Kyoto

Why Kyoto Is Different

Every other major Japanese city is in competition with Tokyo. Kyoto has no interest in that competition. It was Japan's capital for over a thousand years and it has never entirely accepted that it isn't still. The pace is different, the priorities are different, and the food is the most refined in the country.

Getting Around

The city is best navigated by bicycle — rental shops throughout the city charge around ¥1,000 per day. Buses connect most of the main temples; the IC card works on all of them. The key areas — Arashiyama in the west, Higashiyama in the east, Nishiki Market in the centre — are each worth a full half-day.

The Temples

There are 1,600. You cannot see them all and you shouldn't try. Prioritise: Fushimi Inari (the mountain covered in vermillion torii gates — go at 6am before the crowds), Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion — disappointing in photographs, extraordinary in person), Ryoan-ji (the Zen rock garden — best on a grey morning in November when the moss turns luminous), Gion Shijo (the geisha district — quiet the further east you walk into Shirakawa).

The Food

Kaiseki is the Japanese multi-course tasting menu tradition, and Kyoto is where it was developed and where it remains best executed. A kaiseki meal at one of the traditional ryotei restaurants around Kiyamachi is a four-hour experience that warrants the significant cost. For more casual eating, Nishiki Market has every ingredient and product of Kyoto cuisine in one narrow, covered street.

Tofu here is different — you'll understand immediately. Yudofu (tofu simmered in a kombu broth) is the correct lunch near Nanzen-ji. Obanzai (Kyoto-style vegetable side dishes) appear in almost every restaurant and are always worth ordering.

When to Go

Cherry blossom (late March–April): The most beautiful but the most crowded. Book accommodation six months ahead. Autumn colour (November): Even more beautiful, less crowded. November in Kyoto is the finest month in Japan. Avoid Golden Week (late April–early May): the country is on holiday and every temple has queues.