Kyoto is old Japan — 1,600 temples, imperial gardens, the Gion geisha quarter, and the Arashiyama bamboo grove — an easy bullet-train hop from Tokyo or Osaka. It rewards early mornings: the iconic sites are transcendent at dawn and overrun by 10am.
Fushimi Inari gates
Arashiyama bamboo
Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)
Gion at dusk
Sleeping in — Fushimi Inari and the bamboo grove are sublime at 7am and a selfie-stick gridlock by mid-morning.
Renting a costume to chase geisha for photos in Gion; locals are fed up with it, and there are signs (and fines) for harassing maiko.
Cherry-blossom and autumn-foliage weeks are the most beautiful and the most crowded of the year — reserve ryokan and trains as early as you can.
Munduva is free for your whole group — pick the dates together, build the plan, and split the costs.
Start planning — it’s free