Kyoto 1-Day Itinerary 2026: Unagi & Shijo Shopping

Kyoto Travel Day 1 Itinerary

By_2jay

Kansai Airport -> Kyoto Station -> Hotel Check-in -> Kyounawa (Unagi/Eel Rice Bowl) -> Shopping (Pokemon Center)

-> Kamogawa River -> Pontocho Alley -> Yakiniku (Horumon Ando Main Branch)

-> Don Quijote -> Fresh Mart -> Hotel

For MBTI "J" types who love packing two days' worth of fun into one,

our Japan trips are always filled with packed, non-stop itineraries from morning to night! haha..

If you are an iPhone user,

I highly recommend sharing your itinerary with your travel buddies like this!

By adding collaborators to the iPhone Notes app,

everyone can view and edit the schedule in real-time,

which made managing our trip so much easier.

We took the 10:10 AM Jin Air flight from Incheon Airport

and arrived at Kansai Airport right on time at 12:00 PM.

“Click here to find and book Kyoto flights at the lowest rates!”

After landing at Kansai Airport, we zipped through immigration

(it actually didn't take very long for a weekend morning!)

and immediately headed to catch the JR Haruka Express train to Kyoto Station.

We had pre-booked our QR tickets online before leaving home.

Since we couldn't predict exactly how long customs would take after landing,

we opted for unreserved seating.

The trains run every 30 minutes,

and since cars 5, 6, and 7 are reserved for unreserved seating, you can just line up there

to board on a first-come, first-served basis.

For our return trip from Kyoto Station back to Kansai Airport,

we booked reserved seats in advance.

Buying them ahead of time online is much cheaper,

so I highly recommend getting your Haruka Express passes before your trip!

Once we arrived at Kyoto Station, our hotel—

"Richmond Hotel Premier Kyoto Shijo"—

was only about an 8 to 10-minute drive away.

Since we had heavy luggage, we decided to hail an Uber.

We definitely called a standard Uber,

but we were so surprised when an incredibly luxurious car pulled up...

We had an extremely comfortable ride all the way to the hotel, haha.

We were charged the regular standard fare... is it really okay for us to ride in such a nice car? lol

“Richmond Hotel Premier Kyoto Shijo”

We arrived just after 2:00 PM and checked in right away.

Our room was the "Moderate Twin Room."

You can find a detailed review of our stay in the post below.

We quickly dropped off our bags and headed out for a late lunch.

“Kyounawa - A Delicious Unagi (Eel) Rice Bowl Spot”

Since our arrival time was a bit unpredictable,

we just did a walk-in without making a reservation.

It was just past 3:00 PM when we arrived,

so we got to go right in without any wait!

The absolute highlight here was the salted grilled eel rice bowl (Shirayaki Hitsumabushi)!

Although the menu only lists the medium size for the Shiroyaki Hitsumabushi,

I asked the staff if we could get a small, and they said yes!

If I hadn't asked, we probably would have ended up leaving food behind... T_T

Since both of us have pretty small appetites,

one small Shiroyaki Hitsumabushi

and one small classic Hitsumabushi

was the perfect amount for us!

I'll write up a detailed review of this restaurant in a separate post.

“Weekenders Coffee”

It's just a 5-minute walk from Kyounawa,

making it the perfect post-lunch spot.

Plus, the route takes you right through Nishiki Market,

so it's great for doing a little sightseeing along the way.

Since we were so full, we both just ordered espressos.

The seating area is extremely tiny,

so personally, I don't think it's a must-visit spot you have to go out of your way for haha.

After finishing our coffee, we had a little spare time,

so we decided to squeeze in some shopping!

Since our accommodation and the restaurants were all so close to the main shopping street,

it was incredibly easy to browse while moving around.

Personally, I didn't find much at "Daiso,"

so we just browsed and left.

But we had to stop by the "Pokemon Center" to grab some gifts for my nieces and nephews...

The line... we had to wait for over 30 minutes just to check out...

“Pokemon Center”

The lines are truly massive,

and it's so crowded that it's hard to even look around properly...

I was looking for stationery rather than plushies,

but they had a surprisingly small selection of school supplies.

So I just grabbed whatever I could find, but...

This cost about ~$38... Is this even right? lol

I mean, as long as the kids are happy, that's what matters... but still...

I'm still questioning my life choices haha.

If you're planning to visit the Pokemon Center with kids, I highly recommend bracing yourselves! haha

“Kamogawa River”

Honestly, when I think of Kyoto, the first thing that comes to mind

is the Kamo River (Kamogawa).

I thought the river at sunset during the autumn season would be absolutely breathtaking,

so we headed over around dusk.

It was too cloudy to see the sunset that day...

but even so, the night view of Kamogawa was still incredibly beautiful.

“Pontocho Alley”

As soon as you cross the Kamogawa bridge,

turning into the side alley brings you right into Pontocho Alley.

We intentionally mapped our route to walk through here

on our way to dinner just to soak in the atmosphere.

“Yakiniku Hotspot - Horumon Ando Main Branch”

️We made a reservation before visiting,

and it turned out the owner was Korean!

That made booking and ordering super easy and convenient.

We ordered the assorted platter of short rib, sirloin, and chuck tender, and added beef tongue.

It was my first time trying chuck tender (kkuri-sal),

and oh my, it was absolutely delicious!

The texture is somewhere between sirloin and beef tongue? It has this slightly crunchy yet melt-in-your-mouth feel.

The owner told us this is a cut often enjoyed raw as beef sashimi in Korea,

so they recommended we grill it rare,

and oh my goodness, it was absolutely delicious!

You seriously HAVE to try this!!

I'll share a more detailed review in a separate foodie post later!

After dinner, we headed to a must-visit spot in Japan:

"Shopping at Don Quijote"

I heard the Kyoto branch didn't have a ton of stock,

so I didn't set my expectations too high,

but we still managed to find almost everything we wanted!

I'll share my shopping list haul in another post too haha.

After heading back to our accommodation,

we stopped by the place right on the 1st floor:

"Fresh Supermarket"

We heard it's cheaper than convenience stores,

so we popped in to grab some water and look around.

Since we were both completely stuffed,

we just grabbed some beers and light snacks and headed back up to our room.

Originally, we planned to buy a ton of convenience store food

for an epic late-night feast,

but we were both completely exhausted and way too full,

so we ended up with a very modest late-night spread... haha.

We sipped our beers and slept like babies.

Since we had Arashiyama on our itinerary for the next day,

we decided to call it a night to save our energy—well, maybe not super early, but we went to sleep! haha.