Japan
Quiet courtyards and lantern-lit lanes
Best window
Late March–April, or mid-November for maple
This week
Late summer humidity. Temples open early; go at 7, not 11. Evening is for the river at Kamo.
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Full day · 11 hours
Fushimi Inari at first light, a kissaten, Nishiki when the vendors are still setting out, then the east hills as they empty.
7 stops
Easy day · 8 hours
Bamboo at opening, a moss temple most visitors never find, river soba, and the Randen home before the afternoon crush turns mean.
5 stops
Tap in at the back, ride, tap out and pay at the front. Say the stop name if you are unsure. A day pass is only worth it if you ride three times. Walking is usually faster inside the east hills.
Anything famous is ruined between 10 and 3. 7am is civilized. Many gardens close at 16:30, not 18:00. Last entry is often 30 minutes before close.
Slip-ons. You will be in and out of temples all day. White socks if you care. Do not step on the tatami threshold.
Hidden · Higashiyama
A temple that still feels like a house. The garden lights in season are worth the ticket; off-season, the silence is the ticket.
Local note. Go in the last hour. Sit on the veranda facing the pond.
Hours: 9:00–17:00, later on light-up nights
See on the mapFood · Nakagyo
Soba in a wooden house that has been doing this since the 1400s. Not a secret, just correctly old.
Local note. The hourly-meal set. Sit upstairs if you can.
Hours: 11:00–15:00, 17:00–19:30
See on the mapWalk · Kamogawa
Where the two rivers meet. Students, old men with radios, no itinerary. Sit on the concrete steps.
Local note. Late afternoon. Convenience-store onigiri is correct here.
Hours: Always open
See on the mapPause · Teramachi
A tea merchant, not a café. You drink what they sell, standing or at the back counter.
Local note. Ask for usucha. Buy a small tin to take home; it is the one souvenir that is not a kimono magnet.
Hours: 9:00–18:00
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Konnichiwa
Hello
ありがとうございます
Arigatō gozaimasu
Thank you
すみません
Sumimasen
Excuse me
いくらですか
Ikura desu ka
How much is this?
おいしいです
Oishii desu
This is delicious
どこですか
Doko desu ka
Where is…?
お水をください
Omizu o kudasai
Water, please
お会計お願いします
Okaikei onegai shimasu
The bill, please
乾杯
Kanpai
Cheers
手伝ってください
Tetsudatte kudasai
Can you help me?