Hi there!
If you are looking for ONE city in Japan to visit for Japanese gardens, Kyoto can be a perfect choice!
👆 You can stop by several Japanese gardens in Kyoto on a walk along the Philosophers Path.
As an ancient capital of Japan, Kyoto has tons of traditional Japanese gardens all around the city.
Many of these can be found at historical and cultural sites in Kyoto.
Historical grounds like temples and shrines can be a perfect nature walk with a stroll through Japanese gardens around the historical site.
These places don’t have “Japanese gardens” in the name.
You can visit many areas in Kyoto and the rest of Japan where the landscape you see is what we would call “Japanese gardens” outside of Japan.
These types of gardens are traditional landscape in Japan, so they aren’t specified as “Japanese” in their names.
And, the list of Japanese gardens below are historical sites in Japan that have beautiful gardens on their grounds!
And so, these places can be perfect to visit as part of your first trip to Japan because you can get a feel for traditional Japanese culture and history while also taking a stroll through traditional Japanese gardens!
There are many Japanese gardens that are located at UNESCO world heritage sites in Kyoto.
Now…
Best Japanese gardens in Kyoto visit when it’s your first trip to Japan
1. Ryoanji Temple zen garden
How to visit Ryoanji zen garden in Kyoto
You can go to the Ryoanji Temple zen garden as part of your day with a one day Kyoto bus pass and visit more temples and shrines.
Ryoanji is a UNESCO world heritage site in Kyoto.
2. Kinkakuji Temple gardens
How to visit Kinkakuji gardens in Kyoto
You can go to the Kinkakuji Temple gardens as part of your day with a one day Kyoto bus pass and visit more temples and shrines.
Kinkakuji is a UNESCO world heritage temple in Kyoto.
3. Ginkakuji Temple gardens
How to visit Ginkakuji gardens in Kyoto
You can go to the Ginkakuji Temple gardens as part of your Philosophers Walk where you do a temple-to-temple culture walk.
Ginkakuji is a UNESCO world heritage site in Kyoto.
See pictures of these Kyoto gardens:
4. Okochi Sanso Villa Garden
How to visit Okochi Sanso gardens in Kyoto
You can go to the Okochi Sanso Villa gardens as part of your one day in Arashiyama.
See pictures of these Kyoto gardens:
5. Nijo Castle gardens
How to visit Nijo gardens in Kyoto
You can go to the Nijo Castle gardens as part of your day with a one day Kyoto bus pass and visit more temples and shrines.
Nijo Castle is a UNESCO world heritage site in Kyoto.
See pictures of these Kyoto gardens:
6. Tenryuji Temple gardens
How to visit Tenryuji gardens in Kyoto
You can go to the Tenryuji Temple gardens as part of your one day in Arashiyama.
Tenryuji is a UNESCO world heritage temple in Kyoto.
See pictures of these Kyoto gardens:
7. Nanzenji Temple gardens
How to visit Nanzenji gardens in Kyoto
You can go to the Nanzenji Temple gardens as part of your Philosophers Walk where you do a temple-to-temple culture walk.
8. Eikando Temple gardens
How to visit Eikando gardens in Kyoto
You can go to the Eikando Temple gardens as part of your Philosophers Path Walk where you do a temple-to-temple culture walk.
9. Honen-in Temple gardens
How to visit Honen-in gardens in Kyoto
You can go to the Honen-in Temple gardens as part of your Philosophers Path Walk where you do a temple-to-temple culture walk.
10. Sanzen-in Temple gardens
How to visit Sanzen-in gardens in Kyoto
You can go to the Sanzen-in Temple gardens as part of your day in the rural village of Ohara.
You can use the Kurama Kibune Ohara one day pass to also do the temple-to-shrine culture hike from Kurama to Kibune.
See pictures of these Kyoto gardens:
11. Jakko-in Temple gardens
How to visit Jakko-in gardens in Kyoto
You can go to the Jakko-in Temple gardens as part of your day in the rural village of Ohara.
You can use the Kurama Kibune Ohara one day pass to also do the temple-to-shrine culture hike from Kurama to Kibune.
See pictures of these Kyoto gardens:
12. Heian Shrine gardens
How to visit Heian Shrine gardens in Kyoto
If you will be in Kyoto during cherry blossom season, then you can go to the Heian Shrine gardens as part of your Kyoto cherry blossom itinerary.
Otherwise, you can go to the Heian Shrine gardens after you do the Philosophers Path walk where you do a temple-to-temple culture walk.
The Heian Shrine is about a 20 minute walk from Nanzenji Temple, one of the temples along the Philosopher’s Path.
And finally…
Tea gardens
Matcha green tea is a classic Kyoto thing!
There are many temples that have tea gardens, tea houses, tea rooms, or the like!
This is a spot to drink tea surrounded by gardens!
👆 The Kinkakuji Temple is one of the most famous temples in Kyoto… and Japan! Walk around the Kinkakuji gardens and then stop by for some matcha green tea at the end!
👆 The Nijo Castle the most famous castle in Kyoto. Walk around the Nijo gardens and then stop by for some matcha green tea!
👆 Walk around the Okochi Sanso Villa gardens and then at the end stop by for some matcha green tea with views of bamboo trees!
👆 The Ginkakuji Temple is one of the popular temples in Kyoto! Walk around the Ginkakuji gardens and then stop by for some matcha green tea at the end!
So grab a cup of matcha tea and enjoy the Japanese gardens in Kyoto!
And that’s a bit about some of the best Japanese gardens in Kyoto!
HAPPY VISITING JAPANESE GARDENS IN KYOTO!
See more about how to visit these Japanese gardens as part of your time in Kyoto: Perfect Kyoto itinerary
Here are ideas for your Kyoto itinerary!
- Day 1: Top tourist spots with one day bus pass
- Day 2: Fushimi Inari Shrine hike through 1,000 torii gates
- Day 3: Philosopher's Path walk
- Day 4: Arashiyama and Sagano
- Day 5: Kurama Kibune Ohara with one day pass
PLUS Kyoto cherry blossom itinerary and Kyoto fall colors itinerary!
Traveling around Japan and can't read Japanese? No problem! Just use the camera on the google translate app!
Is a JR pass worth it?!
- Google maps can make it easy to figure out whether or not you should get a JR pass!
- In google maps, type in your departure and arrival city, and choose the transit icon. The route will come up, and so will the estimated cost at the bottom!
- Here is an example of a train route with cost on google maps.
- So do that for all of your long distance routes to figure out how much it might cost.
- Next, go here to see how much a JR pass costs.
- And compare!
- Not all forms of public transportation are JR, but long distance shinkansen bullet trains are, and that's where the most cost savings will come.
Best of Kyoto (and Japan!)
👇 Explore the best places to visit in Japan!
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