3-Day Kyoto Itinerary for Couples

The gates climb Mount Inari's wooded slopes in dense tunnels, and the shrine is free and open around the clock. You do not need the full loop to the summit, a couple of hours round trip. The iconic tunnels near the base are the point, so turn back when the crowds build.

Kiyomizu-dera, a wooden temple built out over the hillside on tall pillars, looks across the whole city. It is one of Kyoto's most visited sites, so still arrive early, and take the approach up Kiyomizu-zaka and Sannen-zaka, old sloping lanes of traditional shops.

Towering green stalks sway and knock together over the path, and at opening or in the late afternoon the grove feels like a private corridor rather than a photo queue. At its edge, Tenryu-ji keeps one of Kyoto's most celebrated gardens: a pond, raked gravel and borrowed mountain scenery, designed to be looked at slowly. Sit on the veranda for a while before you move on; the garden assumes you will.

If Arashiyama feels too far or too crowded, stay central at Nijo Castle, the shogun's residence whose 'nightingale floors' chirp underfoot as a warning against intruders. Moated grounds and painted screens make it a quieter morning, and a genuinely unusual piece of architectural history.

The Philosopher's Path follows a cherry-tree-lined canal beneath the eastern hills, named for a Kyoto University philosopher said to have walked it daily, and small cafés and craft shops dot the way. Walk it slowly, hand in hand. At one end waits Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, whose understated moss-and-sand garden many admire more than its golden counterpart.

For Kyoto's most photographed building, go to Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, its top two floors covered in gold leaf and doubled in a reflecting pond on a still day. It sits on the opposite side of the city from the Path, so make it a swap rather than an add-on, and go early.