Kyoto & Nara, Japan
Temples in November light, before the maple crowds and after the summer heat breaks.
Kyoto in peak autumn is genuinely unpleasant — Kiyomizu-dera at 11am in late November is a shuffling queue. This itinerary is built around getting to the same places at the hours nobody else does, and filling the middle of the day with the parts of Kyoto that aren't on any list.
You'll be at Fushimi Inari at 6:30am with the gates to yourself. Arashiyama before the buses. Two nights in a ryokan in northern Higashiyama where the temple bell is the loudest thing you'll hear.
The Nara day is deliberately unstructured. The deer are a photo op; the reason to go is Kasuga Taisha's lantern paths in the late afternoon when the tour groups have gone back to Osaka.
Haruka express from Kansai. Check in near Gion. A short walk through Pontocho to get your bearings and eat.
6:30am start. The full loop to the summit takes two hours and you'll pass almost nobody. Afternoon free.
Private tea ceremony mid-morning, then Nishiki Market with a guide who'll get you past the tourist stalls. Izakaya crawl in the evening.
Bamboo grove at 7am, Tenryu-ji when it opens, then the Sagano railway. Back in the city by mid-afternoon.
Train down after breakfast. Todai-ji, then Kasuga Taisha's lantern paths late in the day once the crowds thin.
Move to the ryokan. Onsen, kaiseki dinner, and an evening with nothing in it.
Ginkaku-ji down to Nanzen-ji on foot, stopping at the small temples in between that most itineraries skip.
Options briefed on arrival: Kurama onsen, a knife-shop morning, or Osaka for the day.
Transfer to Kansai.