Beyond Kyoto

Kyoto is one of the most fascinating destinations in Japan. It’s almost impossible to get bored in this ancient city of geishas, landscaped gardens, and over two thousand Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.

I’ve been to Kyoto several times over the years and I always find something new and interesting to do, no matter how long I stay. Kyoto is such an atmospheric city that even doing nothing – like sitting by the Kamo River or eating a konbini sando on a park bench – feels like time well spent.

People visiting Kyoto for the first time should have more than enough to keep them busy. But if you’re staying long enough and want to go beyond the city’s limits, then you’ll find many interesting destinations you can visit on a day trip from Kyoto.

COOL DAY TRIPS FROM KYOTO

Thanks to Japan’s incredibly efficient rail system, seemingly impossible distances can easily be covered in a few hours. To help you decide which destinations work best for your schedule, I’ve arranged these day trip recommendations by travel time.

Tap on the links to jump to any section of the guide. Estimated times are for one-way travel from Kyoto Station, the city’s transportation hub.

UNDER 1 HR FROM KYOTO

Lake Biwa

Estimated travel time: 30 mins

Lake Biwa – the largest freshwater lake in Japan – is one of the easiest day trips you can make from Kyoto. Located in Shiga prefecture, you can get to the southern tip of the lake in less than half an hour from Kyoto Station.

Lake Biwa gets its name from its shape, which is said to resemble a biwa or a Japanese short-necked lute. It comprises around 235 km (146 miles) of shoreline and offers plenty of outdoor-related activities like windsurfing, paddle boarding, cruising, hot spring baths, and island hopping.

In the summer, you can visit one of the lake’s many popular beaches like Omimaiko Beach or Shiga Beach. If you visit in winter, you can go skiing or snowboarding in Biwako Valley which is accessible via a cable car near the lake’s western shore. If you’d like to soak in a hot spring, Ogoto Onsen along the western bank is a good place to visit.

Train lines run along the perimeter of Biwa Lake so you can easily explore the area on your own. You can even rent a bike to cycle along the shores of the lake. If you’d prefer to visit on a guided tour, then you can book one through Klook.

No matter how you go, keep an eye out for Shirahige Shrine. Similar to Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island, Shirahige is a Shinto shrine known for its torii gate that appears to float on water at high tide.

Uji

Estimated travel time: 30 mins

If you like matcha, then make your way to Uji, a small town between Kyoto and Nara famous for its green tea. Though Kyoto is credited for being the original site of tea cultivation in Japan, Uji has been known for making some of the finest green tea in the country since the 1200s.

You’ll find restaurants and shops offering matcha-flavored everything from soba noodles to confections and ice cream. You can also experience an authentic tea ceremony or join workshops offering tea-related activities like hojicha roasting and tea canister decorating.

Like Kyoto and Nara, Uji is known for its historical and cultural attractions. It’s home to a few noteworthy temples and shrines, none more famous perhaps than Byodoin Temple (pictured below). If you like video games, then you’ll be pleased to learn that the Nintendo Museum opened in Uji in October 2024.

You can easily visit Uji from central Kyoto on your own, but if you’d prefer to go on a guided tour, then you can book one through Get Your Guide or Klook.

Osaka

Estimated travel time: 30 mins

I like to think of Kyoto and Osaka as the yin and yang of the Kansai region. Situated less than half an hour apart, you can’t visit one without going to the other, hence tourist passes like the Kyoto-Osaka Sightseeing Pass.

Kyoto and Osaka are two of the most visited destinations in Japan for different reasons. Kyoto is known for its cultural and historical attractions while Osaka draws you in with its magnetic urban energy and comforting regional food.

Unless you’re spending a day at Universal Studios Japan, you won’t need as much time to see Osaka’s top tourist attractions. One full day gives you enough time to visit Osaka Castle and explore the Namba and Umeda areas.

Namba is the heart of Osaka and features many interesting neighborhoods, none more famous than the Shinsaibashi shopping district and Dotonbori Canal (pictured below), the city’s top entertainment district.

Nagoya

Estimated travel time: 45 mins

Nagoya is the capital of Aichi prefecture and the largest city in the Chubu region. It’s one of Japan’s industrial and transportation hubs, not to mention one of its best cities for Japanese food.

Nagoya is home to the Toyota Motor Corporation and a few Toyota-related museums like the excellent Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology, or Toyota Techno Museum for short (pictured below). Other notable museums include the SCMAGLEV and Railway Park and the Nagoya City Science Museum.

Nagoya is over 130 km (80.8 miles) from Kyoto. Thanks to the Tokaido Shinkansen, you can get there in a little over half an hour. You can purchase Shinkansen tickets at the station or in advance through Klook.

1-2 HRS FROM KYOTO

Kibune

Estimated travel time: 1 hr 15 mins

Kibune is a small town just outside the city’s limits in northern Kyoto. It was built around Kifune Shrine, a Shinto shrine famous for its stone steps with red lanterns on either side (pictured below).

Dedicated to the god of water and rain, Kifune Shrine is believed to be the protector of people traveling by sea. There are a few ryokans and restaurants in town, along with a hiking trail that takes you to Kurama-dera temple and Kurama Onsen, one of the best hot springs in Kyoto.

Kibune is especially popular in the summer though it’s at its most beautiful in autumn when the forest explodes with color. It’s an easy day trip destination from Kyoto but you can also visit on a hiking tour.

If you visit in the fall, this guided tour takes you to some of the best autumn viewing spots in Kyoto, including Kifune Shrine.

Nara

Estimated travel time: 1 hr 15 mins

I like to think of Nara as “Kyoto-light with deer”. Like Kyoto, it’s home to many temples and shrines, not to mention free-roaming sika deer that for some people, may have become the city’s main draw.

Nara once served as Japan’s first permanent capital. It’s home to the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara, a group of eight historical sites collectively inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Of those eight sites, none are more important than Todai-ji Temple (pictured below), a large Buddhist complex housing the world’s biggest bronze Buddha statue.

As culturally significant as Nara is, it’s perhaps become better known for its herds of inquisitive deer waiting for tourists to feed them with shika senbei crackers. The deer are cute and make for great pictures but do be careful because they can become quite aggressive with food.

The cultural attractions in Nara are clustered in a relatively compact area so it’s easy to visit on a day trip. You can explore the area on your own or join a guided tour from Nara.

If you’d rather go on a tour with transportation from Kyoto, then you can book one through Get Your Guide or Klook.

Fukui

Estimated travel time: 2 hrs

If you’d like to go off the beaten path in Japan, then look no further than Fukui, one of the country’s least-visited prefectures, at least by foreign visitors. It’s located in the Chubu region and can be visited from Kyoto using the Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass.

There isn’t as much to do in Fukui City but there are a few interesting attractions you can visit outside the city center. None are more spectacular than Tojinbo Cliffs (pictured below) – a one-kilometer stretch of cliffs with hexagonal and pentagonal columnar joints. It’s a rare geological formation I had no idea existed in Japan!

Other notable attractions include the excellent Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, Eiheiji Temple, and Maruoka Castle – one of Japan’s twelve remaining original castles.

Getting to Fukui on a day trip from Kyoto is straightforward but getting around may not be as easy. Its top attractions are a bit spread out so you may want to rent a car if you’d like to see everything in one day.

Kanazawa

Estimated travel time: 2 hrs

Kanazawa is another destination you can visit in the Chubu region using the Takayama-Hokuriku Pass. It’s the capital city of Ishikawa prefecture and nicknamed “Little Kyoto” for its beautifully preserved neighborhoods and many cultural attractions.

Like Kyoto, Kanazawa survived the air raids of World War II, keeping its historical districts intact. Its well-preserved samurai and geisha districts stir the imagination but the city’s undisputed top draw is Kenroku-en, a stunning landscaped garden considered by many to be the most beautiful in Japan.

Kanazawa is over 230 km (142.9 miles) from Kyoto but thanks to Japan’s excellent rail system, you can get there in less than two hours. The city’s top attractions are clustered within a 3 km (1.9 miles) radius so it’s easy to get around on foot.

2-3 HRS FROM KYOTO

Amandohashidate

Estimated travel time: 2 hrs 15 mins

Like Tojinbo Cliffs in Fukui, Amanohashidate is one of the more unique natural formations I’ve seen in Japan. A narrow pine-covered sandbar spanning Miyazu Bay in northern Kyoto prefecture, it’s long held the distinction as one of Japan’s three most celebrated views.

The name Amanohashidate roughly translates to “bridge in heaven” because the sandbar is said to resemble a pathway between heaven and earth. It’s best appreciated from the mountains on either side of the bay.

Measuring just 20 meters (65.6 ft) wide at its narrowest point, this slender sandbar is home to nearly 8,000 pine trees and a scenic walking trail spanning its entire length. You can cross from one end to the other in about 45 minutes on foot or 15 minutes on a rented bicycle from one of the many shops around Amanohashidate Station.

Amanohashidate is a little over two hours away from Kyoto and is covered by the JR West Kansai Wide Area Pass. If you’d prefer to go on a guided tour, then you can book one through Get Your Guide or Klook.

Kinosaki Onsen

Estimated travel time: 2 hrs 30 mins

I loved this little onsen town. Located in northern Hyogo prefecture, Kinosaki Onsen is an atmospheric onsen town that’s been welcoming guests to its hot spring baths since the 8th century.

I’ve visited many small towns in Japan but Kinosaki Onsen made one of the most memorable first impressions. Exiting the train station and seeing onsen-goers walking around town in yukatas and getas made me feel like I had stepped back into a different century.

Kinosaki Onsen has seven soto-yus or public hot spring baths, all of which are tattoo-friendly. Try to visit as many as you can on a day trip. For a small fee, you can get a stamp book and fill it with each bathhouse’s stamp to commemorate your trip.

Like Amanohashidate, you can visit Kinosaki Onsen from Kyoto using the JR West Kansai Wide Area Pass.

THE FINAL SAY

Kyoto is a week-long destination in itself but you won’t have any trouble finding cool places to explore beyond the city, if you feel the need to.

For more recommendations, check out my article on day trips from Osaka. It may take a little longer but pretty much any day trip you can make from Osaka can be done from Kyoto as well.

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