyoto was the first property opened in Asia by the Seattle-based chain, built on the company’s proven formula: rejuvenate a historical building near the centre of town and create a vibrant cultural hub around it.
The 213-room hotel occupies two buildings. One is Kyoto’s former central telephone exchange, designed in the 1920s by a pioneer of modern Japanese architecture, Tetsuro Yoshida; the new building, designed by renowned architect Kengo Kuma, is a modern take on traditional machiya houses, incorporating massive cedar beams and outsized slatted awnings. The complex is incorporated into an upscale mall known as ShinPuKan, connected to the street by a lush green courtyard.
In the hotel’s cavernous lobby we check in at a reception desk that bears a distinct resemblance to an enormous sliced bagel hammered out of copper. Above it, grid-like tubular copper light fixtures hang from the kigumi ceiling, composed of interlocked cedar beams constructed in the traditional (no nails) Japanese joinery style. It feels like we’ve stepped inside a giant Jenga puzzle.
We grab coffee and pastries at Stumptown, Ace’s inhouse roasters, and hit the streets to discover the delights of the neighbourhood. Across the road is a 220-year-old confectionery that once delivered sweets to the Imperial Palace; nearby, we visit a shop that has sold handmade paper since 1845.
It’s a 10-minute walk to Nishiki Market, a 390m-long mall with a 400-year history, where we graze at the fascinating food stalls. Later, close by at the Museum of Kyoto, we stumble on an intriguing exhibition on Edo-era woodblock print master Utagawa Kuniyoshi.
There’s a surprise around every corner.
Glorious hillside hikes, a hip city hotel in a funky district … it’s just the right combination for a Kyoto comeback.
Need to know
- There are more than 2000 Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines in and around Kyoto. The most famous are must-sees, but be prepared for the hordes.
- The mountains around Kyoto are easily accessible for great walks and sightseeing.
- For a casual, well-priced sushi spot in town, try Sushi Sei, near the Daimaru store on Takakura-dori.
- Jetstar flies regularly to Kansai Airport in Osaka Bay, where you can hop on the limited express train for the 75-minute ride to Kyoto.
- Standard king room at The Ace Kyoto from $443 a night: acehotel.com/kyoto
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