Where to stay in Kyoto

Fushimi Inari Taisha: the thousands of vermilion torii gates winding up the mountain (free, open 24 hours). The famous photos are taken in the lower section — walk above the second station and the crowds disappear entirely. The 4km trail to the summit and back takes 2.5 hours. Fushimi is also Kyoto's sake district: Gekkeikan has been brewing here since 1637 and runs an excellent sake museum (¥300).

Kyoto's commercial center: Nishiki Market (the "Kyoto Kitchen") is a 400-year-old covered arcade 400m long with 130 stalls selling pickled vegetables, tofu skin, dashi stock, matcha sweets, and every variety of Kyoto food culture (free to walk, everything priced individually). Kawaramachi has the Takashimaya department store (the best food hall in Kyoto, basement level), izakayas, and sake bars along the Kamo River.

The preserved historic center of Kyoto: Gion's Hanamikoji Street is where you might see a maiko (apprentice geisha) hurrying to an evening appointment — early evening is the best time, late October to early April when the training season runs. The Higashiyama temple circuit connects Kiyomizudera to Gion via stone-paved Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka — the most beautiful walk in Japan.

The forested western hills: Arashiyama bamboo grove (¥0 to walk through — arrive before 7:30am for near-solitude; by 10am it's impassable with crowds). Tenryu-ji Zen garden (¥500) has a 700-year-old garden designed to frame the surrounding mountains. The Oi River, the Togetsukyo bridge, the monkey park (¥550), and the boat rental are all here — a full day.

A 2km canal path lined with cherry trees connecting Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) to Nanzenji — Kyoto's most meditative walk. Nanzenji temple complex (free to enter, ¥600 for the main halls) has an aqueduct from 1890 that carries water across the temple grounds — the unexpected red-brick Roman engineering in a Zen temple is quintessentially Kyoto. Heian Shrine is at the southern end, with the largest torii gate in Japan.

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion, ¥500) is Japan's most photographed building — a gold-leaf-covered Zen pavilion reflected in a mirror pond. Genuinely more beautiful in person than in photographs. Nishijin to the south is Kyoto's traditional weaving district: the Nishijin Textile Center (free) shows weavers at work on the complex looms that produce the most expensive fabrics in Japan. Ryoan-ji (¥600), with its world-famous Zen rock garden, is nearby.