We Went to Kyoto Without a Plan, and That Was the Point

 

Kyoto at dusk, quiet and calm, just like the whole trip.

At the end of April, my daughter and I went to Kyoto, deliberately skipping cherry blossom season.

I've never loved crowds, so instead of ticking off famous sights, I wanted to wander the backstreets wherever our feet took us. Just the two of us.

From Kansai Airport to Kyoto on the Haruka

We took the Haruka express from Kansai Airport to Kyoto. As soon as we left Osaka's bright, buzzing energy behind and pulled into Kyoto, the mood turned calm and quiet. Same Kansai region, but the air felt completely different.

I'm usually a spontaneous, go-with-the-flow type (a true "P" on the MBTI scale), but strangely, when I travel I always check transportation and possible surprises in advance. We took a morning flight to Osaka and timed everything so we'd reach the hotel around 3 p.m. I also booked the Haruka ahead of time, which made the trip easy.

One small tip: when we took it, the right side of the train was better for avoiding the sun. This can change depending on your date and time, so take it as a rough guide.

No itinerary, just whichever alley looked interesting.

A trip with no purpose was the purpose

We tried to avoid tourist spots as much as possible. I wanted to visit macourt, a select shop you can only find in Japan, and my daughter wanted to browse brands like Human Made, Supreme, and Stüssy. We also planned to stop by a few luxury vintage shops.

But honestly, we didn't have much of a plan. We wandered through markets and walked into any shop that looked pretty, strolled along the river, and turned down any alley that caught our eye. I speak some Japanese, which made the whole trip easy and comfortable.

The cool spring weather was perfect for walking. Along the way, we found a small handmade jewelry studio and bought a cute pair of strawberry earrings and a pair of tassel earrings. Little finds like that are what make wandering so much fun.

Little finds from a handmade jewelry studio we stumbled into.

A hotel we found on YouTube

I chose our hotel after watching a Japanese YouTuber's stay video. Somehow a hotel picked by a local felt more trustworthy. 😂 It looked neat and calm in the video, and in person it lived up to my expectations.

It was Nohga Hotel Kiyomizu Kyoto, in the Kiyomizu area, where mountains, trees, and old temples and shrines come together beautifully.

I'd heard there was a rooftop, so I was excited. The rooftop itself was cozy rather than huge, but it was still a nice place to get some fresh air and relax.

Nohga Hotel Kiyomizu Kyoto, our base for three nights.

A twin room that was just right for two

We stayed three nights. Maybe because it was off-season, it was about ₩250,000 a night, which felt reasonable. Our twin room wasn't big, but it was just the right size for the two of us.

Kyoto also has a separate accommodation tax, and if I remember right, we paid about ₩30,000–40,000 extra in total.

Amenities aren't pre-stocked in the room. Instead, you pick up what you need from the lobby. I'd brought everything from home, so I didn't really need them. But the coffee and tea in the room were surprisingly good, and I even brought a few home.

Last year we stayed near Ginza in Tokyo for a similar price, and the room was so tiny it felt like a capsule hotel. Ever since, I've learned it's worth paying a bit more for a proper hotel. (To be fair, Ginza is an expensive area.)

Breakfast at CICON Bakery. Light, so we could save room for lunch.

The ground-floor bakery even locals line up for

The staff were all very kind. For breakfast, we skipped the restaurant and went straight to CICON Bakery on the ground floor. I'm not much of a breakfast person anyway, and I wanted to save room for local restaurants.

The bakery seemed quietly popular. Not just hotel guests but people from the neighborhood came in to buy bread. As a bread lover, I was happy with the quality. It wasn't quite worth carrying back to Korea, so we just enjoyed it there.

One thing to know: the subway station is a bit of a walk, and the nearest convenience store isn't close either. For me, whose main exercise is breathing, it was the kind of distance that made me think twice before going. 😂 My daughter, who loves walking, happily went back and forth.

 A drink on the rooftop at the end of a long day of walking.

A small moment in the taxi on our last day

On the day we flew home, we took a taxi from the hotel to Kyoto Station. As a little keepsake, I gave the driver a Korean 1,000-won bill. In return, he gave us a box of Royce' chocolate, and told us he has a Korean friend who's a really good person.

It was a short moment, but that small exchange made the end of our trip feel so warm.

Wrapping up

I honestly can't think of anything I was disappointed by. We barely met any other Korean guests during our stay, which may be why it felt so quiet and relaxing.

I'd happily stay there again. For me, it was exactly the kind of hotel that suited this trip: quiet, comfortable, and a calm base for wandering without feeling like we had to be anywhere.

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Do you prefer famous sights or wandering without a plan when you travel? Tell me in the comments! 💬