Kyoto is the cultural heart of Japan. Spared from Allied bombs during World War II, it retains its historic charm with thousands of temples, shrines, and traditional Japanese houses. It’s a must-see on any trip to Japan!
History
Kyoto was Japan’s capital for over a thousand years. It became the seat of the Imperial court in the 8th century and remained the center of power until the 19th century when the emperor moved to Tokyo (then called Edo).
During WWII, the United States considered targeting Kyoto with the new atomic bomb, but that plan was discouraged by Secretary of War Henry Stinson who believed destroying an important cultural center would generate generations of ill will and drive Japan towards the Soviet Union. Popular myth has it that he honeymooned in Kyoto and didn’t want to see it destroyed (mentioned in the Oppenheimer movie) but that hasn’t been proven as fact. Kyoto is one of the few Japanese cities to have many pre-war buildings.
It’s the cultural and historic center of modern Japan and millions of tourists visit each year.
Visit
Kyoto is a much larger city than expected. It is home to 1.5 million people and has a thriving student population. While most historic sites are in a few areas, there is a huge city to explore!
The streets are much different than you’ll experience in other big cities. It has tiny sidewalks with painted lines separating you from the cars. It definitely feels less like a big metropolis and more like a historic old town. Just be sure to hold tight to little ones as you walk although Japanese drivers are extremely courteous.
General Tips
I highly recommend using a travel agent to help you plan your trip, especially if this is your first time in Japan. The customs and language barrier can be difficult to overcome without someone helping you. I was lucky that my travel agent had visited Japan the year before my family went so her advice was invaluable. I highly recommend Angie!
- Lodging: Kyoto is a large city, so you will find many Western-style chain hotels here. I absolutely loved the serenity of our hotel, Park Hyatt Kyoto, which was near a quaint shopping street and many peaceful gardens. I’ve also heard good things about the Westin Kyoto. Be sure to book through a travel agent to get the preferred deals which often include breakfast and meal credits. Also popular in Kyoto are ryokan (traditional Japanese inns).
- Transportation: Kyoto is reachable by high-speed train from Tokyo which is a really neat experience (tickets are easily purchased on the Shinkansen app). Taxis are plentiful and very clean but always have your destination pulled up in Google maps where you can scroll down to the address written in Japanese characters. Kyoto does have a subway but it is limited in reach. Download the Suica card on your Apple Wallet to take subways throughout Japan (add under “transit”). Exploring on foot is doable especially in certain historic areas like Gion.
- Food: Finding a place we could all agree on for a meal was our biggest challenge. Luckily, our hotel had an amazing restaurant where we had a Western-style breakfast (along with some Japanese specialties) and an easily accessible dinner menu. There are also lots of options at the Nishiki Market. My kids loved the various ramen restaurants so that’s always a good option as well. As a big steak lover, kobe or wagyu beef is almost always a good option on the menus!
- Shopping: We loved walking down the Ninenzaka walkway which was full of traditional Japanese stores. The area around Arashiyama also has great shopping.
- Tour guides: We used guides from Context Travel on this trip and had good experiences. Our guide in Kyoto took us to the Imperial Palace, Nijo-jo Castle, and a tea house. He was great! You can also book an English-speaking tour guide through your hotel.
- Websites to help you plan your trip:
- Other tips:
- Kyoto is one of the most popular places in Japan, and the crowds can be overwhelming. Plan your trip in a way that doesn’t leave you frustrated with the huge thongs of tourists overtaking the small city streets. There are many must-see sites but there are also alternatives to consider to make your vacation easier.
- With over 2,000 temples and shrines to see, it can be hard to decide which ones to visit. I wouldn’t go out of my way to see a particular one and would just see what’s nearest to your hotel or destination. Most Buddhist temples can be visited but Shinto shrines are not open to the public. Keep in mind, visiting multiple temples is going to be challenging. The rituals are hard to understand as both Westerners and Christians, so we found that seeing one or two was enough for us.
- Allow more time for getting from place to place. The streets are winding and it may take you a while to find a taxi.
- Be sure to enable mobile payments as this is popular in Japan.
- Most of the main sites can be toured in 2-3 days.
- Don’t forget to read my review on Tokyo to learn more about Japanese culture and food.
Attractions/Historical Sites
With over one thousand years as the country’s capital, there are many amazing historical sites to see in Kyoto.
Central Kyoto:
Kyoto Imperial Palace: Unlike its counterpart in Tokyo, you can actually see and visit the Imperial Palace here. This palace was the residence of Japanese emperors for one thousand years until the capital moved to Tokyo in 1869. There is an audio guide to use if you don’t have a guide. Go to the Seishomon Gate for entry.
You’ll walk through its beautiful gardens before entering the palace complex.
The gates are very impressive!
While you can’t go into any of the actual waiting rooms, you can see into the beautiful and increasingly complex artwork (the higher your status, the more elaborate the art).
The gate leading to the Hall for Ceremonies is so beautiful!
The hall itself is massive and its bark roof is similar to an English thatched roof.
The former living quarters of the Emperor beginning in the 10th century, it was then used for religious and political ceremonies from the 16th century until the emperor moved in 1869.
We couldn’t go in to see the throne room but did get to see a picture.
We saw several other parts of the palace complex that are used for ceremonies with samurais and as a library. Such beautiful architecture!
The private palace garden was also lovely.
Kids will enjoy learning about kemari, a game played by the Imperial family that is similar to a cross between soccer and hacky sack!
We only were able to catch a glimpse of the interior painting.
Nijo-jo Castle: This is a must-see for adults and kids! You can actually go into a real samurai castle! Walking distance from the Imperial Palace, this imposing fortress was built in 1603 by the first Tokugawa shogun.
You’ll cross the moat and enter an impressive gate.
The entire complex has intricate gilded work (look for hidden things like this bird in the bottom right picure!).
To enter the castle, you’ll have to remove your shoes so be sure to wear socks. No photos are allowed inside but it is beyond impressive. The rooms are set up as they were during the Tokugawa shogun with its samurai conferences and tea ceremonies. There are mannequins staged to show what it would have been like to attend one of these important meetings. The walls are covered in exquisite art, especially in the public rooms, and the floors are covered in the traditional tatami mats.
My favorite story is of the floors which make a lilting creaky sound when walked upon. These are called “nightingale” floors which were designed to alert the occupants as to any movement outside the rooms. No sneaking assassin possible!
If you’ve seen the TV show, Shogun, this castle will be familiar. It looks like the model for the show’s sets!
Temples: Higashi Hongan-ji Temple – huge temple complex with Japan’s second largest wooden structure
Eastern Kyoto:
Gion district: This is also known as the Geisha district and has many tea houses where you can learn the tradition of the tea ceremony. Our travel agent recommended Maikoya and it was an unforgettable experience. Women are dressed in traditional kimonos (be sure to have warm pants on to wear underneath) and men dress in traditional robes (my kids thought they looked like jedis!). You will learn how to make matcha tea in the Japanese traditional process. Give yourself 45 minutes for dressing and 45 minutes for the tea ceremony when planning.
Other places in Gion to visit:
- Fushimi Inari Shrine: Everyone recognizes this temple complex with its red gates going up a mountainside. It is usually packed so it’s encouraged to visit in the early morning. We didn’t get to see it but it’s supposedly the number one place to see in Kyoto! (Photo above)
- Kyoto National Museum
- Main Temples: Chion-in Temple and Yasaka Shrine – both impressive from the road; Ryōzen Kannon Temple (nearest to Park Hyatt) – has a large Buddha statue on top; Kodaiji Temple with its bamboo forest
Western Kyoto:
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest: This is a beautiful yet very crowded walk in a magical bamboo forest. The streets below teem with tourists but it’s fairly quiet in the forest even with the crowds. NOTE: The bamboo forest is NOT across the Togetsukyō Bridge where the Arashiyama Monkey Sanctuary is located. It is behind the shopping street found at the base of the bridge.
Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple: This temple north of Arashiyama also has its own private bamboo forest and is a better experience than the touristy one. Our guide recommended it, and I wish we had gone there instead of Arashiyama!
Other Attractions:
- Kyoto Aquarium: Looks like a great place for kids!
- Kyoto Railway Museum: See behind the scenes of Japan’s famous high-speed trains!
- Nintendo Museum: We didn’t find out about this museum until after our trip. My Nintendo-loving teen was so sad we didn’t go! Tickets are hard to come by, but it looks like it’s worth the effort!
Easy Day Trips
Osaka: This world-class foodie city is large and full of bustling fun. The high-speed train makes it only 15 minutes from Kyoto! There are several historical sites (Osaka Castle, Osaka Museum of History, and Hattori Ryokuchi Park), but the main reason we visited was to go to Universal Studios.
- Universal Studios Japan: This park is such a neat experience, particularly to see NintendoWorld, but I can’t express enough how crowded the park is, even on a less-visited day. To be worth your time, you have to get fast passes.
- Transportation: Take the Shinkansen train from Kyoto to Osaka in just 15 minutes! Note the high-speed train station is different from the Osaka subway stations. You have to take the subway from the Shinkansen train station to the main Osaka subway station. Then two more trains to get to the park. I’d recommend a taxi instead unless you want an adventure! We navigated it, but it was confusing!
- When you leave the park, walk through Universal City to the hotel taxi line at the Singulari Hotel (just past the subway station). This makes going back to the Shinkansen train station easy (about a 30 minute cab ride).
- Tickets: Buy your park tickets from the US website here. If it won’t let you check out, email customer service to get your American credit card on their acceptable list. NOTE: entrance to NintendoWorld is via timed-entry only. If you buy a fast pass with a NintendoWorld ride, the entry will be included. If you don’t, you MUST get a timed-entry pass on the Universal Studios app or be there at the opening (along with thousands of others!).
- Fast passes: Save yourself time and heartache by purchasing fast passes. These open a few months in advance and sell out quickly. It is a very confusing process as the official website seems to sell them (but I’ve never seen any available). You can purchase the passes on Klook and get them as soon as you know your dates. We had to purchase two different passes to include all of the rides we wanted. They were a lifesaver!
- Food: There are some American-style restaurants here (we ate burgers at Mel’s Drive-In). When you enter NintendoWorld, visit Kinopio’s Cafe (downstairs left) immediately to scan the QR code to be put on the waitlist. Go on the rides and then your table will likely be ready. The wait was 1.5 hours when we tried to get in!
- Transportation: Take the Shinkansen train from Kyoto to Osaka in just 15 minutes! Note the high-speed train station is different from the Osaka subway stations. You have to take the subway from the Shinkansen train station to the main Osaka subway station. Then two more trains to get to the park. I’d recommend a taxi instead unless you want an adventure! We navigated it, but it was confusing!
Nara: The big draw to this small town is the park with tame deer that you can feed. Kids will love it! It’s just a short train ride away from Kyoto.
Hiroshima: This site of the 1945 atomic bomb has several memorials and museums to see. I explored a day trip here but it would have taken an entire day. I definitely want to see it in the future.
Kyoto is a must-see destination on any trip to Japan. This is where you can see the real Japan behind the samurai legends and shogun lore.
Books to Read:
All books links are Amazon affiliate links. To support independent creators and bookstores, check out my Bookshop.org list.
Guidebooks:
Adults/Young Adults:
- A Brief History of Japan: Samurai, Shogun and Zen: The Extraordinary Story of the Land of the Rising Sun
- Memoirs of a Geisha
- Geisha, A Life
- A Curse in Kyoto
- Shogun
- Shogun: The Life and Times of Tokugawa Ieyasu: Japan’s Greatest Ruler
- In the Service of the Shogun: The Real Story of William Adams
- The Turtle House
- The Diplomat’s Daughter
Middle Grade:
- The Samurai’s Tale
- Grenade
- Sisters of the Sword series
- Dragon of the Red Dawn (Magic Treehouse Merlin Missions #9)
Picture Books:
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