Top 20 cultural experiences you can have in Kyoto!

You can have an authentic pottery experience at Mori-toki-kan close to Kiyomizu Temple, and make your own Kiyomizu-yaki tea cup. You can also choose a course where you only write or draw on the cups, and since Mori-toki-kan is so conveniently located, it should be easy to fit into your itinerary.

This Kyo-yuzen dyeing experience is run by the old and established Marumasu-Nishimuraya, and the lessons are held in their traditional-style Kyoto house. They have all kinds of lessons, so you can get to dye handkerchiefs, folding fans, tumblers, and t-shirts, among others. This is sure to be a great memory of your trip to Kyoto.

For those who want to try something different, I want to recommend sutra copying. Sutra copying is part of the training of Buddhist priests and you can try your hand at it in many temples. You are just copying Chinese characters in a quiet temple, but this monotonous work will make you feel concentrated and relaxed.

Kumihimo is Japanese handicrafts made by weaving colored yarns together using a special instrument. The history of Kumihimo started around a thousand years ago in the Heian period, but this traditional craft recently became popular after it was featured in the movie Your Name. At Kumihimo Workshop Adachi you get to make kumihimo bracelets and hair accessories.

This is something you can truly experience only in Japan, making traditional Japanese sweets. At Kanshundo you can see how artisans make these sweets, and then get to try making them yourself. They may look easy to make, but making them really pretty is surprisingly difficult.

The Kyoto Handicraft Center is in Okazaki, and here you can experience all kinds of traditional Kyoto crafts. You can try your hand at woodblock printing, or paint a picture on a folding fan, or you could also make your own nioi-bukuro. The staff can speak English, so this place is great for those who want to really get to feel Kyoto firsthand!

At Shoren-in Temple in Kyoto’s Higashiyama, you can enjoy tea in the temple while you look out into the Japanese garden. Sitting on a red carpet in a temple, sipping some matcha tea while eating some traditional Japanese sweets; an experience you can only have in Japan.

How about experiencing the traditional Japanese culture of public bathing in Kyoto? In Kyoto’s historic Nishijin district you can find the public bath Funaoka Onsen, that is sometimes said to be the best public bath in Japan. This place is great if you want to really get to experience Japanese bathing culture, their changing rooms are beautiful with retro tiling and gorgeous decorations, there is a stone bridge in the garden, and they have many types of baths.

At Cooking Sun they hold cooking lessons for foreigners. The lessons are held by professional chefs, and you get to make such classic Japanese dishes as dashi-maki-tamago and miso soup, even tempura! After you have made the dishes, you also of course get to eat them.

If you come to Kyoto, you of course want to meet with a pretty maiko. But there is a studio in Gion where you can actually transform into a maiko. You get to do everything the authentic way: make-up, wig, kimono… and then you are almost a real maiko! And then you get to walk on the streets of Kyoto dressed as a maiko.

If you are bored of buses and taxis, how about taking a rickshaw in Kyoto? You can take a rickshaw close to famous sightseeing spots such as Arashiyama and Higashiyama, and see these places in a leisurely manner. Ebisu-ya is the most famous of the rickshaw companies in Kyoto, and their drivers called shafu in Japanese, are very knowledgeable of Kyoto and can of course also speak foreign languages.

There are festivals held all over the world, but Japan boasts a mind-staggering amount of them. Especially in Kyoto, with its many historic temples and shrines, it sometimes may feel like there is a festival held somewhere every day. There are all kinds of festivals, in some of them you get to see wooden floats or dances to the gods, some of them take place at night, while others are quite out of the ordinary. You should especially try to see the three most famous ones: Gion, Aoi, and Jidai festivals.

Kawadoko in Kyoto marks the beginning of summer. In May the kawadoko wooden terraces begin appearing on top of rivers and while the ones by the Kamo River are the most famous, in Kibune you can truly be surrounded by nature while you enjoy delicious Japanese cuisine. You are so close to the river that this is a refreshing must-do in Kyoto.

At Toei Studio Movie Park you get to become such historic characters as samurais and geishas, and daimyos that you normally only get to see in movies. You can only get the costume, or you can also have the full-on makeup too. After changing into the costumes you get to stroll around the park and take pictures in the historic setting.

Ninja Dojo is in Kyoto’s Shijo area, and like you can probably guess, you can become a ninja here. Here you can wear ninja clothing, throw throwing stars, and feel like you were in the world of Naruto. They also sell many types of ninja merchandise.

Kyoto is especially famous for tea ceremonies. At Tea Ceremony Room Ju-An you can get to experience a tea ceremony with an English speaking teacher who will tell you how to behave in a tea ceremony. The tea you get at cafes and temples, of course, tastes great, but matcha you have stirred yourself is something special. Because everything is in English, you really get to understand why tea ceremonies are held, and the history behind them.

Japan is renowned for its hot springs, so of course there are also great hot springs in Kyoto too. Kurama Onsen is on Mt. Kurama, and here you get to bathe in a natural hot spring surrounded by beautiful nature. Besides making a day trip to the hot spring, you can also stay there and enjoy some great Kyoto cuisine such as tempura and yudofu.

There are many stores in Kyoto offering kimono rentals for those who want to walk the streets of Kyoto in this traditional Japanese garment. You can choose the color and pattern of your kimono freely, and the staff will help you change into the kimono. There are many great spots in Kyoto for kimono photography such as machiya townhouses, temples, stone paved streets, and many others, so it’s no wonder you can see so many people in Kyoto wearing a kimono.

In Zazen meditation, you cross your hands and feet and concentrate. At Shorin-ji, which is a sub-temple of Tofuku-ji, you get to take part in this Buddhist practice. This is a great chance to relax in a quiet temple. This is a truly Japanese experience which is sure to become a lasting memory.

If you want to experience kembu, or sword dancing, first hand, you just have to go to Samurai Kembu Theater in Kyoto. The staff at Samurai Kembu Theater speak English well and are really friendly. After the lesson you get to change into a samurai costume and take pictures. And don’t forget to watch the kembu show by the staff!