Sample itinerary · MNL <-> KIX
🛂 Visa required for a PH passport — Tourist visa needed, usually filed through an accredited travel agency; a limited eVisa scheme has been expanding.
Kyoto at the start of the autumn-leaf peak: Kiyomizu-dera lit up at night, Fushimi Inari before the crowds, Arashiyama at opening time and the Philosopher's Path on the way out. Every slot has a cheaper and a fancier option — tap to make it your group's.
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MNL → KIX
WED 25 NOV 2026
Depart
08:40
Arrive
13:40
Terminal
NAIA -> KIX T1
Philippine Airlines
KIX → MNL
SAT 28 NOV 2026
Depart
18:30
Arrive
21:45
Terminal
KIX T1 -> NAIA
Philippine Airlines
4
days, 3 nights by Kyoto Station
~75 min
airport train to Kyoto
¥500
most temple entries
~15°
daytime high — bring a jacket
On the forecast: Late November in Kyoto is crisp: ~15 °C by day, ~6 °C at dawn — cold for anyone flying from Manila, so pack a real jacket. Leaf colour moves fast and varies by year: yellows usually peak first, maples turn red into early December. Live numbers fill in inside the ~16-day forecast window.
Wed · Nov 25
Land, then Kiyomizu-dera by night水曜日
📅 Add Day 1 to calendar15° / 6°C
Cool and dry most years. It drops fast after sunset (~16:50) — wear the jacket, not just carry it.
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warm jacketsweater or fleecelong pantscomfortable walking shoesscarf for the evening
Base: by Kyoto Station · evening in HigashiyamaToday's area
13:40
Land at Kansai Airport (KIX)
~¥2,000 IC card
Immigration, bags, then the JR ticket office for the HARUKA and an ICOCA card (¥500 deposit plus credit) for everything after.
15:00
Airport train to Kyoto
~¥1,200–3,600
How to get to Kyoto
HARUKA limited express
Pick
~75 min, direct · ¥3,060 unreserved — One train, luggage racks, lands you at Kyoto Station next to the hotel.
JR Kansai Airport rapid + change at Osaka
~1h45 · ~¥1,900 — Cheaper, slower, and a transfer with suitcases at a very busy station.
Airport Limousine Bus
~90 min (traffic) · ~¥2,800 — Bags under the bus and a guaranteed seat — handy for a group with big luggage.
16:30
Check in near Kyoto Station
The station is the hub: HARUKA, the JR line to Fushimi Inari and Arashiyama, the subway and most buses all start here.
17:30
Up Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka
~¥230 bus or taxi
Bus 206 or a taxi split four ways to Gojō-zaka, then the preserved stone lanes up to the temple — matcha soft-serve and pickles on the way.
18:15
Kiyomizu-dera autumn night viewing
~¥500
The wooden stage over a valley of lit-up maples, and a blue searchlight beam over the city. Allow an hour.
19:45
Dinner in Gion
~¥1,000–6,000 food
Dinner
Ramen or udon near Gion-Shijō
Pick
warm, fast, cheap — The right first-night meal after a travel day in the cold.
Obanzai (Kyoto home cooking) set
small shared plates — Seasonal vegetables, tofu and fish — the everyday food of Kyoto.
Kaiseki-style dinner in Gion
book ahead — A multi-course seasonal meal — the classic Kyoto treat.
Why it's worth it: Airport train to Kyoto, drop the bags, and spend the first evening on the lantern-lit lanes of Higashiyama — the temple's autumn night viewing only runs for ten days a year.
Possible hiccups:
- Japan needs a visa for a Philippine passport — apply through an accredited agency several weeks before you fly.
- The ICOCA & HARUKA combo ticket ended in 2023: buy the HARUKA ticket at the JR office and an IC card (ICOCA) separately for buses and subways.
- Kiyomizu-dera's night viewing runs 21–30 November until 21:30 (last entry 21:00) — the lanes below it are packed, so go straight up.
- The souvenir shops on Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka mostly close around 18:00 — shop on the way up, not after.
- In Gion, the side lanes marked "private road" ban photos and entry — fines are ¥10,000. Never photograph or follow geiko or maiko; Hanamikoji's main street is public.
Thu · Nov 26
Fushimi Inari, Tōfuku-ji, Nishiki木曜日
📅 Add Day 2 to calendar15° / 6°C
Cold at 7 am on the mountain — layers you can peel off on the climb.
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layersgrippy shoes for stone stepsgloves for the early start
Fushimi Inari → Tōfuku-ji → downtownToday's area
07:00
Fushimi Inari Taisha
free
JR Nara line two stops from Kyoto Station (~5 min). Thousands of vermilion torii up the mountain.
How far up
To the Yotsutsuji viewpoint
Pick
~1 hr up and back — Halfway up, a view over Kyoto and far fewer people. The sweet spot.
Senbon Torii only
~30 min — The famous double row of gates near the bottom — enough if knees or time are short.
The full summit loop
2–3 hrs — Every gate to the top. Only if the group is fit and the day is cool.
09:30
Breakfast by the shrine
~¥500–1,200
Inari-zushi (sweet tofu-pocket sushi, named after the shrine) and a hot drink from the stalls by the station.
10:15
Tōfuku-ji
ticketed
One stop back on the JR line. A valley of maples under the Tsūtenkyō bridge — one of Kyoto's top leaf spots, and busy for it. The Zen rock gardens of the Hōjō are quieter.
12:30
Nishiki Market lunch crawl
~¥1,500–3,000 food
"Kyoto's kitchen" — a covered 400-metre lane of 100+ stalls. Tamagoyaki on a stick, grilled mochi, tofu doughnuts, pickles to bring home.
14:30
Afternoon downtown
free–¥3,000
Pick one
Teramachi + Shinkyōgoku arcades
Pick
covered shopping streets — Souvenirs, stationery and snacks under a roof — the easy afternoon.
Nijō Castle
the "nightingale floors" — The shogun's palace whose floors squeak on purpose to expose intruders.
Kimono rental + photo walk
book ahead — A couple of hours in a kimono around Higashiyama. Book a shop with a dressing service.
18:30
Pontochō for dinner
~¥1,500–8,000 food
The narrow lantern-lit alley along the Kamo River. Yakitori, okonomiyaki or a riverside set. Many places show menus outside — check before you sit.
Why it's worth it: The torii-gate mountain at 7 am while it's empty, Kyoto's most famous maple valley next door, then the city's food market and a lantern-lit evening alley.
Possible hiccups:
- Fushimi Inari is open 24 hours and free — by 9:30 the first gates are shoulder to shoulder, so the 7:00 start is the whole point.
- Tōfuku-ji in leaf season is crowded and photos are banned on the Tsūtenkyō bridge — keep walking and shoot from the side halls.
- Many Nishiki Market shops close on Wednesdays and most close between 17:00 and 18:00 — Thursday midday is ideal. Don't eat while walking; stand by the stall.
- Rain swap: the Kyoto Railway Museum or the Kyoto National Museum instead of the mountain climb.
Fri · Nov 27
Arashiyama early, the Golden Pavilion after lunch金曜日
📅 Add Day 3 to calendar14° / 5°C
Arashiyama sits by the river in the hills — a couple of degrees colder than downtown in the morning.
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warm layerswalking shoessmall backpackgloves
Arashiyama → Kinkaku-jiToday's area
07:30
JR Sagano line to Saga-Arashiyama
~¥240
~15 min from Kyoto Station. Walk to the north end of the bamboo grove first.
08:00
Bamboo grove
free
The towering green corridor, at its quietest before the tour buses.
08:30
Tenryū-ji garden
¥500
A UNESCO-listed Zen temple with a 700-year-old pond garden. The garden opens at 8:30 — and its north gate opens straight onto the bamboo grove.
09:45
The rest of the morning
¥880–1,000+
Pick one
Ōkōchi Sansō villa
Pick
¥1,000 with matcha and a sweet — A silent-film star's hillside villa and gardens at the top of the bamboo grove — the matcha is included.
Sagano Romantic Train
¥880 · ~25 min · seats sell out in leaf season — An open-sided scenic train up the river gorge. Reserve ahead and ride one way.
Walk the river + Togetsukyō bridge
free — The famous bridge and the mountainside of red and gold behind it.
12:00
Lunch in Arashiyama
~¥1,200–4,000 food
Yudōfu (simmered tofu) is the local speciality — or soba from a shop by the station if the group is hungry and cold.
14:00
Kinkaku-ji — the Golden Pavilion
¥500
Gold leaf over a mirror pond. One-way path, ~45 minutes. Late afternoon light is the best for photos.
17:30
Evening at Kyoto Station
~¥1,500–5,000
Ramen Street on the 10th floor, the Skyway glass walkway, and Isetan's food hall in the basement for pasalubong — boxed yatsuhashi and matcha sweets.
Why it's worth it: The bamboo grove before 8:30, a Zen garden and a hilltop villa with matcha, then the Golden Pavilion in the afternoon light.
Possible hiccups:
- The bamboo grove is free and always open, but from ~9:30 it moves at a shuffle — be there by 8:00.
- City buses 101 and 205 to Kinkaku-ji are packed in leaf season, and the bus 1-day pass isn't accepted on those routes at peak hours — tap your IC card (¥230) or share a taxi from Arashiyama.
- Kinkaku-ji closes at 17:00 — arrive by 15:30.
- Rain swap: Arashiyama's Tenryū-ji halls are covered; swap the boat or train for an indoor hour at the Kyoto International Manga Museum.
Sat · Nov 28
Philosopher's Path, then home土曜日
📅 Add Day 4 to calendar15° / 6°C
A gentle walking morning. Saturdays are busier everywhere — start early.
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Ginkaku-ji → Philosopher's Path → Nanzen-jiToday's area
08:00
Checkout — bags held at the hotel
Bus or taxi to Ginkaku-ji (~30 min).
08:45
Ginkaku-ji — the Silver Pavilion
¥500
Never actually silvered — a quieter, mossier counterpart to the Golden Pavilion, with a raked-sand garden.
09:45
Philosopher's Path
free
2 km of stone path along a canal lined with maples and small temples. Cafés along the way for a warm drink.
11:00
Nanzen-ji and the aqueduct
free–¥600
How much Nanzen-ji
Grounds + the brick aqueduct
Pick
free — The Meiji-era aqueduct arches through the temple grounds — Kyoto's favourite photo spot.
Climb the Sanmon gate
ticketed — Views over the maples from the giant wooden gate's balcony.
Yudōfu lunch near the gate
the Nanzen-ji speciality — Simmered tofu in a temple-garden restaurant — a slow last meal.
12:30
Back to the hotel for bags
~¥260 subway
Subway from Keage to Kyoto Station (one change).
14:30
HARUKA to Kansai Airport
~¥3,060
Arrive ~15:45, check in, last shopping airside.
18:30
Fly home to Manila
Lands around 21:45. Trip complete.
Why it's worth it: Check out, leave the bags, walk the canal path from the Silver Pavilion to Nanzen-ji's red-brick aqueduct, and catch the HARUKA by 14:30.
Possible hiccups:
- Leave Kyoto Station on a HARUKA by ~14:30 for an 18:30 flight — KIX recommends arriving 2 hours before international departures, and lines are long on weekends.
- Ginkaku-ji opens at 8:30 and Nanzen-ji's grounds and aqueduct are free — the paid sub-temples are optional.
- Hotels hold bags after checkout; coin lockers at Kyoto Station fill up by mid-morning on weekends.
Trip cost
Budget worksheet
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TranspoJPY 0
Round-trip airfareMNL ⇄ KIX
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PH travel tax + terminal fee
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HARUKA both waysunreserved
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IC card top-upsJR, subway, buses
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AccommodationJPY 0
Hotel by Kyoto Stationleaf-season rate, quad ÷ 4 × 3 nights
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MealsJPY 0
Per diem~¥1,500 / meal × 3 × 4 days
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Rail & entryJPY 0
Temples and gardensKiyomizu, Tōfuku-ji, Tenryū-ji, Ōkōchi Sansō, Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji
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ShoppingJPY 0
Pasalubongyatsuhashi, matcha sweets, pickles
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InsuranceJPY 0
Travel insurance
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CommunicationJPY 0
eSIM~4 days
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VisaJPY 0
Japan visa via accredited agencyPH passport
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Changes from your picks & weather swapsvs. the original plan, updates as the group picks
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Total per personJPY 0