Higashiyama High and Low

We started out the morning by heading up to Shogunzuka Seiryuden from the Hyatt Place Kyoto where we have been staying. After enjoying the view and garden, we headed back down to have lunch at Sanjo, north of Gion. After an excellent meal, we visited Shoren-in and Chion-in before ending at Yasaka-jinja. We had a nice matcha snack in Gion before heading to dinner near Kyoto Station.

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Braving the Hordes at Tofuku-ji and Kiyomizu-dera

We headed out in the morning from the Hyatt Place Kyoto for quick walk through a tiny part of Kyoto Gyoen on the way to breakfast. After eating, we visited Tofuku-ji, one of Kyoto’s most well known fall foliage viewing sites. It was crazy! And because we didn’t quite get enough madness, we headed back to Kiyomizu-dera for the nighttime illumination which was absolutely ridiculous! But quite beautiful and absolutely worth the trouble!

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Daytime Kiyomizu-dera and Evening Kodai-ji

We ended up waking up early at the Hyatt Place Kyoto and headed out to Kiyomizu-dera, hoping to beat the crowds. We were successful but the morning light wasn’t great due to the proximity of the mountains. We ended up visiting three times throughout the day hoping for better light! Later, in the afternoon, we walked over to Kodai-ji and stayed for their nighttime fall illumination event.

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Koraku-en and the Meiji Jingu Inner Garden

After breakfast, we checked out of the Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo, dropped off our bags at Shinagawa Station, and headed to Koraku-en, a garden near Ueno. After walking through the garden, we had lunch nearby and then visited the Meiji Jingu‘s inner garden. We then had an afternoon snack in Omotesando before taking the Shinkansen to Kyoto where we checked into the Hyatt Place Kyoto.

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