Kyoto

Highlights & Suggested Itineraries

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Kyoto, with its hundreds of temples and gardens, was the imperial capital between 794 and 1868, and remains the cultural center of Japan.

With an astonishing 1,600 Buddhist temples, 400 Shintô shrines, a trio of palaces, and dozens of gardens and museums, Kyoto is Japan's cultural treasure house. Seventeen of Kyoto's ancient structures and gardens have been declared UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Suggested Itineraries: Kyoto

Kyoto has always been Japan's artistic and cultural workshop, the place where the country's finest artisans worked to produce the goods used in tea ceremonies, calligraphy, flower arrangement and religious ceremonies, as well as in kimono fabrics and other textiles.

Read our Top Things to do in Kyoto: A 5-Day Itinerary for day-by-day tips on sightseeing and day trips in and around Kyoto. And be sure to take time out from temples for a mountain hike, shopping at Shijô-dôri, people-watching on Kiyamachi-dôri and sampling some of Japan's finest food. There's plenty to do in Kyoto when night falls. Indeed, the area around Kawaramachi-dôri and Kiyamachi-dôri fairly pulses with activity almost any night of the week.