By rail
Kyoto station, ~2 h 15 min by shinkansen from Tokyo
East Asia · Japan
Kyoto, Japan
Temples, gardens and geisha lanes
Getting there
By air
Kansai International (KIX), ~75 min by the Haruka express
Best time to visit
March to May and October to November — blossom and autumn colour
Don't miss
Fushimi Inari-taisha
Kinkaku-ji
Kiyomizu-dera
The Arashiyama bamboo grove
Things to do
Fushimi Inari's gates at dawn
The Arashiyama bamboo grove
A tea ceremony
Gion at dusk
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Basile Morin · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Shoes that slip off easily for temples, layers
A quieter corner
Ohara's moss-garden temples, a bus ride north
Questions travellers ask
When does Kyoto look its best?
March to May brings the blossom and October to November the autumn colour. Whatever the month, walk Fushimi Inari's gates at dawn.
How long does it take to reach Kyoto from Tokyo?
About 2 hours 15 minutes by shinkansen to Kyoto station. From Kansai International (KIX), the Haruka express takes roughly 75 minutes.
What shoes should I wear for Kyoto's temples?
Shoes that slip off easily are the thing for temples. Bring layers too.
Which Kyoto dishes are worth trying?
Sit down to kaiseki, try yudofu tofu and matcha sweets, and graze your way through Nishiki Market.
About Kyoto
- Hills
- Inland
Where it is
Kyoto, capital of Kyoto Prefecture, lies in a basin in the Kansai region of Honshu, Japan, ringed on three sides by wooded hills and crossed by the Kamo River, north-east of Osaka.
History
Founded in 794 as Heian-kyo and laid out on a grid modelled on the Chinese capital Chang'an, Kyoto was the home of Japan's emperors for more than a thousand years. It suffered in the civil wars of the 15th and 16th centuries and was rebuilt under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and it remained the imperial capital until the Meiji emperor moved to Tokyo in 1869. The city was largely spared bombing in the Second World War.
People
Kyotoites speak Japanese in the Kyoto dialect, Kyo-kotoba. The city keeps old crafts alive, from Nishijin silk weaving and Kiyomizu pottery to Kyo-yuzen dyeing, and its year turns on festivals such as the Aoi Matsuri in May and the Gion Matsuri, which fills the month of July.
Known for
- The vermilion torii tunnels of Fushimi Inari-taisha
- Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion
- The geiko and maiko of Gion
- Kaiseki cuisine and matcha tea
- Cherry blossom and autumn maples
Did you know?
Seventeen temples, shrines and a castle in and around the city are inscribed together as the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.