Kyoto · Things to do

Thousands of vermilion torii climbing Mount Inari behind the shrine. The mountain paths are open at all hours and free, and the full loop to the summit and back takes two to three hours. Two minutes from JR Inari station on the Nara line; go at dawn or after dark or you will queue for the first gates.

The wooden-stage temple on the Higashiyama hillside, reached up the shop-lined slopes of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka. Hours shift by season and there are special night openings in spring and autumn, so check the temple's own page rather than a schedule you saw elsewhere.

The gold-leafed pavilion of Rokuon-ji, open 9:00–17:00 daily. It is a one-way circuit of about twenty minutes around the pond with no interior access, so treat it as a short stop rather than an afternoon — combine it with Ryoan-ji, a bus stop away.

The bamboo path everyone photographs runs along the north edge of Tenryu-ji, a Rinzai head temple listed by UNESCO in 1994 whose Sogenchi pond garden survives from the 14th century. Take the first train of the day; by mid-morning the grove is shoulder to shoulder.

A 390-metre covered arcade a block north of Shijo, four centuries old and still selling pickles, tofu, skewers, knives and kitchenware alongside the tourist stalls. Most shops shut by late afternoon, and eating while walking is discouraged — buy and stand at the counter.