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Next Stage Travel

Running in Kyoto

Updated: Aug 28, 2023

Running in Kyoto

There are two places in central Kyoto that I found good for running: the grounds of the Imperial Palace (aka Kyoto-gyoen) and along the Kamo river (aka Kamogawa). Be aware that central Kyoto is pretty flat; without stairs, the elevation change was no more than 50 ft on any of my runs.

The Kyoto-gyoen is a rectangle 1.3 km by 0.7 km. There are various paths, most dirt or gravel, throughout the grounds. The most scenic stuff is behind walls (Imperial Palace; Sento gardens and palace) but there are plenty of trees and flowering plants along many of the paths.

The Kamo River runs north-south through central Kyoto. Just north of the Imperial Palace grounds, the Takano and Kamo rivers join to become the Kamo river which runs further south. There are walking/running/biking paths on both sides of the river, easily accessible from any of the many bridges that cross the river. I had a preference for the path on the western side of the river, as it had more dirt and gravel. The eastern side of the river was almost entirely paved. The western side starts at the Gojo bridge, near Kiyomizu-Gojo station whereas the eastern side starts much further south, just north of the Toka bridge. Both paths run north many kilometers up the Kamo river (left) fork, but only a kilometer or two up the Takano river.

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