Access Kyoto A lattice city, and the hours when it is empty.
Main Hall, Kiyomizu-dera -1
KYOTO · JAPAN

Almost everything here is beautiful at seven in the morning.

A thousand-year capital laid out on a grid, with two thousand temples in it, a river down the middle and wooded hills on three sides.

Suicasmo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What Kyoto is

A thousand-year capital laid out on a grid, with two thousand temples in it, a river down the middle and wooded hills on three sides — about 1.4 million people, in the Kansai region of Honshū. Which part of it to stay in is its own question, and the neighbourhoods each suit a different trip.

Heian-kyō was founded in 794 and the court stayed until 1869, when it left for Tokyo. The Ōnin War burned most of the city after 1467; the grid outlived it. Nijō Castle went up in 1603 as the shōgun's Kyoto seat, and it was there, in 1867, that the shōgun handed power back. Heian-jingū was raised in 1895 for the city's 1100th year.

Known for its temples and shrines, its gardens, the wooden townhouses and their lattices, and a cuisine of vegetables, tofu and pickles — and for two weeks a year.

Sixteen sights have a page each. Uji, Amanohashidate and Maizuru are Kyoto Prefecture, not the city — they are day trips. The itineraries are built around what is shut, and only a handful of places need arranging ahead.

NORTHERN HILLS HIGASHIYAMA · EASTERN HILLS WESTERN HILLS MarutamachiOikeSanjō — 3rdShijō — 4thGojō — 5thKarasumaKamo River Kyoto Station Kinkaku-ji Nijō-jō Gion Kiyomizu-dera Ginkaku-ji ← Arashiyama ↓ Fushimi Inari

Schematic, not to scale. Dashed lines are the two subway lines.

Arriving

There is no Kyoto airport.

Kansai and Itami both serve Osaka. From Kansai the Haruka runs straight to Kyoto Station; from Itami, the airport bus.

Getting hereThe streets

The street names are coordinates.

Shijō is fourth avenue, Sanjō is third. Two subway lines and a large, overloaded bus network.

Getting aroundThe calendar

The two most beautiful weeks are the two most crowded.

Cherry blossom in early April, autumn colour in late November.

When to come
Japan · Kyoto PrefectureAbout 1.4 million peopleJapanese — English signage is good at the major sights, thin between themYen

Eleven sections, and what each one answers

The SightsSIXTEEN PLACES, ONE PAGE EACHThe SightsEverything in the city worth a page of its own, and what each one is actually like.Getting HereTHE AIRPORTS ARE IN OSAKAGetting HereKyoto has no airport of its own. Most visitors arrive through Kansai or Itami, or on the Shinkansen — and every one of those routes ends somewhere different in the city.Getting AroundTHE STREET NAMES ARE COORDINATESGetting AroundA grid you can navigate by arithmetic, two subway lines, and a bus network under strain.Eating and DrinkingVEGETABLES, TOFU AND PICKLES — A CUISINE WITH NO COASTEating and DrinkingWhat a landlocked capital ate for a thousand years, and what is genuinely the city's own.Temples and ShrinesTWO DIFFERENT RELIGIONS, AND YOU CAN TELL AT THE GATETemples and ShrinesHow to know which one you are walking into, and what you are expected to do once you are.Machiya and the LatticeAN EEL'S BED: NARROW AT THE STREET, VERY DEEP BEHINDMachiya and the LatticeThe wooden townhouse that gives Kyoto its street frontage, and how to read one from outside.NeighbourhoodsWHERE TO STAY, AND WHAT EACH PART IS LIKENeighbourhoodsFive parts of the city, and who each of them suits.When to ComeTHE TWO MOST BEAUTIFUL WEEKS ARE THE TWO WORST WEEKSWhen to ComeFour hard seasons, two famous ones, and an argument for coming between them.Day TripsTHE PREFECTURE, AND THE NEXT ONE ALONGDay TripsFour places within an easy ride, and a note on which of them are not Kyoto at all.ItinerariesBUILT AROUND WHAT IS SHUT, AND AROUND THE HOURItinerariesFive lengths of stay, arranged so the famous places get the empty hours.Booking AheadTHE FEW THINGS THAT GENUINELY NEED ITBooking AheadMost of Kyoto you walk into. These are the exceptions, and one of them needs weeks.

All sixteen sights

Kinkaku-jiKinkaku-jiGinkaku-jiGinkaku-jiKiyomizu-deraKiyomizu-deraFushimi Inari-taishaFushimi Inari-taishaThe Sagano Bamboo GroveThe Sagano Bamboo GroveTenryū-jiTenryū-jiRyōan-jiRyōan-jiNijō CastleNijō CastleGionGionPontochōPontochōNishiki MarketNishiki MarketSanjūsangen-dōSanjūsangen-dōTō-jiTō-jiNanzen-jiNanzen-jiHeian-jingūHeian-jingūThe Philosopher's PathThe Philosopher's Path

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