Ibis Styles Kyoto Station is in an amazing location – directly across the street from the main train station in Kyoto. Plus, there’s a Family Mart just down the street. It’s clean, safe, and comfortable for a handful of nights. Okay, let’s check out some photos. Ibis Styles Kyoto There are two Ibis hotels in Kyoto and we stayed at the one right across the street from the station. The other one is a few blocks back, so still within about a 10 minute walk…

Kyoto eats. Being gluten free in Japan is a little tough at times. Advanced planning, however, makes it easy to find some amazing places. From ramen to pizza, let’s explore Kyoto eats. Restaurants Snacks Kyoto Eats For our first night in Kyoto we made a reservation and Sugarhill. When exploring a new place, I often like to make a nice reservation on our first night to ensure we’ve got a good meal under our belt before we explore too far – being hungry isn’t much…

The Nijō-jo Castle is a must in Kyoto. The grounds are just less than 70 acres and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Ninomaru Palace is the one space where you can enter, however, no shoes and no photos allowed. The floors squeak an the rooms are elegant, worth the line or wait if there is one. Okay, let’s check out some of our photos. Nijō-jo Castle First, the decorative roof features are similar to the Imperial Palace, neat, eh?! As you can see…

Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple overlooking Kyoto, Japan. It’s beautiful, full of history, and was shortlisted as one of the new seven wonders of the world. It didn’t win one of the coveted spots, though. Nope, the seven new wonders of the world are the Great Wall of China, Petra, Colosseum, Chichén Itzá (we’ve been there!), Machu Picchu, Taj Mahal, and Christ the Redeemer. Out of the seven listed, I’d like to see Petra next, I think. What about you? Okay, enough about that and…

Fushimi Inari Taisha is a shrine in Kyoto, Japan. The trail is about 4 km long and when crowds are busy, the path can take about 2 hours. You’ll most certainly put in more than 5,000 steps if you take on this adventure. It’s easy, yet long – bring water and the shrine is best visited in the morning, when temperatures (and crowds!) are cooler. Okay, let’s check out some photos. First, a tip – the train station is very close, so don’t stress about…

The Kyoto Imperial Palace – did you know it’s been destroyed and rebuilt eight times. You can’t walk inside the palace, not without a tour, and you can’t take any photographs on the inside. You can take as many photos you want walking around the outside, though. From the architecture to the simplicity, it’s worth visiting. And, it’s worth seeing all the other tourists, aka, people watching. Kyoto Imperial Palace The palace is inside the national gardens, as you can see from the map below.…

The Kyoto Botanical Gardens are a stunning place to visit – enjoy nature, enjoy tranquility, and enjoy people watching. We visited on the weekend (either a Saturday or a Sunday) and there were so many activities happening. From face painting to bonsai tree pruning lessons, to first responder dress-up stations for children. It’s a peaceful place to visit. Let’s check out some photos. Kyoto Botanical Gardens First, getting there via the train is quite easy. The train station pops up right at the entrance, so…