The Kyoto Food & Sake Trail — Nishiki, Uji matcha, Fushimi sake and a tofu kaiseki lunch in three days

Land softly — a downtown kissaten and a soba lunch if you land early, then a matcha primer in a machiya and an obanzai counter on Pontocho

• MorningInoda Coffee HontenInoda Coffee's 1940 flagship, the grand old Kyoto kissaten — the 'Arabian Pearl' house blend and a set breakfast, open from 07:00 (seed). Worth it only on an early landing; land in the afternoon and you'd skip this and the lunch below, picking up at the tea ceremony and the Pontocho dinner.
• LunchGontaroHandmade soba in a photogenic downtown machiya, open from 11:00 (seed) — a gentle first Kyoto lunch a few minutes from the hotel.
• AfternoonTea Ceremony Meditation in a 100-Year-Old MachiyaKlook: a 45-minute matcha ceremony hosted in English by a tea master inside a 100-year-old Kyoto townhouse, meeting at aeru gojo — a Klook's-choice listing rated 4.9/5 from 341 reviews (product page read 19 Sep 2026); pick a session that fits the day.
• DinnerMamaya (obanzai)Mamaya, a Pontocho obanzai counter (Kyoto home-style small plates you pick from). Tabelog lists Tue-Sun 17:30-22:00, closed Mondays, phone reservations (075-231-3060) and an English menu — call ahead. Kyoto cooking starts from dashi (fish stock), so strict vegetarians should ask.

South of Kyoto — Uji matcha, a Fushimi sake tasting, Gion in the afternoon, then a sake-bar night (the long day: drop the priority-3 stops if it runs late)

• MorningUji: Byodo-in & TeaLeave by 08:00: JR Nara Line from Kyoto Station is about 20 minutes by rapid, then a 15-minute walk east (JNTO). Byodo-in's garden opens 08:45 — buy the Phoenix Hall interior ticket at the garden reception straight away, as tours cap at 50 people every 20 minutes and the reception can close early (official page); leave time for the tea shops on the walk back.
• LunchNakamura TokichiNakamura Tokichi's Uji main store, one minute from JR Uji Station: matcha sweets and noodle dishes for a lunch in Japan's best-known green-tea town (seed). Walk-in only, no reservations; last call 16:30 (noodles too) and it can stop taking orders earlier when busy — the seed's quiet hour is 10:00-11:00 and its busiest run 11:00-16:00, so expect a wait.
• AfternoonFushimi Sake District (Gekkeikan Okura)Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum: 09:30-16:30, last admission 16:00; walk-ins are accepted (an online date-and-time booking gives priority), tours are self-guided, and the visit ends with a tasting of the brewery's sakes. Five minutes from Keihan Chushojima. You must be 20 to drink, and never drive afterwards.
• AfternoonKennin-jiKyoto's oldest Zen temple, with twin dragons painted across the ceiling (seed); open to 17:00, last entry 16:30. The seed's quiet window is 10:00-12:00, so expect company at this hour — it is a swap chip, drop it if the day is running late.
• AfternoonGion / HanamikojiGion's lane of wooden teahouse fronts (seed: best at dusk) — a short walk from Kennin-ji and from dinner.
• DinnerSuibaSuiba Shijo-Kawaramachi, a standing izakaya (Japanese pub) known for its sake list and fish dishes (Tabelog). No reservations; open 12:00-23:00 with the kitchen to 22:15; holidays are not fixed, so check its website or Instagram.
• EveningSake Bar YoramuSake Bar Yoramu, a nine-seat counter for people who care about sake: open Wed-Sat 18:00-24:00 (Tabelog), no reservations — phone 15 minutes ahead and they hold a seat if one is free — and groups are capped at three. If it is full, finish at Suiba's counter.

Nishiki at ten, a tofu kaiseki lunch, sweets by hand — then the 17:00 train

• MorningKonnamonjaKonnamonja, the tofu shop whose soy-milk doughnuts are the classic Nishiki snack: open 10:00-18:00 with irregular holidays (market association's shop page); the seed's quiet hour is 10:00-11:00.
• MorningNishiki MarketNishiki, the covered 'Kitchen of Kyoto': about 400 m of fish, pickle, dried-food and yuba (tofu-skin) stalls. Each shop sets its own hours and closing day, and many close on Wednesdays (market association) — today is Friday. The market asks you not to eat while walking: eat at the stall where you bought it, and go at ten — the seed's stall rows are busiest 11:00-17:00.
• MorningKyo-Yuba (Nishiki)Yubakichi (the seed's 'Kyo-Yuba' row), the only Nishiki shop that both makes and sells yuba, since 1790: open 09:00-18:00, closed Sundays and the fourth Wednesday of the month (association's shop page). Take the plain fresh yuba — its yuba chirimen has dried baby sardines in it.
• LunchTousuiroTofu kaiseki (a multi-course tofu meal) in a Kiyamachi machiya (traditional townhouse): lunch Mon-Sat 11:30-15:00, last order 14:00. Email bookings must reach them at least three days ahead; the Rokuhara course is vegetarian — no meat, shellfish, egg, dairy or fish (official page).
• AfternoonTraditional Mochi / Wagashi Making ClassKlook: a one-hour traditional mochi-making class at the MUTEKI Theater in Gion, in English (product page read 19 Sep 2026); check the session times when you book.
• AfternoonRokkaku-doThe hexagonal hall said to mark Kyoto's exact centre (seed), open 06:00-17:00 — a two-minute walk from the class and a calm last stop before the hotel.