On my last trip to Japan, Kyoto was one of my favorite stops. Most people think of Kyoto because of famous viral spots such as the Arashiyama Bamboo Groves and the Gion district where the maiko live and work. Arashiyama is a gorgeous place, but Kyoto is also home to one of my favorite shrines as well as one of my favorite temples. Kiyomizu-dera, with its impressive wooden deck, is one of my favorite temples in the country. You can check out my last visit to Kyoto here, where I visited Arashiyama in addition to Fushimi Inari and Gion. My Japan trip planning guide, which has really great info about Kyoto trip planning can be found here.

Since this was my second visit, but X’s first, I wanted to make sure we were doing something that I consider a “must-do”, while also trying something new for me. Our day started in Gion, where we had lunch, followed by dessert in a traditional Japanese teahouse. I highly recommend Gion Komori, where I had the best warabimochi that I’ve ever had in my life.

We walked around Gion for a bit, enjoying the architecture and just letting whimsy guide us. We ended up stumbling on the Go-ō Shrine, the cutest little shrine with hundreds of little boar figurines. Commonly known as the “Wild Boar Shrine”, the boars originate from a shrine legend that tells the story of Wake no Kiyomaru’s path to exile, during which he was attacked and suffered a leg injury, but was saved by 300 wild boars that protected him until the end of his journey.

Our “new” activity, for me, was a tea ceremony and kimono rental from Kimono Tea Ceremony Kyoto MAIKOYA. I had booked a private session, where the host teaches you about the traditional tea ceremony. Before your session, you’re dressed in a kimono of your choice – and they even do your hair! During our session, our host, Dodo, walked us through the significance and tradition of the tea ceremony and then, since we were two couples, we made tea for our partners. This was a very cute and interactive part was so much fun. We loved it.

Afterwards, Dodo helped us take many pictures inside their private gardens. If you’re visiting well before closing time, you can explore outside a bit with the kimono as well. This was a highlight of our trip and I would highly recommend it.

Our last activity of the day in Kyoto was the “old” activity. In my opinion, one cannot go to Kyoto without paying a visit to Fushimi Inari Shrine. Fushimi Inari Shrine is the central headquarters for 40,000 shrines that pay tribute to Inari, the Shinto god of rice, sake, and prosperity. Foxes are thought to be Inari’s messengers, so you’ll see many fox statues and figures all over the property.

The Shrine is perhaps best known for the thousands of torii gates that lead up to Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters. The trail of torii gates leads you through the wooded forest Mount Inari, which takes about 2 hours to complete the entire circuit to the top. The torii gates that run along the trail are actually donations by individuals and companies, and you will find the donor’s name and the date of the donation on the back of each gate. According to articles, the donations start at 400,000¥ for a smaller gate and can go up to 1,000,000¥ for the larger gates!

I’ve been told that if you want the torii gates and the path to yourself, you’ll have to go well before 9am. We opted to go closer to sunset, which also meant we had much of the path to ourselves. You do sacrifice the food stalls and shops leading up to the torii gates though, so you’ll have to weigh the options for your trip.

It might seem a bit frivolous to spend about 1,450¥, but we did end up taking the Shinkansen between Kyoto and Shin-Osaka. It’s one stop, and the ride is only about 15 minutes. After a long, long day exploring, it was great to just be able to get back to Osaka so quickly. I remember taking the long way – about 1 hour and 30 minutes – my first time and it’s worth the price difference. Trust me. You can buy shinkansen tickets on the go via the SmartEx app, and I highly recommend downloading it and setting up an account prior to your visit.