Kyoto has something like sixteen hundred temples and four hundred shrines, and no visitor sees more than a handful of them without going numb. The trick is not finding hidden ones, since there are no hidden ones any more. It is choosing six that are genuinely different from each other and hitting each at the hour when it is not full, which in Kyoto means being an early riser for a few days.
The six that earn their place
Fushimi Inari, a shrine on a wooded hillside with thousands of vermilion torii gates forming tunnels up the slope, free and open at all hours.
Kiyomizudera, a temple on a hillside with a vast wooden stage built out over the valley, approached through steep preserved streets.
Kinkakuji, the golden pavilion, standing in a pond, which is a fifteen minute visit and worth it.
Ginkakuji and the philosopher’s path, a silver pavilion that is not silver, a superb moss and sand garden, and a canal walk down under cherry trees.
Ryoanji, fifteen rocks in raked gravel, which is either the most profound thing in Kyoto or a courtyard, depending on the hour and the crowd.
Sanjusangendo, a long hall containing a thousand and one gilded figures of Kannon standing in ranks, which no photograph prepares you for and where photography is not permitted.
The hours that matter
Fushimi Inari before seven, when the lower tunnels are empty and the light comes through the gates sideways.
Kiyomizudera at opening, before the approach streets fill.
Kinkakuji at opening or in the last hour, since it is small and fills completely.
Ryoanji early, because the rock garden with forty people around it is a different object.
Sanjusangendo any time, since it absorbs crowds and is dim and calm inside.
The philosopher’s path in the late afternoon, when the light is low on the canal.
Moving between them
The subway and the two private rail lines are fast and cover more of the city than people realise.
Buses go everywhere and are slow, and the queues at the major temple stops in high season are genuinely long.
Taxis are reasonable for short awkward hops and split three ways cost little.
Bicycles work well in the flat central grid and badly in the eastern hills.
Walking the eastern side, from Kiyomizudera north through the preserved streets, is one of the best hours in the city.
Etiquette that matters
Shoes off where there is a step up and a rack, which is most temple interiors.
Photography restrictions vary by building and are enforced, particularly inside halls with images.
Quiet in the garden halls, where people are sitting deliberately.
Do not walk through the centre of a shrine gate, which is reserved for the deity; keep to the side.
These are working religious sites, and in several of them people are praying rather than sightseeing.
Practical notes
Closing times are early, often four or five in the afternoon.
Separate entry fees at most temples, cash preferred at some.
Autumn and cherry blossom seasons are extraordinary and extremely crowded, with special illumination openings that need booking.
Summer is brutally humid and the hillside walks are hard work in August.
Wear shoes you can take off easily, which sounds trivial and is not.
Where this fits in a Japan trip
Temples are what Kyoto is for, and three days is the right amount before fatigue sets in.
For the city itself, where to stay and how to structure the days, our Kyoto guide covers the ground.
And for the older capital forty minutes away, where the crowds are a fraction of these, our Nara day trip guide covers the alternative.
For telling one kind of site from the other and what to do at each, which changes every religious building you see afterwards, our guide to temples and shrines covers it.
The short version
Choose six temples rather than sixteen, and pick them for contrast: a torii mountain, a wooden stage, a gold pavilion, a moss garden, a rock garden and a hall of a thousand statues. Sleep in Kyoto rather than commuting in, and use the first two hours after opening, which is the whole reason to pay the extra. Walk fifteen minutes up Fushimi Inari to leave the crowd behind. Take the subway and trains rather than the buses where you can. And check closing times, because they are earlier than you think.
