Itinerary

This itinerary for the Kyoto Tour is "ground only" beginning at the starting points as indicated for each Day of the tour in the itinerary and ending around 5 pm in central Kyoto. After receiving the booking and deposit we will provide detailed instructions for getting to the meeting point on both days.

Day 1

The group meets at 8.30 am in the foyer of the tour hotel for transfer to meet our tea master for the day. In his expert and insightful company we experience chado, the tea ceremony, and make tea for each other. After our refreshing start to the day, we take a short stroll to Daitoku-ji temple, one of Japan’s finest Zen monasteries, a complex of main and sub-temples covering 56 acres. We soak up the serene atmosphere and learn about the temple’s greatest resident, the tea master Sen-no Rikyu, before taking lunch within Daitoku-ji at a restaurant specialising in shojin ryori, delicious vegetarian temple cuisine.

After lunch we move onto Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion temple, which was built by the 8th Ashikaga Shogun in the late 15th Century. In the beautiful surroundings of this temple we continue our look at Higashiyama (East Mountain) Culture and its greatest development, chado. The Silver Pavilion, an exquisite structure, which is silver in name only, is set in beautiful gardens and provides an apposite setting for our exploration of Kyoto culture. A leisurely stroll from the temple along the Philosopher's Path, through quiet suburbs and past many temples, brings us to the Heian-jingu Shrine. Here we delve into Japan's Shinto roots and gain an idea of how Kyoto used to look in its earliest days. A nearby museum is the setting for an entertaining introduction to the many and splendid crafts of the city.

Afterwards we transfer by taxi to central Kyoto for an exploration of Nishiki, Kyoto’s lively central market, where a plethora of food items, many not so familiar, please the eye and whet the appetite. If you are interested in some shopping to round off the day in the neighbouring area are found a number of Kyoto's specialist shops. Although the tour does not extend into the evening, your guide will be available to either make suggestions where you may like to eat for your evening meal or join you, if you wish.

Day 2

The second day starts at 8.45am at Nijo-jo castle, where we will see the magnificent audience halls built for the Tokugawa Shoguns, the rulers of Japan in the Edo Period. Transferring to Rokuon-ji temple by taxi we are introduced to Kitayama (North Mountain) Culture in the environs of Kinkaku, the Golden Pavilion. The Pavilion, coated in gold leaf and reflected in a lake, is probably Japan’s most recognisable icon.

We travel on to nearby Ryoan-ji temple and it's world famous garden, considered the epitome of a Zen garden. From there it is a short walk to a small train station, where we ride a local tram-cum-train to Arashiyama in the west of Kyoto. We lunch here on soba, buckwheat, noodles. A simple but delicious and popular dish. After, we stroll through the low hills of Arashiyama. The scenery is more reminiscent of rural Japan than a city and here we visit a gorgeous, almost delicate temple that is associated with Gio, a concubine of Taira-no-Kiyomori. Taira was a central figure in the Tale of Heike, the epic story of the power struggle between the Taira and Minamoto Clans that engulfed Japan in the 12th Century. Here we also visit Rakushisha, which is forever associated with Japan’s greatest poet, Basho.

We continue on our walk through quiet, elegant suburbs before taking another train back to Shijo-Omiya in west-central Kyoto where the tour ends.

This itinerary is subject to change.