Romantic Things to Do in Kyoto
A visual guide from the Kyoto travel guide — see all posters in Visual Guides.
In midsummer the restaurants at Kibune, an hour north of the city up the Eizan line, lay tables on platforms built directly over a mountain stream — close enough that the water runs beneath the tatami and the air sits several degrees cooler than the valley floor. Kyoto does this sort of thing better than almost anywhere: dusk on the Kamo banks, a lantern lane two metres wide, autumn gardens lit after dark. Very little of it needs a big budget, though the best of it does need booking.
Evenings
Pontocho is the obvious dinner lane, and from May to September a table on one of its kawayuka river platforms is worth the premium — reserve, since the good ones go days ahead. Cheaper and nearly as good: takeaway from Nishiki and a spot on the Kamo bank at sunset. For height, the Kyoto Tower observation deck stays open late, and hotel bars such as Orizzonte at the Okura, or the terraces on top of the Kyoto Station building, give a long view over the basin. In autumn, Kodaiji and Eikando run evening illuminations that turn the maples an unreal red for a few weeks.
Days out together
Arashiyama repays a slow half-day: the Hozugawa boat ride drifts down about sixteen kilometres of gorge from Kameoka over roughly two hours, and the Sagano Romantic Train covers the same valley on rails. Kameyama Park above the town has benches with a gorge view and few people. Closer in, the canal-side Philosopher's Path between Ginkakuji and Nanzenji is quiet outside blossom season, and Shosei-en, a walled garden ten minutes from Kyoto Station, is almost always empty. A night in a ryokan with a private cypress bath is the classic splurge — expect a serious price at the good ones.