Kyoto Day trip from Osaka

Kyoto is famous for the number of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, as well as gardens and imperial palaces.

From Osaka, the best way to explore Kyoto in a day is by using Keihan Osaka Kyoto One Day Pass (only 800yen for unlimited train rides). As we stayed near Tenjinbashi-6-chome subway, we took a subway to Kitahama subway before changing to Keihan electric train heading to Kyoto. The whole journey took about 45 minutes via express service  (blue/pink line)

First stop was Demachiyanagi Station. After walking through the primeval forest of Tadasu-no-Mori,  we reached Shimogamo Shrine which is one of the UNESCO heritage. This Shinto shrine was built during the 6th decade.

This shrine is dedicated to the veneration of Tamayori-hime (玉依姫; lit., the spirit-inviting maiden) and her father, Kamo Taketsunomi (賀茂建角身).

 It was heavily patronised by the imperial palace to report important events to the Japanese guardian in the shrine.

Next stop was Kiyomizu-Gojo Station to visit the grand Kiyomizu-dera temple. From the station, it's about 20 minutes walk pass a few pottery shops. This Buddhist temple is huge! And it's one of the most celebrated temples in Japan founded in 780 on the site of Otowa waterfall.

The wooden stage extending from its main hall offered a breathtaking and scenic view of Kyoto. The hall was built without a single nail which housed Kannon, a small statue  with eleven faces and thousand arms.

Otowa waterfall is located at the base of the main hall with 3 streams bringing benefit to longevity, academic success and good love life after consuming the water.

After leaving the temple, we ventured into the atmospheric Higashiyama District with rows of pottery and souvenir shops and eateries.

Lunch was at Sanshiki noodle house on the walk back to the station. One of the best noodles we have had in Japan. Noodles here are made on site. As with everything else in Japan, it's made taking intricate details into consideration.

Japanese curry udon with thinly sliced beef. In case you haven't noticed, Japanese cuisine really likes to use spring onions! This awesome curry is thick and slightly viscous but is sweet and not spicy at all. It's so good that I couldn't stop myself from drinking the curry.

Dry udon with vegetable and prawn tempura. Love the combination of seaweed and sesame seeds that went so well with the
udon together with the ubiquitous spring onions. The noodles were cooked till perfection as they were still springy.

After a satisfying lunch, we headed to Fushimi-Inari Station of course to visit Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine which is probably the most featured Shinto shrine in Kyoto.

The classic vermilion torii gates that every tourist must take a photo of! Very insta worthy. Each gate is actually erected in a different year.

Fox statues are also the symbol of this shrine which can even be found at the train station.

We then alighted our last stop of the day at Gion-Shijo Station to savour the evening along Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka (preserved streets) which we managed to spot a geisha at work.

Also managed to take a photo with Kimono clad tourists who really think baby Bing is very adorable.

That's how our day trip went. Of course there were a lot more temples to visit but we find this top three choices are more than enough to represent Kyoto.