Skip kinkakuji if you are in a time crunch.
It’s far away from anything else you would possibly go to. There is no trains so you have to take a bus that eats a lot of time since it is one of the most packed routes.
Once you get there there are a couple cool spots to see the temple but it’s over before you know it.
I’ve been twice, once on my mission and once after my mission. I didn’t even take my wife when we went a couple falls ago.

My faves are definitely
kiyomizudera - the grounds are gorgeous. The side streets have a ton to eat and there are some nearby other temples you can do.

fushimi inari. (Like Federer said it can be a quite a hike bust since you did Fuji I am sure you will do fine) it’s open 24 hrs so an early morning or a late evening hike might be nice.

Arashiyama - the bamboo portion is short and crowded but the tenryuji grounds were beautiful and the monkey park is nearby, also some great street food can be found and if you really have time a cool old train you can ride that goes along the Katsura river. It’s similar to Kinkakuji in that it may not be worth the time to get out there. But there is a bit more to see there.

I love Division Bell’s suggestion to check out Hieizan (mt hiei). It’s the birthplace of Buddhism. Plus you can go to the east side and see biwako (Lake Biwa). Then you can ride the cable car down to Otsu (my last area) and see hiyoshi taisha, a lovely old shrine and then walk to the sakamoto hieizan station and back to Kyoto. (There is also a lot of underrated places in shiga prefecture too but my guess is you may not have the time).


A great rainy day item for us was seeing the international manga museum. If you like anime or manga it’s a nice little treat especially on a rainy day if you want to stay in.


I wish I was smarter as a missionary and saw more around Kyoto when I was next door Otsu but I spent my p-days in shakeys instead at cool historical places. But there are so many other fantastic shrines and temples.