Travelling between Kobe, Kyoto and Osaka

Hi all,

I need some advice here. This is my first trip to Japan and I am really looking forward to this trip.

I'll reach Kobe on 20 July evening and will leave Kobe for Tokyo on 24 July. I'll be staying at my boyfriend's hotel at Kobe. He has to work on these dates and I will be traveling solo.

I'll plan to make use of the 3 days to travel to Kyoto and Osaka and leave half-a-day for Kobe.

Here is my planned itinerary.

Day 1:
1. reach Kyoto station at 9am, proceed to Kitaoji station - take bus 101, 102, 204, 205 to Kinkakuji Temple (spend 1.5 hours)
2. from Kinkakuji Temple - walk to Ryoanji Temple (spend 1 hour)
3. return to Kitaoji station by bus - travel to Karasuma Oike and transfer to Tozai line - head to Higashiyama station
4. walk to Higashiyama District - lunch break at Higashiyama street
5. Kiyomizudera Temple - Kodaiji Temple - Yasaka Shrine (spend the whole afternoon till 5pm)
6. walk to Hanami-koji Street at Gion district and perhaps have dinner.
7. walk back to Gion bus stop and take bus 100, 206 to return to Kyoto station.
8. travel back to Kobe via JR train.

Please help to comment and advise:
- if the above itinerary is too packed? I plan to explore each stop as much as i can and taking pictures.

- any shortcut to travel from one stop to another? Not sure if i shall take any direct bus or make use of subways to save time.

Day 2:
spend the morning till noon at:
1. Nijo castle
2. Nishiki Market

From here, I have several options:
option 1: heading to Osaka and spend the rest of day for Osaka castle and Osaka Aquarium and return to Kobe in the evening.
Is it sufficient for Osaka or shall i make it one full day on the day 3 for Osaka alone?

option 2: explore the rest of Kyoto. I'm keen to explore Arashiyama area but thinking if there is better option to do since it is summer and no autumn foliage to enjoy at Arashiyama.

option 3: return to Kobe and spend the rest of day exploring Kobe. Is it sufficient for exploring Kobe?

thanks and regards.

if the above itinerary is too packed?

It is a busy day, but should be doable. Travel times within Kyoto are considerable, but on the other hand you have more than enough time allocated for visiting the temples. Still, if you arrive by 9am and see both temples in the morning before having lunch in the Higashiyama district, your lunch could become a somewhat late lunch (I estimate 1pm or later).

any shortcut to travel from one stop to another? Not sure if i shall take any direct bus or make use of subways to save time.

I would also rely on subways whenever possible because they are faster, more frequnet, more comfotable and more reliable than buses.

I would consider taking a taxi instead of buses in some cases, e.g. between Ryoanji and Kitaoji Station where travel by bus could be very time consuming. I would also consider walking between Kinkakuji and Ryoanji (about 15-20 minutes).


heading to Osaka and spend the rest of day for Osaka castle and Osaka Aquarium and return to Kobe in the evening.
Is it sufficient for Osaka or shall i make it one full day on the day 3 for Osaka alone?

For the travelers who prefers a slow pace, that would definitely be too busy, especially on weekends when there can be waiting times for entering the aquarium, and especially during summer when the summer heat slows down everyone's pace. But if you like a fast pace and are physically strong, you could pack everything into a single day. A tiring day.

I hope you have a rail pass and can use the shinkansen every morning between Kobe and Kyoto and don't have to mingle with the rush hour commuters, which would constitute an additional tiring factor.

explore the rest of Kyoto. I'm keen to explore Arashiyama area but thinking if there is better option to do since it is summer and no autumn foliage to enjoy at Arashiyama.

Arashiyama is also very pleasant when the forested mountain slopes are in lush green.

return to Kobe and spend the rest of day exploring Kobe. Is it sufficient for exploring Kobe?

I don't think Kobe has any must-see attraction. So, it really depends on what in Kobe you want to see.