New Years in Kyoto, Japan: Temples, Ramen and Universal Studios Japan

For our first trip in Asia, outside of Korea, we decided to hop the quick 2 hour flight to Japan and spend New Years in Kyoto. We planned this trip with about 6 weeks notice, so it all came together rather quickly. With plans to visit Kyoto and Universal Studios in Osaka, it ended up being a very busy week. Here is what we did right and what I wish we had done instead.

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Getting There & Getting Around

Getting to Kyoto from the airport in Osaka doesn’t seem that far on the map, but what you quickly learn is that everyone travels by train or public transport. So our trip to our hotel took about 2 hours using Japan Rail Express Haruka Kansai Train(yes, the Hello Kitty train) and a 30 minute cab ride from Kyoto Station. You can book advance tickets here and make getting to your destination a lot smoother.

We stayed at The Prince Kyoto Takaragaike which was on the outskirts of town, and that did make travel times slightly longer. We enjoyed the quiet of the location and it did have a subway stop quite close, so that was helpful, but if I were to book again, I would like to find something closer to the center of town.

Because we have been using subways and public transport in Korea, using the Japanese systems wasn’t too difficult. You prepay for your destinations, so as long as you know where you are going, it isn’t too confusing. It isn’t the most convenient or stress free, but cabs and shuttles are very expensive, so it quickly becomes your best option. Helpful to note that Google Maps works just fine in Japan, unlike in Korea.

Kyoto, Japan

First up was exploring the City of Kyoto on foot with stops to the Nishiki Market and Gion district. Because of the New Years Holidays (which extend to January 3rd in Japan), there was larger than usual crowds, but we made do. Weather was warmer than Korea, so we were able to walk around all day with no problems. Much like Korea, Japan is clean and safe, both are equally wonderful as tourists. 

Most public restrooms are in great shape, and have heated toilet seats, which I appreciated! We ate some street food treats, Tonkatsu and had lots of different teas. Food was generally very good and easy to come by. 

Universal Studios – Osaka, Japan

We traveled back to Osaka (4 different trains) and made our way to Universal Studios Japan. It was a major highlight of this trip. With Harry Potter Land, Jurassic Park, and Super Nintendo World, it was just the dose of fun we needed.

We all had a great time and would go back again given the chance. We should have stayed in Osaka our first 2 nights and done this at the beginning of our trip to avoid the travel back and forth from Kyoto, but now we know.  

I will say, it was difficult to get tickets from the Universal Studios Japan website, you needed a Japanese credit card, so all tickets had to be purchased here from Klook.  We were able to get the extended passes as well from Klook to make the day less about waiting in line and more about getting to the main events quickly. The Universal Studios Japan app was fairly similar to what I have used in the past at other Disney parks and we were able to navigate the park just fine. We really loved Super Mario World and of course Hogwarts. We would definitely go back again if given the opportunity.

Temples, Shrines & Arashiyama

One of the best decisions we made was to hire a private van with an English speaking tour guide. This not only eliminates the need to worry about public transportation, but you get to ask lots of fun questions, hear interesting stories from a local and with their expert help, set up the best plan for seeing exactly what’s on your list. Our guide was great, and it allowed me to really be a participant on this day, instead of the navigator and cruise director.

Kinkaku-Ji Temple

It started out by being picked up at our hotel, and our first stop was the beautiful UNESCO heritage site, Kinkaku-Ji Temple. The temple was beautiful, peaceful and the I’m glad we were able to see it first thing in the morning before the crowds.  We had the trail to ourselves, so peaceful and picturesque.

Arashiyama & Monkey Park

Next we headed to Arashiyama. Here we visited the Monkey Park (it sits at the top of that little mountain with a view of the whole city). There are guides at the top monitoring the monkeys and you can pay a small fee to feed them some fresh fruit from an enclosed space. For the most part, there isn’t much interacting, but the views are worth the hike.

We then walked to the Bamboo Forest, which I felt was the most overrated portion of our trip. We were told it used to be much bigger, but has been cut down significantly in recent years. After that we shopped around town for lunch and goodies. Matcha, Mochi, lots of Ramen and delicious food everywhere. It was a great place to purchase souvenirs.

Fushimi Inari

Lastly, we headed to Fushimi Inari, a very large and popular shrine (with the orange gates). While I am glad that we got to see it, the crowds made it much less enjoyable than our other experiences.  I am positive that outside the New Years holiday, this would have been a much different experience.

We did get to walk through the surrounding neighborhood and I really enjoyed the people watching. It was so helpful to have a flexible guide and transportation system on this day of multiple stops. We learned some history, culture and enjoyed being tourists.

Final Thoughts

All in all, we really enjoyed our first trip to Japan. It gave us the perfect first taste of Japanese culture and made us want to come back for more. I’m not sure I would travel to Kyoto over New Years again if given the choice, purely due to crowds and closures of certain attractions. While it all worked out, there was lots of extra local traffic in the area due to the extended holiday. When we return, I would like to see the northern regions of Japan, and of course, a stop in Tokyo is a must.

For more of our stops around Asia, check out our trip to Northern Vietnam.