Kyoto, Japan

A capital chosen for its setting

In 794 the imperial court moved to a new city called Heian-kyō, the capital of peace and tranquility. Its planners chose a broad basin enclosed by hills on three sides, with rivers running through it and an open approach to the south. That setting matched ideas borrowed from Chinese geomancy about where a capital should sit, and it also offered fresh water, timber and natural defenses.

The streets were laid out in a neat grid modeled on the Chinese capital Chang'an, and much of that grid still guides how you move around Kyoto today. The city remained the home of the emperor for more than a thousand years, until the court moved to Tokyo in 1868.

Temples on the edge of the hills

Kyoto has roughly 1,600 Buddhist temples and several hundred Shinto shrines. Many of the most famous are tucked against the wooded hills that ring the city: Kiyomizu-dera on its wooden stage above the eastern slopes, Ginkaku-ji at the foot of the Higashiyama hills, and Fushimi Inari, where thousands of vermilion torii gates climb a sacred mountain.

The Golden Pavilion, Kinkaku-ji, sits beside a pond that doubles its reflection. The original building burned in 1950 and was rebuilt five years later, a reminder that much of Kyoto's beauty has been carefully restored over centuries.

A city that kept its past

Kyoto escaped the large-scale bombing that destroyed many Japanese cities in the Second World War, so it still holds a dense mix of old wooden townhouses, called machiya, along with gardens, workshops and teahouses. In districts such as Gion and Higashiyama, stone-paved lanes and lantern-lit streets give a sense of the old city.

The basin setting also shapes the climate. Surrounded by hills, Kyoto traps heat and humidity in summer and cold air in winter, which makes it hotter in July and colder in January than many visitors expect.

When to visit

The two famous seasons are cherry blossom time, usually late March to early April, and autumn color, from mid November into early December. Both are beautiful and very crowded. Early mornings are the best time to see popular sites in peace.

Kyoto is compact enough to explore by bus, train, bicycle and foot. Stay a few nights rather than visiting on a day trip from Osaka, and you will have time for quieter places like the moss gardens, mountain villages north of the city and the riverside at Arashiyama.

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