Three Days in Kyoto Without the Crowds

Kyoto's most photographed places are wonderful at 6am and unbearable at 11. This route is built around that single fact: temples at dawn, museums and tea houses in the crowded middle of the day, and neighbourhood streets in the evening.

Day one starts in Northern Higashiyama, walking south along the canal before the shops open. Day two goes west to Arashiyama — take the first train, not the second. Day three is deliberately unstructured: Nishiki Market, a long lunch, and whatever the weather suggests.

The one booking worth making in advance is a tea ceremony. Everything else on this list works better when you can move it by an hour.