The letter

One letter a week, in your inbox.

The week in Japan: what opened, where to go this weekend, and the editor's route. No tracking, no ads, nothing else.

We keep your address, your language and the date you joined, nothing else. Every letter has a one-click unsubscribe link that deletes the record.

← Day by Day Japan   Editor’s notes
00the route
Route

Fushimi Inari before eight, then two temples and a coffee

September 25, 2026Sora Nakamura

A morning that starts under the torii while they are quiet, crosses to Tofuku-ji when its gates open, stops at To-ji's pagoda, and ends with coffee in the middle of town. Fushimi Inari never closes, which is the whole idea.

Hours and fees are Jalan's, as of 3 September 2026. Tofuku-ji's prices change with the season, and its main garden rises from ¥500 to ¥600 in November 2026, so check its own site in the autumn.

Where
Kyoto
How long
1 day
Stops
4
Distance
7 km
On the clock
about 6 h
Pace
steady
Season
all
Mood
morning · first-time

Times are the editor’s plan, not a timetable. ≈ marks our own rough estimate; check the train times before you go.

01what it costs
Day 1¥1,400≈ $9 / €8fares ¥0 · places ¥1,4001 stop not priced yet · 3 fares not recorded yet
Priced so far¥1,400≈ $9 / €8budgetCovers 3 of 4 stops and the trains · 3 rides without a fare · no hotel on this route

Per person, one adult. Each place’s figure is what its source printed, and the stop names the source and the date; the fares are the operators’ own published figures. Meals and rides with no printed figure are not in the total, and a figure printed more than a year ago says so. Converted at the European Central Bank reference rate of 2026-09-24, not a bank rate.

02the day
  1. Fushimi Inari Taisha 伏見稲荷大社

    The thousand torii, each given by a worshipper in prayer or thanks. The shrine never closes and entry is free.

    京都市 · Jalan Net News · 100 minFreeper Jalan September 3

    HoursOpen at all hours; the amulet office 8:00–18:00 · Jalan, as of 3 Sep 2026

    The place →Open in maps ↗
  2. Train≈15 min · Keihan line, Fushimi-Inari to Tofukuji
  3. Tofuku-ji 東福寺

    The national-treasure Sanmon, about 22 metres high, and Tsutenkyo, a wooden bridge over a small ravine that the whole city comes for in autumn. The bridge and the Kaisando are ¥600.

    京都市 · Jalan Net News · 60 min¥600per personas printed by Jalan September 3

    Hours9:00–16:00 April to October, 8:30–16:00 November to early December, 9:00–15:30 early December to March · Jalan, as of 3 Sep 2026

    The place →Open in maps ↗
  4. Train≈25 min · JR Nara line, Tofukuji to Kyoto, then a walk
  5. To-ji 東寺

    The five-storey pagoda, about 55 metres, rebuilt in 1644 by the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu after fires. ¥800 opens the Kondo and the Kodo.

    京都市 · Jalan Net News · 60 min¥800per personas printed by Jalan September 3

    HoursGates 5:00–17:00; Kondo and Kodo 8:00–17:00, last entry 16:30 · Jalan, as of 3 Sep 2026

    The place →Open in maps ↗
  6. Metro≈30 min · Karasuma line, Kyoto to Karasuma Oike, then a short walk
  7. イノダコーヒ本店

    Coffee at Inoda's main branch, the house blend roasted in its own works and poured by flannel drip, as it was when the shop began.

    京都市 · Jalan Net News · 60 min

    Hours7:00–18:00 (last order 17:30); no fixed holiday · Jalan, as of 3 Sep 2026

    The place →Open in maps ↗
04music for the way
Music for the way
06the editor

Sora Nakamura was born in Kanazawa, grew up between a fish market and a grandmother's kitchen, and spent her twenties cooking in Tokyo, Lyon and Melbourne before she put down the knife to write. Back in Tokyo since 2019, she keeps a spreadsheet of every place she has eaten at since 2011 and a bicycle she rides to most of them. She writes routes, not rankings, and believes the best restaurant in any town is the one that has been open long enough to have a regular who died there.