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City guide · 京都 Kyoto
Kyoto
An imperial capital for over a thousand years: temples, machiya and festivals are the best textbook on Japan
Kyoto is the culmination of traditional Japanese culture: the stage of Kiyomizu-dera, the reflection of Kinkaku-ji, the thousand torii of Fushimi Inari and the stone lanes of Gion. It deserves a slower pace, exploring one district at a time.
History
How the city came to be
In 794 Emperor Kanmu moved the capital here and built Heian-kyō on the plan of Tang Chang'an. For more than a thousand years the emperor lived in Kyoto, until the move to Tokyo in 1869. The Ōnin War, the Honnō-ji Incident and the Battle of Toba–Fushimi all took place here. Kyoto escaped large-scale bombing in the Second World War, so most of its pre-war heritage survives, and 17 sites are inscribed on the World Heritage List as the 'Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto'.
- 794Emperor Kanmu moved the capital to Heian-kyō
- 1397Ashikaga Yoshimitsu built his Kitayama villa (forerunner of Kinkaku-ji)
- 1467The Ōnin War broke out and much of Kyoto was destroyed
- 1582The Honnō-ji Incident: Oda Nobunaga died
- 1626Nijō Castle was completed
- 1867At Nijō Castle, Tokugawa Yoshinobu announced the return of power to the emperor
- 1869The emperor moved to Tokyo, ending Kyoto's thousand years as imperial capital
Stories
Stories of the city
Legend · Kiyomizu-dera
The deer-hunting general and Kiyomizu-dera
According to temple tradition, in 778 the monk Kenshin (later renamed Enchin) received a revelation in a dream and came to practise beside the waterfall on Mount Otowa. Two years later Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, hunting in the mountains for deer blood as medicine for his sick wife, met Kenshin and was deeply moved. In 798 he and Enchin built the main hall on a large scale and enshrined Bishamonten and Jizō Bodhisattva.
History · Kinkaku-ji
A shogun's villa that became a Zen temple
In 1397 the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu bought a mountain villa in Kitayama, Kyoto, from the Saionji family and rebuilt it as the complex that includes the Golden Pavilion. After Yoshimitsu's death, his son turned it into a Zen temple according to his wishes.
History · Kinkaku-ji
The fire of 1950 and Yukio Mishima's novel
Early on 2 July 1950 a 22-year-old novice monk set fire to the Golden Pavilion and burned it down; the original statue of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was also destroyed in the fire. The Golden Pavilion seen today was rebuilt in 1955. Yukio Mishima based his 1956 novel 'The Temple of the Golden Pavilion' on the incident.
History · Fushimi Inari Taisha
The Hata clan and the god Inari
Fushimi Inari Taisha's founding is traditionally dated to 711, by the Hata, an immigrant clan from the Korean Peninsula. The Hata were skilled in agricultural techniques and closely connected to the court, and Inari gradually changed from the clan's tutelary deity into a god protecting abundant harvests and the nation. The roughly 10,000 torii in the grounds are all donated by businesses, and about 800 of them form the continuous 'Senbon Torii'.
1 more stories on the individual pages.
People
People connected with Kyoto
Muromachi period · 1358–1408
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
Third shogun of the Muromachi shogunate
1 related places
Early Heian period · 758–811
Sakanoue no Tamuramaro
Seii Taishōgun (shogun)
1 related places
Sengoku to Edo period · 1543–1616
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Founder of the Edo shogunate
1 related places
Bakumatsu to Meiji · 1837–1913
Tokugawa Yoshinobu
Last shogun of the Edo shogunate
1 related places
Must see
Places you shouldn’t miss
Kiyomizu-dera
The courage of 'jumping off the stage at Kiyomizu', where the ancient capital looks back over a thousand years
Kinkaku-ji
A three-storey pavilion clad in gold leaf, a Pure Land reflected in the Mirror Pond
Hanamikōji, Gion
A stone-paved geisha district where geiko and maiko brush past, the 'miyabi' (refined elegance) in the glow of machiya lanterns asks every trave…
Nishiki Market
Four hundred years as 'Kyoto's Kitchen': 390 m of arcade packed with Kyoto vegetables, tamagoyaki and the calls of old shops — a living museum o…
Fushimi Inari Taisha
A vermilion tunnel woven from ten thousand torii: the god of commerce, guarded by fox messengers
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
A 'tunnel of light' with sun filtering through the bamboo, its rustling chosen among the '100 Soundscapes of Japan'
Nijō Castle
The Tokugawa shogunate's base in Kyoto: the Edo shogunate began here, and ended here.
Local life
Food and local daily life
Before you go
Rules to know in Kyoto
Take off your shoes when you see a genkan (entrance step)
- Take off your shoes at the entrance of homes, some restaurants, temples and hot-spring facilities
- If unsure, look for a shoe rack or slippers at the entrance
- Stepping onto tatami or indoor wooden floors in shoes
It is seen as very rude.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette
No phone calls on trains and the shinkansen; queue to board
- Put your phone on silent; on the shinkansen, take calls in the area between carriages
- Queue at the marked spots on either side of the train door, and let people off before you get on
- Give priority seats to older people, pregnant women and passengers with limited mobility
- Talking on the phone or playing sound aloud in the train
Not illegal, but you will get looks and a reminder from the conductor.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette
If you have tattoos, check the rules before using a hot spring
- Before you go, email the facility to ask about its rules
- Small to medium tattoos can be covered with skin-coloured patches (some onsen sell them)
- Choose a tattoo-friendly onsen, or book a private bath (kashikiri-buro) in advance
- Ignoring 'no tattoos' signs and getting in anyway
Most onsen do not allow guests with tattoos to bathe, but rules vary by facility and are often more relaxed for foreign visitors.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: tattoo rules and etiquette at onsen
Wash your body thoroughly before getting into a hot spring
- Before getting in, sit on the small stool in the washing area and wash your whole body with the shower or a bucket, leaving no soap
- Leave your small towel at the edge of the bath or fold it on your head
- Getting into the bath without rinsing first
- Dipping your towel in the bath water
- Leaving a used towel in the washing area
Not illegal, but other guests and the staff will see it as very rude. Most onsen require you to be fully naked in the bathing area.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: a beginner's guide to onsen
There is no tipping in Japan
- Say thank you with 'arigatō gozaimashita'
- Pressing loose change on staff
Japan is a no-tipping country and bills usually include service; if you press a tip on staff, some will politely refuse.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese table manners
An izakaya's otoshi is a cover charge
- Accept the otoshi as an appetiser
- Arguing with staff about it or asking for it to be taken back
There is no penalty: before you order at an izakaya, a small dish of otoshi always arrives. It doubles as the cover charge and cannot be chosen or swapped.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: drinking in Japan