If you asked me where in Japan one should go if they’ve never been, I’d have to say Kyoto. And since it’s only about 2 and bit hours on the bullet train from Tokyo, and 15 minutes from Osaka, if you can, do all three and that will give you a good taste of Japan.
We’ve only been to Kyoto a couple of times and the only thing that keeps us away is probably the crowds. It can get rather busy at the temples, shrines and palaces and to really appreciate and enjoy them, it’s much better to go when there’s not so many people around. This is sadly almost unavoidable. Regardless, Kyoto is lovely and it’s got that relaxed, chilled out vibe that you can’t find in many places.
I don’t know if it’s my favourite place in Japan but it’s somewhere I’d have no problem going back to multiple times. Probably the other thing keeping us from going back more is the goal to see more places. So far we’ve been to Tokyo (about 8 times), Yokohama, Osaka, Kobe, Sapporo, Rusutsu, Tomamu, Nara, Nagoya, Fukui, Okinawa, Miyazaki and quite a few places in between, and there’s about five or six other places I want to see before going back to Kyoto (unfortunately).
Anyway, I don’t think Kyoto needs much explaining, everybody know’s it’s famous for its beautiful shrines, temples, traditional gardens and palaces and if you’ve never been to Japan, it’s something special. This is Japan at it’s best and if you can somehow avoid the peak seasons and the crowds, it’ll be that much more enjoyable.
There’s some fantastic restaurants here as well, some rather expensive and fancy, but as with everywhere in Japan, a good cheap meal is never far away.
Send us any questions or comments you have about Kyoto via email or ask us on twitter.