What should I avoid in Kyoto?

Kyoto's bus network looks convenient on the route map at Kyoto Station. It isn't. During cherry blossom season from late March through mid-April, the 205 and 100 lines run at capacity from 10am onward. You'll wait through 3 buses before squeezing aboard, then crawl through Higashiyama traffic that turns a 15-minute ride into 50. The Tozai and Karasuma subway lines cover fewer stops but move. A day pass costs ¥800 on the subway versus ¥700 on the bus, and the subway gets you to Nijo Castle and the Imperial Palace area in 12 minutes flat. The Keifuku Randen tram to Arashiyama from Shijo-Omiya takes 20 minutes. The Arashiyama end of the Randen line has a free foot bath on the platform and the warm smell of roasted hojicha from tea stands along the exit.

The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove appears on every Kyoto list. The reality at 1pm on a Saturday in October is a single-file shuffle through a 400-meter corridor, shoulder-to-shoulder, with phone screens raised above heads blocking the canopy. Arrive before 7:30am and you'll hear wind moving through the stalks. That's the whole point. The rickshaw operators at the grove entrance quote ¥500 for a "short ride." That covers the first 2 minutes. The full 30-minute route runs ¥9,000 per person, and they pivot to the longer option once you're seated. If you want the pulled-rickshaw experience, book at Ebisuya's Arashiyama office where the rates are posted on a board outside.

Gion's Hanamikoji street south of Shijo-dori is where most visitors go to spot maiko. What you'll find after 5pm is a corridor of tourists with telephoto lenses pointed at every woman in a kimono. Most are other visitors in rental outfits from one of the 30-plus rental shops near Gojo Station, which charge ¥3,500-¥6,000. Kyoto's city government posted "no photography" signs on Hanamikoji's side streets in 2019 after complaints from residents and ochaya teahouse owners. The fine runs ¥10,000. For food, skip any restaurant between Shijo-dori and Yasaka Shrine that has a picture menu on a stand outside and a host waving you in. A bowl of ramen in that strip runs ¥1,800-¥3,000. Walk 8 minutes north to the Sanjo-dori stretch between Kawaramachi and Teramachi where the same bowl costs ¥850-¥1,000 at shops that don't need a doorway hawker.

Kyoto sits in a basin. The humidity in July and August is thick enough to taste, a warm dampness that clings to your skin the moment you step off the Shinkansen at Kyoto Station. Temperatures reach 36-38°C through early August with 75-80% humidity. The rainy season, tsuyu, runs from early June through mid-July and brings steady drizzle that makes temple stone paths slick underfoot. Mind you, tsuyu also keeps the crowds thin. Saihoji Temple's moss garden, founded in 1339, looks its greenest in this wet season, the moss almost luminous against grey stone. The worst timing for a first visit is Golden Week, April 29 through May 5. Kinkaku-ji, which draws roughly 5 million visitors per year, hits peak density during those 7 days. The ticket line at the Golden Pavilion can run 40 minutes. Tofuku-ji's autumn foliage bridge in mid-November has similar compression.

Kyoto Tower, built in 1964, charges ¥900 for an observation deck with a view of grey rooftops and highway overpasses. The 131-meter structure stands at Kyoto Station and looks tempting on arrival. Skip it. For a view of the city against the Higashiyama mountains, climb to the cemetery behind Otani Hombyo temple on Gojozaka. Free, open until dusk, and you'll smell incense from the prayer halls below. Kinkaku-ji is worth one visit, but Ginkaku-ji in Sakyo ward, the Silver Pavilion founded in 1465, is the better temple experience. Its sand garden, shaped into a cone meant to reflect moonlight, draws a fraction of the crowd. The walk along the Philosopher's Path from Ginkaku-ji south toward Nanzen-ji takes about 30 minutes and follows a canal lined with cherry trees that drop petals onto the water in early April.