Japan’s Kansai Region represents the country in a nutshell.

Home to atmospheric temples and colorful flashing billboards, the beautiful region on Honshu Island contains both the modern comforts and culinary delights of urban Japan, as well as the nostalgic charm of the country’s hinterland.

Kansai’s two largest cities—Osaka and Kyoto—offer the perfect introduction to Japan. Together, the cities reveal a country of quirks and contrasts, while showcasing the rich history and modern impulses that contribute to Japan’s layered and widespread appeal.

Though I only had a short weekend to spend in Japan, my three day Kyoto and Osaka itinerary revealed some of the country’s most spectacular highlights and caused me to fall in love, once again, with the Land of the Rising Sun.

Our Three Day Japan Itinerary

Dan and I spent three days in Japan, excluding travel time. Due to the brevity of our visit, we chose to skip Tokyo and focused our itinerary on Kyoto and Osaka instead.

I’d visited Kyoto once before, during a high school exchange in 2007. Since my exchange, I’d hoped to return to the city to revisit its temple-laden streets and peel back its history.

Yet travel plans always seemed to bring me elsewhere. It wasn’t until twelve years later, over a long holiday weekend in May, that I finally took the opportunity to return to Kyoto with Dan.

Dan and I split our three day Japan itinerary between Kyoto and Osaka—spending two days temple-hopping in the former, and a day indulging in the culinary delicacies of the latter.

While in Kyoto, we stayed at the Nagomi Ryokan-Yuu in order to experience a traditional Japanese-style guesthouse. The ryokan was centrally located, clean, affordable and within spitting distance of the delectable Ginjo Ramen Kubota.

For the last day of our whirlwind itinerary, we stayed at the Yamatoya Honten Ryokan, near Osaka’s buzzing Dotombori district. It, too, contained everything we needed for a relaxing and enjoyable stay.

Kyoto Itinerary Day 1: Highlights of Japan’s Cultural Capital

There is no doubt that Kyoto is Japan’s cultural capital and spiritual heart. It is a city in which geisha shuffle between appointments, prayer chants resonate through peaceful gardens, and picturesque streets hearken back to the days of old.

While the rest of Japan has adopted modernity with abandon, Kyoto still celebrates its heritage and clings to its past. The elegant imperial city is one of the most beautiful in Asia.  It houses an unparalleled wealth of monuments, including a whopping 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and many of Japan’s most beloved icons.

• The Golden Pavilion

The Kinkaku-Ji Temple (also known as the Golden Temple or Golden Pavilion) is the symbol of Kyoto and one of the most iconic images of Japan. It is often the highlight of Kyoto tourist itineraries.

The Golden Pavilion lies in the northwest corner of Kyoto, tucked amongst a verdant forest. The main hall of the temple complex, covered in brilliant gold leaf, casts its shimmering reflection onto an adjacent pond. At once splendid in its opulence and simple in its design, the pretty pavilion wows visitors with its delicacy

Since the Golden Pavilion is one of Kyoto’s most popular temples, I wanted to arrive early to beat the crowds. From the Kyoto Station, Dan and I hopped on bus #205 and arrived shortly after the temple’s opening time. When we arrived, however, the line already wrapped down the street. Though we were early, we realized that visiting the temple crowd-free would be an impossible feat.

Reluctantly, we joined the end of the queue and waited to pay the Y400 entrance fee.

The temple was certainly worth the wait.

The Golden Pavilion is simply stunning. Not even the crowds of tourists—numbering in the thousands—could detract from its shimmering brilliance.

• The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Arashiyama is one of Kyoto’s most popular sightseeing districts. Filled with temples and shrines and a popular bamboo forest, the pretty district in western Kyoto merits a half day of exploration.

When I visited Kyoto in 2007, I did not stop in Arashiyama. In fact, I didn’t even know the place existed. Yet in recent years, I began seeing images of the swaying bamboo stalks everywhere—in Instagram feeds, in travel brochures and even in advertisements.

The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove has exploded in popularity over the recent years thanks, in large part, to social media.

And while I try not to let Instagram trends influence where I choose to travel, I dragged Dan to Arashiyama in order to see what all the fuss was about.

Like the Golden Pavilion, Arashiyama is worthy of its renown. The grove’s graceful bamboo pillars stretch toward the sky, rustling back and forth in the breeze and casting patterns of dappled light on the area’s pathways.

If I could go back, however, I would have stopped at Arashiyama early in the morning, en-route to the Golden Pavilion. The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is best explored at dawn, before throngs of visitors inundate the forest with their selfie sticks and curated poses.

While Arashiyama’s bamboo forest is undoubtedly the most popular thing to see in the area, it certainly isn’t the only notable destination in Arashiyama. One could spend an entire day in the area—exploring its maze of temples, floating down the Katsura River by boat, and watching life unfold from the Togetsukyo Bridge.

• The Nijo Castle 

The Nijo Castle dominates a large part of Northwest Kyoto. Built in 1603 as the official residence of the city’s Tokugawa shogun, the imposing structure was meant to demonstrate prestige.

The most noteworthy attraction on the Nijo Castle grounds is the spectacular Karamon Gate. Intricately adorned in golden motifs, the wooden gate is one of Kyoto’s finest examples of artisanship.

The Nijo Castle complex is divided into five principal buildings. The fourth chamber contains spectacular golden screen paintings that showcase the delicate sophistication of Japanese art.

Photography of the screen paintings is, unfortunately, prohibited.

• The Nishiki Market

After soaking in three of Kyoto’s most important sites and completely skipping out on lunch, Dan and I were ravenous. We decided to take a bus from the Nijo Castle to the Nishiki Market for dinner.

The Nishiki Market—also known as Kyoto’s Kitchen— is a favorite spot for locals and tourists alike. Filled with souvenir stalls, street food, cafes, restaurants and matcha shops, the sprawling covered market is Kyoto’s top foodie hotspot and a great place to sample the city’s local delicacies.

Kyoto Day 2: A Taste of Traditional Japan

On the following day, Dan and I continued our quest to discover Kyoto’s most beautiful religious monuments. We began our day with a hike around the grounds of the sprawling Fushimi Inari Shrine. In the afternoon, we explored the traditional streets and alleyways that serve as a peephole into Kyoto’s past.

• The Fushimi Inari Shrine 

With a seemingly endless string of orange torii gates spread across a thickly wooded mountainside, the Fushimi Inari Shrine represents a one-of-a-kind temple-going experience. The shrine is, quite simply, one of the most impressive places to visit in Japan and a must-see staple of any Kyoto itinerary.

And better yet, the Fushimi Inari Shrine doesn’t cost any money to visit.

The entire religious complex sprawls across the wooded slopes of Inari Mountain. A path wanders 4 kilometers up the mountain, sheltered by thousands of vermillion archways. It is a beautiful shaded area that consists of dozens of trails, alters and small sub-shrines.

We spent a few hours exploring Fushimi Inari during the morning of our second day in Kyoto. And, had we not decided to proceed to some of Kyoto’s other must-see attractions, we could have probably spent the whole day hiking around Inari’s orange-speckled slopes.

• Kyoto’s Gion District 

From the Fushimi Inari Shrine, we took the Keihan Main Line to Gion. There, we turned back the clock and found ourselves meandering down the narrow lanes of Medieval Japan.

Gion is one of Kyoto’s most beautiful neighborhoods. The picturesque district dates back to the Middle Ages. It is one of the top places to visit in Kyoto and, by far, the most famous geisha district in Japan.

In Gion, it is not uncommon to see geisha shuffling along narrow streets, flitting to and from their latest appointments.

Packed with bars, restaurants and traditional teahouses, Gion lies between the Nishiki Market and Yasaka Pagoda. Some of Gion’s most picturesque strolling spots include Hanami Lane, Shijo Dori and the Shirakawa Canal.

A visit to the area is best combined with a walk through the nearby Higashiyama District between the Yasaka Shrine and Kiyomizu-dera Temple.

• The Higashiyama District

The Higashiyama District lies along the lower slopes of Kyoto’s eastern mountains. Like nearby Gion, it is one of the city’s best preserved historic districts.

Small shops, cafes and restaurants line Higashiyama’s pretty streets. Its businesses retain their centuries-old designs and entice customers with delectable sweets, local handicrafts and Japanese curiosities.

The Yasaka Pagoda is a defining landmark that lies between Gion and the Higashiyama District. From the pagoda, a well-preserved walk leads to the sprawling Maruyama Park in one direction, and the iconic Kiyomizu-Dera temple in the other.

• The Kiyomizu-Dera Temple

A buzzing hive of activity perched on a hill overlooking Kyoto, Kiyomizu-Dera is one of the city’s most important temples. As with the impressive Orthodox cathedral in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan, the temple was built without the use of a single nail.

Kiyomizu-Dera’s main hall contains a verandah that juts out over the hillside. Below its main hall is a fountain from which visitors can drink water and pray for longevity and good fortune.

I distinctly remember visiting Kiyomizu-Dera twelve years ago and soaking in the aerial views of Kyoto from its reinforced wooden balcony.

When I visited the temple on my most recent trip to Kyoto, however, the main temple structure was unfortunately wrapped in scaffolding.

Nonetheless, visiting Kiyomizu-Dera was well worth the Y300 entrance fee.

Japan Itinerary Day 3: Exploring Osaka 

Osaka is the second largest city in Japan. While it doesn’t have the same high concentration of UNESCO sites and cultural gems that can be found in Kyoto, the cosmopolitan city is well known for its nightlife, business districts and incredible street food. Osaka is Japan’s food capital writ large, boasting an overwhelming number of mouthwatering culinary delicacies.

Osaka is not pretty in the conventional sense, but it packs more color than most cities—exhibiting vibrant pedestrian walkways and concrete buildings blanketed in flashy neon signage.

As with Kyoto, I could have spent the entirety of my Japan vacation in Osaka and still found plentiful things to do and foods to eat. With only one day, however, I decided to divide my time between the colorful foodie paradise of Dotombori, and the magnificent Osaka Castle in the Chuo-Ku District.

• The Osaka Castle 

The Osaka Castle has become a symbol of Japan. It is, without a doubt, the top place to visit in Osaka.

After unifying Japan in the late 1500s, General Toyotomi Hideyoshi built this grand castle alongside 100,000 workers. And though the present structure is a 1931 concrete reconstruction of the original, the current castle is nonetheless an impressive site to behold.

The five-story building sits in the middle of a large park and looms dramatically over Osaka’s surrounding cityscape.

The entire Osaka Castle Park covers about two square kilometers in the northern part of the city. The park contains sports facilities and vast areas of green space. During the springtime, it is one of Osaka’s most popular places for hanami-viewing.

• Street Food and Neon Lights in Dotombori

Dan and I ended our Kyoto and Osaka itinerary with a stroll through the dynamic Dotombori District.

Highly photogenic Dotombori contains a large concentration of Osaka’s foodie hotspots. It is a lively area, made all the more atmospheric at night, when it is illuminated in flashing neon signs that resemble parts of Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York and Seoul.

A 400-year-old canal cuts through the flashy district. At night, illuminated billboards (including that of the famous Gilco Running Man) emit a show of lights that glitter off its waters.

Heeding the advice of multiple blogs and travel guides, we explored the district with empty stomachs and put our taste buds to work. We ate okonomiyaki along one of Dotombori’s hole-in-the-wall side streets, sampled takoyaki from kukuru and snacked on an assortment of Osaka-style skewers at Kushikatsu Gokakuya.

I wish I could have eaten without getting full, because the food options in Osaka kept my mouth watering long after I’d stuffed my stomach to the brim.

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My three day Kyoto and Osaka itinerary allowed me to experience some of Japan’s best offerings in limited time. From iconic landmarks and world heritage sites to tantalizing food and vibrant culture, Kansai’s two largest cities gave me insight into the contrasting forces at play in this modern, yet deeply traditional, country.

And in doing so, they all but convinced me to begin planning my return trip to the area.

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Additional Kyoto and Osaka Itinerary Tips

• There are multiple ways to travel between Kyoto and Osaka. The shinkansen (Y1420) is the fastest option, taking approximately 15 minutes. Other options include the JR Train (Y560, 30 minutes) and a bus that travels between Kyoto Station and Osaka’s Universal City Station (Y900).
• Visiting Kyoto and Osaka is best in the Spring and Fall, when weather is pleasant and mild. Summers in Japan can get unbearably hot, while winters tend to be quite cold.

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With a population of nearly 40 million and over 6,000 residents packed into each square kilometer, Tokyo—the world’s largest city—is teeming with people. Crowds are everywhere in Tokyo—crossing the streets in hoards, packing udon houses to the brim and swarming in and out of metro stations at all hours of the day and night.

And yet, though the city is nearly bursting at the seams, the metros are punctual, the streets are spotless and the city runs like a well-oiled machine. Even Tokyo’s residents seem to move about the city in a synchronized fashion that ensures nobody is trampled, trounced or lost in the crowd.

Tokyo is organized chaos at its finest.

I’d wanted to visit Tokyo since 2007, when I took part in a high school exchange program on the island of Ishigaki, in Japan’s Yaeyama Islands. While there, I attended a local school, stayed with a host family and had the opportunity to spend a few days devouring Japan’s cultural relics in Kyoto.

But Ishigaki was worlds away from the image of Japan that I’d had in my mind. The sleepy island in the South China Sea is more famous for its white-sand beaches and turquoise water than for its temples, shrines and neon lights.

I was curious about Japan’s sprawling population center. And so, en-route to the Micronesian islands of Palau, I gave myself 24 hours to explore Tokyo on a layover.

24 HOUR TOKYO LAYOVER

Given that I merely had one day in Tokyo, I hit the ground running and packed my short stay with many of the city’s must-see highlights. Tokyo is massive and teeming with sites. It isn’t the type of place that can be adequately explored on a 24 hour layover.

That being said, I delegated my limited time in a way that would allow me to maximize my short visit. Over the course of 24 hours, I dove headfirst into the city’s neighborhoods, its historical sites, and its tantalizing food scene.

ASAKUSA NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE EVENING

Asakusa is a quiet and historical area of the city. It is famous for housing the beautiful Senso-Ji—Tokyo’s premier Buddhist temple and one of the city’s major tourist draws. Dominating the entrance to the temple grounds is the Kaminarimon Gate, which leads to Nakamise Street. The 200 meter-long shopping promenade is lined with souvenir shops and stores selling traditional Japanese crafts. The pedestrian street connects the Kaminarimon Gate to the temple’s main hall and five-story Pagoda.

Lit up at night, the red and white Senso-Ji Temple is simply magical.

THE SHIBUYA CROSSING

At around 6pm, I left Senso-Ji and headed toward the Shibuya Crossing by metro. Known as “the scramble” the Shibuya Crossing is allegedly the world’s busiest junction and Japan’s version of New York’s Times Square.

But Shibuya is much more than just a traffic intersection. It is also where one can witness the intersection of Tokyo’s many subcultures–businessmen in pressed suits, teenage girls rocking the latest trends and camera-toting tourists.

I walked across the famous interchange and was swept up by the rush of people. Then, I stood on the street corner and watched, mesmerized, the spectacle of people crossing the street in unison. In orderly fashion, hundreds of people walked in the same direction, at the same pace, at the same time. I watched the crowd stop and go and then stop again. There was no pushing, shoving or walking against the stream of people. The crowd moved in a synchronized fashion and only once the traffic light turned red.

From Shibuya’s main intersection, I walked away from the rush of people and wandered down the streets of the area’s shopping district. I followed throngs of people up and down the surrounding streets, admiring the area’s quirky shops until jet-lag got the best of me.

Then, I headed back to the hostel and went to bed, anxious to discover some of Tokyo’s other highlights before my 4pm flight the following day.

MEIJI JINGU SHRINE

Heeding the advice of the hostel staff, Melissa and I spent the next morning exploring the Meiji Jingu Shrine and adjacent Harajuku fashion district.

The Meiji Jingu Shrine is a Shinto house of worship located in the middle of a verdant urban forest that contains over 300 species of trees from around Japan. Dedicated to the late 19th-century emperor, Meiji, the shrine is a serene and tranquil place to visit.

At the entrance to the park are large wooden torii gates made of 1,000 year old Japanese cypress. A series of paths lead to the main shrine and wind their way through the 170 acre forest. A visit to the Meiji Jingu Shrine is a perfect escape from the fast-paced chaos that characterizes the rest of Tokyo.

Today, the Meiji Jingu Shrine is a favorite location for wedding ceremonies. When we visited, the park was packed with tourists, worshippers and wedding attendees dressed in traditional kimonos.

Melissa and I spent time exploring the forested paths, visiting the various shrines and watching the procession of kimono-clad wedding guests. I felt as though I had stepped back in time–to a Japan before the neon lights and trendy fashions.

I felt worlds away from Tokyo.

HARAJUKU FASHION DISTRICT

After relaxing in the serenity of the Meiji Jingu grounds, Melissa and I headed to the trendy Takeshita Street in the Harajuku district. Takeshita Street is a narrow street lined with boutiques, restaurants and shops selling peculiar gadgets and apparel.

In Harajuku, boldly dressed teens assert their individuality in unconventional ways and try their hand at the latest fashion trends, from Lolitas to kogal and from punk to Hello Kitty. Mannequins in the window don chain-link dresses, tutus, robot costumes, feather boas and rainbow wigs.

In a country where conformity is key, the Harajuku district seems to break all conventions.

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Traveling in Japan is both chaotic and serene. My brief 24 hour visit to Tokyo gave me a small taste of the contrasting dynamics at play in Japan’s capital. It allowed me to witness the peaceful urban sanctuaries, the historical shrines, the neon lights, the outlandish fashions and the duality between conformity and individual expression.

But as with any whirlwind visit, I left Tokyo wishing I had given the city a few more days of exploration.

I told myself that the next time I plan a Japan itinerary, I’ll slow down and savor the quirks of Tokyo’s many personalities. Before going to Japan, I’ll reach out to some of my friends from Ishigaki who now live in Tokyo and try to see the city from their eyes. I’ll be sure to go to one of the city’s signature cat cafes or robot-themed restaurants, just for fun.

And I’ll focus on exploring Tokyo’s lesser-known attractions, too—allowing myself to once again get lost in the synchronized chaos of the world’s largest city.

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