Worth it if
Walkers, nature-oriented travelers, temple visitors who prefer quieter pacing.
Skip it if
Travelers who only have one day in Kyoto and want the three biggest famous stops.
A stone-paved path running 2 kilometres beside a canal in northern Higashiyama, connecting Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) to the north with Nanzen-ji at the southern end. Named for philosopher Nishida Kitaro who reportedly walked it daily while teaching at Kyoto University. Cherry trees overhang the canal; in spring, fallen petals collect on the surface.
The path works as genuine Kyoto time between sights rather than transit between them. Small temples, residential streets, cafés, the canal alongside — it's a walk that accommodates whatever pace you arrive with. Nanzen-ji at the southern end is significant in itself: the Sanmon gate is enormous, and the brick aqueduct in the temple grounds is one of the most unexpectedly arresting things in Kyoto.
Outside of cherry blossom season and late autumn, the path itself is not particularly interesting. It is a two-kilometre canal towpath. The value is in stopping. Nanzen-ji is one of Kyoto's better large temples and has a 19th-century brick aqueduct running directly through the temple grounds, which is as strange as it sounds and almost no travel guide mentions it. Eikan-do has the best autumn foliage in the city. The path connects these places, it does not replace them. If you walk the full distance without stopping, you have walked past everything you came for.
On the ground
Why locals go
The brick aqueduct at Nanzen-ji — a Roman-arch structure built in the Meiji era to carry water from Lake Biwa — surprises almost everyone who reaches it. It stands inside the temple grounds and looks completely anomalous against the traditional architecture. Most visitors react to it with something between confusion and delight.
What visitors miss
First-timers overload Kyoto with landmark temples and treat the quieter connective routes as transit rather than experience. The path between Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji is better than some of the temples it connects.
Best combined with
Practical tips
Walk south to north — start at Nanzen-ji and end at Ginkaku-ji — for the better sequence: you begin with the dramatic gate and aqueduct, then transition gradually to the quieter canal walk.
Allow 45 minutes to an hour for the path itself, plus time at each end.
The Nomura Museum and Eikan-do are both on or near the path and worth adding if temples with garden ponds are your focus.
Location
Visit info
Best time
Morning or late afternoon. Spring is famous, but also crowded.
Time needed
2–3 hours
Address
Kyoto, Japan
Last reviewed: June 2026
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