Why go
- It holds the deepest concentration of classical Japanese architecture, gardens and craft anywhere — 17 UNESCO sites in one city.
- The seasons are an event here: cherry blossom in spring and the maple turn in November are worth planning a trip around.
- It is a food city — kaiseki, tofu cuisine, Nishiki market, and some of Japan's best coffee and sweets.
- Spared the WWII bombing, its old neighbourhoods of wooden machiya townhouses survive to be walked.
History
Founded in 794 as Heian-kyō and modelled on the Tang Chinese capital, Kyoto was the seat of the emperor and the heart of Japanese court culture for over a thousand years, until the capital moved to Tokyo in 1869. Deliberately left off the list of WWII bombing targets for its cultural value, it kept its temples, gardens and much of its old fabric — which is why it remains the country's cultural touchstone even as it modernised around the edges.
Major sights
When it rains
Restaurants & places to go
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Airports
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 4 airlines, 22 direct destinations
- Japan Airlines Domestic JL (Embraer 170, CRJ, 737-800, 777-300, 767, 777) · 20 routes: Akita*, Amami*, Aomori*, Fukuoka, Hakodate*, Hanamaki*, Kagoshima*, Kumamoto*, Matsuyama*, Misawa*, Miyazaki*, Nagasaki*, Niigata*, Oita*, Okinawa, Sapporo, Sendai*, Tokyo, Tokyo, Yamagata*
- All Nippon Airways NH (A320, 735, 767, DH8, 737, 737-800…) · 16 routes: Akita*, Fukuoka, Fukushima*, Kagoshima, Kochi*, Kumamoto, Matsuyama*, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Niigata, Oita*, Okinawa, Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Tokyo
- Ibex Airlines FW (CRJ) · 5 routes: Fukuoka, Fukushima, Oita, Sapporo, Sendai
- American Airlines AA (737, 777-300) · 1 route: Tokyo
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Getting there by ferry
Where things are
Photographs
credit: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons · See source page
When to go
The two peak weeks of the Japanese calendar. Extraordinary and mobbed — book accommodation months ahead and start sightseeing at dawn.
Green and comfortable, or crisp and clear, without the blossom-and-maple crush. Often the smarter visit.
Hot and very humid, with a rainy spell in June–July. The Gion Matsuri in July is a genuine reason to brave it, otherwise the least pleasant time.
Getting there & around
Getting there. Kyoto has no airport of its own — fly into Osaka's Kansai International (KIX), 75 minutes by the Haruka express, or Itami (ITM). Kyoto Station is a Shinkansen stop: Tokyo is 2h15, Osaka 15 minutes, Hiroshima under 2 hours. By water: 6 ferry terminals within 20 km (nearest: Keage, 3.7 km); routes include Lake Biwa Canal Cruise, びわ湖疏水船 山科=>蹴上, びわ湖疏水船 大津=>蹴上.
Getting around. Buses reach most temples and a flat-fare day pass is good value, but they crawl in peak season; the two subway lines and the JR/private rail lines are faster where they go. Central Kyoto is flat and very bikeable, and the Higashiyama temple district is best on foot. Taxis are plentiful for tired legs.
Local transit
Trains & rail
Coaches & shuttles
Private aviation
On-demand charter, jet cards and the semi-private scheduled carriers that serve this city.