Kyoto Holidays

A special kind of magic begins to stir as you arrive in Kyoto. The sounds of the city are different here; the clanging of temple bells and the thump of a weaving loom. The click clack of a Geisha’s wooden Okano sandals and the wind gently swishing through bamboo forest. Kyoto’s many neighbourhoods are enchanting to explore and it’s a beautiful city from which to dig deeper into Japanese traditions. Part of the fun is getting lost down tiny slips of streets - Pontocho Alley and the Higashiyama district are favourites. In these labyrinth-like alleys you’ll get to see traditional wooden machiya houses, duck into soba restaurants, tuck into Japanese broths and drink sabi tea. These are the Kyoto streets that feel as if they’ve been peeled straight out of a storybook. Then there’s Kyoto’s Gion district, the gathering place of the Geisha (Geiko in Kyoto). Come at dusk and you might be lucky enough to see the twirl of a Geisha’s wagasa parasol as she heads to an evening tea ceremony.    

As part of our Highlights of Japan tour you’ll walk along the nightingale floors of Nijo Castle and almost disappear into the lofty bamboo stalks of Arashiyama’s bewilderingly pretty Bamboo Grove. Then there’s Kyoto’s starry-eyed lined up of temples and shrines, many that have been stamped World Heritage. The cinematic torii gates at Fushimi Inarti-taisha, sweeping Kyoto views from the top of Kiyomizudera Temple and layer upon layer of glistening gold leaf at the Kinkakuji Temple. This is a part of Japan you’ll never forget.