One Fine Autumn Day in Kyoto
Diary of a day in Kyoto during my annual early-December fall foliage outings.
Every year, on the first weekend of December, I make my annual fall foliage trip to Kyoto. It's a two-day, three-night visit, starting with the 6:30 p.m. Shinkansen from Tokyo right after work on a Friday evening. I return on one of the earliest trains back to Tokyo on Monday morning and go straight to the office. While staying the extra nights adds to the cost, I enjoy waking up in Kyoto with the stress of travel behind me and having two full days to explore the city.
Since I am a creature of habit and find great comfort in having a routine, I usually follow the same daily itinerary. So, I thought it might be a good idea to introduce my favorite fall color viewing spots in Kyoto in a diary-style post. Here we go - let`s get up at 5 a.m.1
My Kyoto fall colors itinerary
5 a.m. - early morning at Hotel Anteroom
Whenever I am in Kyoto, I usually stay at Hotel Anteroom, a 10-minute walk from the main train station in the southern part of the city. They offer affordable single rooms, which are, though small, stylishly decorated and very well equipped (including a desk space).
I am an early riser—the 4 a.m. type—but the sun does not rise until 7 a.m. in Kyoto in December. So, having a desk space in my own room to do some work, blog, or waste time on my laptop is a big plus for me.
There is a rich breakfast buffet at Anteroom starting at 7 a.m., which costs 1,500 Japanese Yen per person (highly recommended), but I usually avoid the hotel breakfast in the morning to start my day out in the city as early as the sun rises (and pick up a sandwich and coffee from one of the tenths of Starbucks in the city).
My first stop of the day is a little far. Since it would take me 2.5 hours on foot, I divide the trip into two legs (as I love starting the day with a fast walk): walking to Sanjo Keihan Station (which takes an hour) and then taking the city bus #5. This is the only trip of the day that partially requires public transportation. Every other place can be explored on foot—Kyoto is not a very big city.
8 a.m. - starting the foliage viewing at Enkou-ji Zen Temple
My first stop is always the Enkou-ji Temple, which is in the northern part of the city but a little outside the temple-dense area of Higashiyama. The main hall opens up to a beautiful garden—Jyu-Gyu no Niwa—allowing one to feel not only like an observer but also part of one of the most spectacular foliage scenes in Kyoto.
There is also a very short bamboo tree section that leads to a shrine overlooking the temple grounds. This is where the teeth of Tokugawa Ieyasu are interred (upon his wishes)-not a minor feat that significantly elevates the profile of this beautiful temple. Tokugawa Ieyasu is the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for more than two centuries during the Edo Period. I usually spend more than an hour at this shrine as I find the lighting washing over the tori gate leading to the shrine mesmerizing.
During the fall colors season, entrance to the temple is subject to advance reservation and a higher fee (1000 Yen during the foliage season - 600 Yen during the regular season). But do not let this discourage you; I never had difficulty booking a ticket. When the season approaches, you can book your ticket on Enkouji Temple`s official website. Due to my advanced case of fall colors-specific FOMO, I always book the first slot, which starts at 8 a.m.
10 a.m. - Silver Pavilion and its picturesque pond
By the time I am done adoring the light over the colorful leaves at Enkouji Temple, it is usually already around 9.30-10 a.m. Kyoto gets colder than Tokyo in December, and my feet are usually already freezing by that point since I insist on walking around in sneakers, and temple halls are notoriously cold in Japan. But that does not stop me from walking down to the Ginkakuji, which is 30 minutes south of Enkouji Temple and otherwise known as the Silver Pavilion.
The Silver Pavilion, modeled after the much more flashy Golden Pavilion, is a retirement village of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa—the eighth shogun during the Muromachi Period. It is surrounded by a moss garden and a sand garden, and you can hike up to the narrow walking path along the skirts of Higashiyama Mountain and enjoy the painting-like scenery from above.
Considered the pinnacle of Zen-inspired wabi-sabi architecture, the Silver Pavilion is a better choice than the Golden Pavilion (which is, of course, gorgeous) if you have to pick one during the fall colors season.
11 a.m. - walking along the Philosopher`s Path and a coffee break
My next stop is usually the Philosopher`s Path—哲学の道, Tetsugaku no michi. Even though this is one of the most popular sightseeing spots in Kyoto, I never encountered big crowds during my December Kyoto visits.
The path, which takes its name from the philosopher Nishida Kitaro, who reportedly frequently strolled along it deep in thought, follows a canal surrounded by small shops and a few cafes (not as many as you would expect along a similar path in Europe).
The last time I visited Kyoto, I took a short break at Salon de Thé Mercredi along the Philosopher`s Path, where I, instead of tea, had coffee sitting in a corner room with large windows.
12 p.m. - Eikando Temple: Kyoto`s most popular fall foliage viewing spot
The Philosopher`s Path ends within steps of Kyoto`s, along with Kiyamuzu Dera, the most visited foliage spot - Eikando Temple.
Unlike the modest Enkouji, Eikando is one of those grand temples with multiple halls, Buddha statues, bridges, and ponds and attracts significantly larger crowds—though no reservation is needed. The main reason I visit Eikando during the fall color season is its beautiful gardens with trees showcasing almost every possible tone of fall colors.
1 p.m. - lunch break at Cafe Marble
When I finish taking thousands of photos at Eikando, it is already past 1 p.m. and time for lunch. For lunch, I leave the temple-dense Higashiyama area and usually head to the central part of Kyoto to Cafe Marble (Bukkoji one), which occupies an old wooden Japanese house with a tiny garden.
Their lunch sets are filling, and the atmosphere is serene, allowing a break in the middle of busy days of fall colors touring.
2.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m. - afternoons are reserved for Kyoto Gyoen National Garden, my favorite fall colors spot in Kyoto
My Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings are usually devoted to my favorite fall colors viewing spot in Kyoto: Kyoto Gyoen National Garden.
Occupying large grounds surrounding the Imperial Palace, the park has hundreds of pockets, allowing every visitor to have plenty of space to enjoy the fall colors in solitude. I usually spend hours in the park exploring every corner.
The palace that the park guards is a reminder that the city was once the capital of Japan for over 1,000 years, from 794 to 1868. But I have to admit that I have never visited the Imperial Palace even though I have been to the park and gardens maybe ten times.
5 p.m. - early dinner at Cafe Wine Bar Knuckles
Luckily, my favorite dinner hangout in Kyoto is very close to the Imperial Palace. I always stop at Knuckles Kyoto whenever I am in the town, either for lunch or dinner. Run by a married couple, the bistro is a perfect place to unwind in the company of comfort food and good wine.
Since I live in Japan, I am not always looking for Japanese food. So, I usually opt for the delicious meatballs at Knuckles. With the delightful relaxation brought on by two, three, or four glasses of wine, I usually end my days in Kyoto by walking back to my hotel. The one-hour route usually takes much longer, with many photo stops to try to capture the nighttime charm of the city`s narrow streets.
Where else to visit in Kyoto for the fall colors?
Since I spend the entire weekend in Kyoto chasing the colors during my December foliage outings, I get to cover more places than what is presented above. Below are some of my other favorite stops for foliage viewing in Kyoto.
Suirokaku Water Bridge, Roman-style architecture in Kyoto
Located near Nanzen-ji Temple, Suirokaku was built in the late 19th century to transport water from nearby Lake Biwa.
Constructed in the Roman style, it stands out from the surrounding temple architecture yet somehow still harmoniously blends with traditional Kyoto design.
Kenninji Temple and its garden
Kenninji Temple, located centrally in Kyoto, somehow got onto my radar only very recently. Built in 1202, Kenninji is known to be the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto.
The temple is known for the dragon drawings decorating its ceiling and shoji doors, but during the autumn colors season, its small garden positioned in the middle of the side halls is the main draw.
The koi pond at Konchi-in Temple
I might have saved the best for last. The small koi pond at Konchi-in, the unassuming temple, which is often overlooked in the presence of the more famous sites in Kyoto, including the nearby Nanzen-ji, may leave an impression on you as powerful as Monet`s water lily pond paintings.
Thank you for being here and sharing my love for fall colors and Kyoto. Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in this newsletter.
Since we are about to enter the fall foliage season in Japan, there will be many more “紅葉, kōyō” focused posts here at Letters from Japan. The September edition of Letters from Japan (available to all subscribers) will be about my upcoming long weekend outing to Daisetsuzan National Park in Hokkaido. In mid-October, there will be itinerary-focused posts for paid subscribers covering Aomori Prefecture in Tohoku. You can review the subscription options here on the newly updated About page.
Also published on my website: https://bizarrejourneys.com/kyoto-fall-colors/
I enjoyed reading your post on Kyoto; it was very well organized. I thought it was a good idea to make a routine of the places to visit in Kyoto.
I find it essential to get up very early, especially in autumn when it is high season. Last autumn, I also went to Enko-ji Temple. Although this Zen temple is a hidden gem, there were so many visitors that I had difficulty taking pictures of the garden with the autumn leaves.
I won't be able to visit Kyoto this autumn, but I look forward to your post on autumn leaves viewing in Kyoto.
Beautiful post, thank you!