I flew from Manila into Kansai airport which serves this region, including Osaka and Kyoto. It is very well connected by train. It look less than 40 minutes to get through the airport, pick up a rail pass, and get on the train for the city. The airport, like most things I find in Japan, is very efficient.
The main train station is gigantic and has shops and a food court on the 11th floor with a great view. This is the Kyoto tower. From here it was a 10 minute walk to the hostel, but of course I managed to get lost. It was pretty late in the evening, but I was approached my a helpful local and given directions. This was quite reassuring coming from Manila!
Kyoto has so many UNESCO world heritage sights that I don’t stand a chance of seeing them all on this brief 5 day visit to the city. I have tried to pick a selection of them while also taking the time to wonder around the city.
This is Fushimi Inari. It’s hard to believe that this is in such a large city. It’s only 2 stops away from the main station and is free to travel if you have a rail pass. It’s also free to enter. It’s built on the side of a mountain and is a great 4km hike to the top for good views of Kyoto.
On the western side of Kyoto there is a large bamboo forest and a path running to the top where you can see monkeys. They are indigenous to this area, but they stay bacause they are fed!
I’ve seen pictures before of these monkeys in northern Japan in winter in a onsen, or hot spring. You could feed them inside and you were told not to look into their eyes or expect a monkey attack!