KYOTO GUIDE · 京都観光ガイド
Kyoto from Nanzen-ji
Yachiyo stands on the approach to Nanzen-ji. Nanzen-ji and the Suirokaku aqueduct are 3 minutes away on foot, and Eikan-dō, the Philosopher’s Path and Heian Shrine are all within walking distance. From sights near the ryokan to seasonal events across the city, each page shows how long it takes to get there from Yachiyo.
Seasonal features
Find a place
Filter by season and area. Places are listed from nearest to the ryokan.
Nanzen-ji Hōjō
Nanzen-ji is about more than autumn leaves. Step up into the Hōjō and you are greeted quietly by a…
From Yachiyo: About 3 min walk
Nanzen-ji Sanmon in Spring
The Nanzen-ji approach on which Yachiyo stands is decorated with cherry blossoms in spring. The Sanmon…
From Yachiyo: About 3 min walk
Nanzen-ji Approach and Sanmon
Step out of Yachiyo's gate and you are on the Nanzen-ji approach. In autumn the path to the Sanmon is…
From Yachiyo: About 3 min walk
Nanzen-ji
At the end of the approach on which Yachiyo stands, about 3 minutes' walk away, lies Nanzen-ji. Walking…
From Yachiyo: About 3 min walk
Keage Incline
A short walk from Yachiyo, the old tracks that once carried boats become a tunnel of cherry blossoms each…
From Yachiyo: About 5 min walk
Keage Water Purification Plant
On the hill at Keage, just by the ryokan, lies a water purification plant. On the days its normally…
From Yachiyo: About 5 min walk
Suirokaku in Autumn
About 5 minutes' walk from Yachiyo, the brick Suirokaku stands in Nanzen-ji's grounds. In autumn, red…
From Yachiyo: About 5 min walk
Okazaki Canal
The Lake Biwa Canal flows near Yachiyo. Around Okazaki, cherry trees on both banks bloom so fully they…
From Yachiyo: About 5–10 min walk
Eikan-dō (Zenrin-ji)
Long praised as "Eikan-dō of the maples". On autumn nights the grounds are lit up and the leaves…
From Yachiyo: About 6–10 min walk
Heian Shrine Garden
Heian Shrine is within walking distance of Yachiyo. In spring the garden behind its halls is wrapped in…
From Yachiyo: About 10 min walk
Heian Shrine
About 10 minutes' walk from Yachiyo, Heian Shrine with its striking vermilion halls and great torii…
From Yachiyo: About 10 min walk
Philosopher's Path
The Philosopher's Path is within walking distance of Yachiyo. In spring the cherry avenue along the canal…
From Yachiyo: About 10–15 min walk
Philosopher's Path
The Philosopher's Path, within walking distance of Yachiyo, is a quiet walkway along a branch of the Lake…
From Yachiyo: About 10–15 min walk
Shōren-in
About 15 minutes' walk south along Jingū-michi from Yachiyo, the Tendai monzeki temple Shōren-in is a…
From Yachiyo: About 15 min walk
Chion-in
Chion-in, head temple of the Jōdo (Pure Land) school, sits at the foot of the Higashiyama hills. Its…
From Yachiyo: About 20 min walk
Maruyama Park
Maruyama Park spreads east of Yasaka Shrine. At its centre stands the "Gion weeping cherry", the single…
From Yachiyo: About 20 min walk
Jōjakkō-ji
Jōjakkō-ji is a Nichiren-sect temple halfway up Mount Ogura, a mountain celebrated in the Hyakunin Isshu…
From Yachiyo: About 40 min by subway and train, then about 15 min walk from Saga-Arashiyama Station
Gozan Okuribi (Daimonji)
On the night of August 16, fires are lit one after another on the mountains ringing the Kyoto basin. The…
From Yachiyo: About 10 min by taxi to the Kamo River banks
Ginkaku-ji (Jishō-ji) in Autumn
Ginkaku-ji's formal name is Jishō-ji, a Zen temple that began as the Higashiyama villa of the eighth…
From Yachiyo: About 10 min by taxi
Hōnen-in in Autumn
Hōnen-in is a Jōdo-sect temple in the hills of Shishigatani, south of Ginkaku-ji and a short way east of…
From Yachiyo: About 10 min by taxi (about 25 min walk along the Philosopher's Path)
Kōdai-ji
Kōdai-ji was founded by Kita-no-Mandokoro (Nene) to pray for her husband Hideyoshi. In spring, a weeping…
From Yachiyo: About 10 min by taxi
Kōdai-ji Autumn Illumination
Kōdai-ji, founded by Hideyoshi's wife Kita-no-Mandokoro (Nene) to pray for him, is a Higashiyama…
From Yachiyo: About 10 min by taxi
Kōdai-ji at Night in Spring
Kōdai-ji was founded by Nene (Kita-no-Mandokoro) to pray for Toyotomi Hideyoshi. During the cherry-season…
From Yachiyo: About 10 min by taxi (about 35 min walk via Shōren-in and Maruyama Park)
Minamiza Theatre
At the east end of Shijō bridge stands Minamiza, a theatre that carries on the tradition of the Shijō…
From Yachiyo: About 10 min by taxi (about 20 min walk to Gion)
Shinnyo-dō (Shinshō Gokuraku-ji)
At the eastern foot of Mount Yoshida, the main hall of Shinnyo-dō stands at the top of gentle stone…
From Yachiyo: About 10 min by taxi
Aoi Matsuri
Aoi Matsuri is the annual festival of Shimogamo and Kamigamo shrines. In the fresh green of May, people…
From Yachiyo: About 15 min by taxi to the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park
Kiyomizu-dera
Kiyomizu-dera is famous for its wooden "stage". During the special night openings, the main hall and…
From Yachiyo: About 15 min by taxi
Kiyomizu-dera
South of Yachiyo, at the end of the Higashiyama walking route, Kiyomizu-dera stands halfway up Mount…
From Yachiyo: About 15 min by taxi
Shōgunzuka Seiryū-den
Shōgunzuka is a detached precinct of Shōren-in on top of the Higashiyama hills. Known for its sweeping…
From Yachiyo: About 15 min by taxi
Enkō-ji in Autumn
At the foot of the hills in Ichijōji, northern Kyoto, Enkō-ji's "Jūgyū no Niwa" (Garden of the Ten Oxen)…
From Yachiyo: About 20 min by taxiEnkō-ji (Autumn Special Viewing)
Enkō-ji is a Zen temple in Ichijōji, northern Kyoto, close to Shisen-dō. In autumn it is open by advance…
From Yachiyo: About 20 min by taxi
Gion Matsuri
Gion Matsuri, the festival of Yasaka Shrine with a history of over a thousand years, is Kyoto's great…
From Yachiyo: About 20 min by taxi or subway to Shijō-Karasuma
Shimogamo Shrine (Kamo-mioya Jinja)
Formally called Kamo-mioya Jinja, Shimogamo Shrine is counted among Kyoto's oldest shrines and is…
From Yachiyo: About 20 min by taxi
Shisen-dō in Autumn
Shisen-dō began as the mountain retreat of Ishikawa Jōzan, an early Edo man of letters. Its compact space…
From Yachiyo: About 20 min by taxi
Shisen-dō
In a residential area of Ichijōji at the foot of Mount Hiei stands Shisen-dō, the mountain retreat where…
From Yachiyo: About 20 min by taxi
Tōfuku-ji
Tōfuku-ji is famous for its autumn leaves at the Tsūten-kyō bridge. Its grounds also hold gardens by the…
From Yachiyo: About 20 min by taxi
Daitoku-ji
Daitoku-ji is the head temple of the Daitoku-ji school of Rinzai Zen in Murasakino, northern Kyoto. Its…
From Yachiyo: About 25 min by taxi
Manshu-in
Manshu-in is a Tendai-sect monzeki temple at the foot of the hills in Ichijōji, below Mount Hiei. Headed…
From Yachiyo: About 25 min by taxi
Tō-ji (Kyōō Gokoku-ji)
A five-storey pagoda within walking distance of Kyoto Station: Tō-ji is one of Kyoto's iconic views,…
From Yachiyo: About 25 min by taxi
Entsū-ji
A garden framed by the pillars of the tatami room, with Mount Hiei in the distance. Entsū-ji is a quiet…
From Yachiyo: About 30 min by taxi
Kinkaku-ji (Rokuon-ji)
A must-see on any visit to Kyoto, Kinkaku-ji is famous for its shining golden reliquary hall. Its formal…
From Yachiyo: About 30 min by taxi
Kitano Tenmangū – Hatsu-Tenjin
Kitano Tenmangū enshrines Sugawara no Michizane, god of learning, and holds a fair called "Tenjin-san" on…
From Yachiyo: About 30 min by taxi
Myōshin-ji
Myōshin-ji, head temple of the Myōshin-ji school of Rinzai Zen in Hanazono, is sometimes called Japan's…
From Yachiyo: About 30 min by taxi
Kōetsu-ji
Kōetsu-ji is a Nichiren-sect temple in Takagamine, northern Kyoto, on the land where Hon'ami Kōetsu,…
From Yachiyo: About 35 min by taxi
Giō-ji
A small nunnery in Sagano where Giō, the shirabyōshi dancer who lost Taira no Kiyomori's favour, is said…
From Yachiyo: About 1 hour by subway, train and on foot
Nijō Castle Night Cherries
Nijō Castle, built by Tokugawa Ieyasu, is part of the World Heritage "Historic Monuments of Ancient…
From Yachiyo: About 10 min by subway from Keage Station (no transfer)
Lake Biwa Fireworks Festival
A large summer fireworks festival on the shore of Lake Biwa in Otsu, Shiga. You can stay in Kyoto and…
From Yachiyo: About 30 min by direct train from Keage Station
Fushimi Inari Taisha
Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine of the roughly 30,000 Inari shrines in Japan. The deity is said…
From Yachiyo: About 30 min by subway and train
Tō-ji Hatsu-Kōbō Market
At Tō-ji, a market known as "Kōbō-san" is held on the 21st of every month, the monthly memorial day of…
From Yachiyo: About 30 min by subway and train
Tō-ji Pagoda and Special Openings
Tō-ji was built east of the Rashōmon, the southern entrance to the Heian capital, and later entrusted to…
From Yachiyo: About 30 min by subway and trainGiō-ji
Hidden deep in Sagano, Giō-ji is where the dancer Giō of The Tale of the Heike is said to have spent her…
From Yachiyo: About 40 min by subway and train
Sagano Bamboo Grove
The Sagano bamboo grove path, familiar from travel magazines and guidebooks, is one of Kyoto's iconic…
From Yachiyo: About 40 min by subway and train
Dates, opening hours and fees on each page change from year to year. Please check the official information of each temple, shrine or organiser before you go.
Make a ryokan on the Nanzen-ji approach your base for Kyoto. Walking to Nanzen-ji in the early morning or along the hushed approach at night is a pleasure reserved for guests staying nearby.