Kansai

Kyoto

Temples, tea houses and cedar hills. Slow mornings and a city that rewards walking without a plan.

Introduction

Kyoto asks for a different rhythm. The city's best hours are early and late, when the temple gates open onto empty gravel and the lanes of Gion belong to the people who live in them.

Treat it as a walking city with hills at the edges. Two districts a day is plenty, and the space between them — a canal path, a covered market, a neighbourhood coffee shop — is frequently the part you remember.

Mia Fournier · Updated 20 August 2026

Region: Kansai, Honshū
Stay: 3–4 nights
Best months: Apr, Oct–Nov
From Tokyo: Shinkansen, about 2h15

Why visit

Why Kyoto

Density of beauty

Temples, gardens, craft workshops and wooden townhouses sit within a compact, walkable grid.

Seasonal drama

Few cities change character as completely between cherry blossom, deep summer green and autumn colour.

Food with a long memory

Kaiseki, tofu cuisine, market stalls and tea houses that have been refining one thing for generations.

Neighbourhoods

Best areas

Higashiyama: The postcard Kyoto of stone lanes and temples. Arrive before eight or after five.
Gion & Pontochō: Evening district of wooden facades and riverside dining. Photograph respectfully.
Arashiyama: Bamboo, river boats and mountain temples on the western edge — an easy half-day.
Central Kyoto: Nishiki Market, department stores and the most practical base for transport.
Northern hills: Kurama, Kibune and Ōhara for forest walks and hot springs within an hour of the centre.

Things to do

Worth your time in Kyoto

Start at dawn
Fushimi Inari and Kiyomizu-dera are transformed by an early start; the difference is not subtle.
Sit in one garden properly
Choose a single temple garden and stay an hour rather than photographing six in a morning.
Walk the Philosopher's Path
Canal-side, shaded and linking a chain of quieter temples in the north-east.
Book a craft or tea experience
Ceramics, indigo dyeing and tea ceremony are genuinely absorbing when the group is small.
Take the train to Nara
Forty minutes each way for Tōdai-ji and the deer park.

Discover Kyoto experiences

Stay

Where to stay in Kyoto

Central / Karasuma: The practical base — subway, buses and Nishiki Market on the doorstep.
Higashiyama: Quiet at night and closest to the early-morning temple walks.
A ryokan or machiya: One or two nights in a traditional inn or townhouse is worth reshaping the budget for.

Find your stay in Kyoto

Editorial guidance only. We don't publish prices, ratings or availability.

Eat

Where to eat

Nishiki Market: Go for breakfast and graze; it becomes shoulder-to-shoulder by midday.
Obanzai: Kyoto home cooking served as small plates — the city's most underrated meal.
Tofu and shōjin ryōri: Temple-adjacent restaurants take vegetarian cooking extremely seriously.
Kissaten: Old-school coffee houses, siphon brews and thick toast. A proper Kyoto morning.

Transport

How to get around

Buses reach the temples but crawl in traffic; the subway and two rail lines are faster where they go.
A bicycle is the local answer for the flat central grid.
Taxis are reasonable for short hops between districts, especially in the evening.
Kyoto Station is the hub for Nara, Osaka and the shinkansen — factor it into where you sleep.

Plan

A suggested Kyoto route

Day 1Higashiyama at first light, Nishiki Market for lunch, Pontochō for dinner.
Day 2Arashiyama in the morning, the Philosopher's Path and a northern temple in the afternoon.
Day 3Fushimi Inari before breakfast, then a day trip to Nara or a craft workshop.

Insider tips

What we'd tell a friend about Kyoto

Reading

Kyoto stories

A white Shinkansen travelling through rice fields with Mount Fuji rising in the distance

Transport

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