On day 2 of our Japan trip, we took a local train to Kyoto — one of the most beautiful places in the country, or so everyone had told us. We were there for three whole days. The list of places to visit was long enough to make us wonder if three days would even be enough. The sun, unfortunately, hadn’t gotten the memo that we needed a break. It continued to be just as hot as it had been in Osaka.
Luckily, our hotel offered an early check-in, which felt like a small win after the heat. Oh, and by the way — we’d deliberately chosen a hotel close to Kyoto Station, so we could commute anywhere easily without much fuss. It was called Hotel Keihan Kyoto Ekiminami.
Settling In and a Lunch Detour
Since we were staying three days straight, we tweaked our itinerary slightly around the heat. Air-conditioned spaces got the afternoon slot. Monuments and temples got early mornings or evenings, whenever the sun agreed to be a little kinder. So we left our bags in the room, chilled for a bit, and finally started out. Aeon Mall was close to our hotel, so that’s where we headed first. The mall dedicated an entire floor to food. After wandering around for a while, we made our way straight there.
Unfortunately, none of the local restaurants were serving veg ramen — a small disappointment we hadn’t planned for. We ended up at KFC instead. The truly frustrating part, though, was how long it took us to even get there. We went from restaurant to restaurant, squinting at menus that weren’t in English, opening our translator app again and again. If you want to learn from our mistake: don’t waste time browsing every single menu. The moment you spot the pattern, make a quick call and move on.
Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka
By the time we finished lunch, it was already 4 PM. The sun, finally, was starting to soften. So we headed out for our first proper sightseeing stop in Kyoto: Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka. Google Maps laid out the public transport route so clearly that we didn’t make a single wrong turn, whether catching the bus or the train. We took a bus straight to our destination, and after a cool 30–40 minute ride, we arrived.
Quick tip, and I say this from experience: wear comfortable shoes. Don’t buy fancy-looking ones specifically for the trip without testing how they actually feel on your feet. I made that mistake, and I regretted it almost immediately. By day two, I had sores on my small toes that I felt with every step after.
Why Are These Streets Popular?
Before this trip, I honestly didn’t know Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka were technically two different streets. Everyone just clubs them together, and to be fair, they blend into each other so seamlessly you’d never notice the switch. Both are stone-paved, sloping lanes in Kyoto’s Higashiyama area, sitting just south of Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Each stretch is barely 150–200 meters long. Somehow, it still took us over an hour to walk through, because there was something worth stopping for every few steps.
What makes the place special, I think, is how old it actually is. These slopes go all the way back to the Heian period, originally built as the pilgrimage path for people walking up to Kiyomizu-dera to pray. Sannenzaka’s stone path specifically dates to 808, and the whole stretch is now protected, so the wooden buildings lining it have stayed more or less the way they were centuries ago. There’s even a local superstition around it — apparently if you trip on Sannenzaka, bad luck follows you for three years, and on Ninenzaka, two. We obviously didn’t test that theory, but it made us walk a little more carefully on the uneven stones, just in case.
A few things I’d tell you to look out for
- The Yasaka Pagoda view from Ninenzaka — this five-storied pagoda peeking out between the rooftops is one of those views that looks staged but isn’t.
- There’s a Starbucks tucked into a 100-year-old teahouse on Ninenzaka, tatami seating and all. We didn’t go in, but if you want a quirky break from all the walking, that’s your spot.
- If you have extra time, Yasaka Shrine, Maruyama Park, and Kodaiji Temple are all close enough to fold into the same walk.
- Keep an eye on the wooden buildings themselves — a lot of them are genuine Edo-period machiya houses, kept standing through some pretty strict preservation rules.
We strolled down streets lined with local shops on both sides, trying pickled cucumber and frozen desserts along the way — surprisingly refreshing, and not something I expected to enjoy as much as I did. A few stores here also offer a small mochi-making experience for a fee, where you get to watch the process up close and take home a complimentary piece per person.
Since it was evening by then, some stores had already begun closing. The temple gates had shut too. If you’d rather explore the temples from the inside, or don’t mind the hum of peak-hour crowds, a daytime visit is the way to go. We, though, didn’t mind missing that — there was something nice about having the streets mostly to ourselves in that quiet, winding-down hour.
While you’re exploring, don’t forget to stay hydrated. Kiosks selling water and quirky energy drinks are everywhere, but dustbins, strangely, are not. So carry a bag to hold on to your empty bottles until you find one. We also took a ridiculous number of photos here, more than we probably needed to. And if you’d like a proper kimono photoshoot, plenty of stores nearby offer that service too. I wanted one too, but I just couldn’t convince my partner, lol.
Dinner, Done Right This Time
It was dark by the time we finally left. We took a bus back to the hotel, freshened up, showered, and headed out again for dinner. This time, we’d already shortlisted a few restaurants with vegetarian options on Google Maps. That meant skipping the whole menu-scanning ordeal from lunch entirely. If you eat beef, pork, or seafood, though, you’re in for a much easier time in Japan than we were.
We had dinner, walked back to the hotel, and crashed straight into bed, ready for whatever day 2 had in store.