Kyoto One-Day Off-the-Beaten-Track Cherry Blossom Itinerary

My one-day Kyoto cherry blossom itinerary lets you escape the crowds and enjoy the blossoms to the full by guiding you to the temples, shrines and gardens that are off the beaten track

Visitors amongst the cherry trees at Shinyo-do temple in Kyoto
Shinyodo-temple with cherry blossoms © mshades

9am: Shinyo-do Temple
Start the day by heading up to Shinyo-do Temple, up on Yoshida-yama. The main hall of this temple is surrounded by lovely cherry trees, and there are some more beauties outside the main gate. Bus Nos. 5, 203 and 204 all stop nearby. The closest stop is the Kinrin Shako-mae stop. It’s a little tricky to find from there (use our map to find the way). Of course, all buses will be packed during this season, so a taxi direct from your hotel is a very good idea and will save time and effort.

10am: Yoshida-yama
Walk east out of the temple’s main vermillion gate and continue straight for about 100 meters through a residential neighborhood and up a flight of steps to reach the top of Yoshida-yama (a small hill). Work your way north across the top of the hill (crossing a street en route). It will take some route finding, but you’ll eventually descend down to Imadegawa-dori Street.

Cherry blossoms overhang the Kamo River in Kyoto, Japan
Kamo-gawa River with cherries © 41265963

Noon: Walk to Kyoto Gosho
Walk west (away from the mountains) on Imadegawa for about 20 minutes, passing Kyoto University and crossing Higashioji-dori en route. You’ll eventually find yourself at the confluence of the Kamo-gawa and Takano-gawa rivers. This is the area known as Demachiyanagi. Grab some food in a nearby convenience store and continue west along Imadegawa. Cross the Kamo-gawa and Kawaramachi-dori, then continue for another 400m until you see the Gosho (Kyoto Imperial Palace Park) on your left.

2pm: Kyoto Gosho (Imperial Palace Park)
Enter the Gosho via the Imadegawa Entrance and then take a right on the first major promenade in the Gosho and walk west. Another 200m or so will bring you to the site of the former Konoe Residence, which has some magnificent weeping cherry trees. This is not exactly off-the-beaten-track, but it’s big enough to take a lot of people without feeling crowded. You can have a picnic lunch here.

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Destination

Check-in date

Fri 20 Sep 2024

Check-out date

Sat 21 Sep 2024

4pm: Return to Hotel to Rest
After lunch, you can walk to the Imadegawa subway station and take a train back downtown. . Take a well-deserved rest at your lodgings.

6pm: Dinner Downtown
Eat dinner downtown wherever you can find a seat.

Cherry blossoms from Kiyamachi Street overhang the Takase River in the evening
Kiyamachi in the evening with cherry blossoms © 126057645@N04

8pm: Kiyamachi
Walk south on Kiyamachi from Sanjo-dori. Kiyamiachi is two streets west of the Kamo-gawa. The canal that runs parallel to Kiyamachi is lined with cherry trees that are illuminated during cherry blossom season. It will be crowded until you reach Shijo-dori. Cross Shijo and continue along Kiyamachi. About 100 meters south of Shijo, the crowds thin out and you can enjoy this magical arcade of illuminated cherry trees with few people around to bother you.