Maizuru

Maizuru sits on a deep bay on the Sea of Japan coast and is the closest port to Kyoto, about 90 minutes away by train. The city has a naval history, and the red-brick warehouses along the waterfront date from the early 1900s when the Imperial Japanese Navy used the port. Some of the warehouses are now museums and event spaces. Kyoto is the main reason for the stop. The city has over 2,000 temples and shrines, and one day isn't enough, so pick a few: Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion), Fushimi Inari with its thousands of orange torii gates, and the Arashiyama bamboo grove are the most popular. The Nishiki Market in central Kyoto sells street food and kitchen supplies. If you stay in Maizuru, the Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum covers the return of Japanese prisoners of war after WWII. Local seafood, especially crab in winter, is excellent.