Kyoto, Japan
82%
82%
What's Hot
Sightseeing, Culture, Getting Around, Eating Out
Sightseeing, Culture, Getting Around, Eating Out
What's Not
Partying, Weather, Shopping, Chilling Out
Partying, Weather, Shopping, Chilling Out
Also Check Out …
Self-catering
Sightseeing
Restaurants
Bars
Kyoto Reviews ( 50 reviews )
| Kyoto Reviews |
by painchausson
| 1 Jan 2007 | 80% |
 |
You should try the restaurants at the Kyoto station... Very good value for money! |
|
|
|
by sake2
| 8 Jan 2007 | 100% |
|
Not as many clubs and bars as in Tokyo but I was there for the sightseeing...so I didn\'t care. Most shops on Shijo Street were rather expensive...didn\'t buy much. Many Souvenir shops are around the temples, Gion and at Kyoto Tower. |
|
|
|
by Huell
| 28 Mar 2007 | 100% |
|
Visiting Kyoto is visiting ancient Japan, although it is often packed with tourists. You can get along inexpensively with bus day ticket, very easy sightseeing travel. But except for temple and shrines there is little alternatives. |
|
|
|
by alastairwu
| 18 Feb 2007 | 80% |
|
Lovely city but stay away from hostel costa del sol. K`S house is wonderful though and waffles in cafe by station aare to die for |
|
|
|
by Cscro
| 20 Mar 2007 | 80% |
|
Kyoto is a great city for sightseeing! There are so many beautiful temples. I'd also definitely recommend going to one of the flea markets that happen on the 21st and 25th of the month. We went to the one at Toji on the 21st, and it was a great place for finding old kimonos and antiques, as well as sampling local food. Try getting there early (about 8:30), because it's packed with crowds by 10. This was my third visit to Kyoto, and I think Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons to visit. Walking along the Path of Philosophy from Gingkakuji to Nanzenji was wonderful in November when the leaves were all changing. Also, if you go to the shrine at Fushimi-Inari, plan on spending about 2-3 hours, because it's a long hike to the top of the mountain (and wear comfy shoes!). Have a great trip! |
|
|
|
by waspy
| 27 Mar 2007 | 80% |
|
If you love Japanese culture and temples, Kyoto is the best place to go. There's at least one if not more temples and shrines in every neighborhood. Many have hundreds of years of history. Shopping is great too. Whether you are looking for the lastest trend or traditional crafts and styles, you can find them all in reasonable prices. The transportation can be a bit expensive tho, but the day pass can do the trick. |
|
|
|
by philippe1186
| 31 Mar 2007 | 60% |
|
There are lots to visit at Kyoto, but after 5pm nothing. No fun in that city, you'd rather go to Osaka to visit other cities just like Nara, Himeji or Koyasan. In Osaka you'll have fun (just like with Spa World), many restaurants, discos and so on. |
|
|
|
by jbells
| 13 Dec 2006 | 80% |
|
In amongst the urban parts of the city were lovely quiet, tranquil temples - I particularly enjoyed a visit to the Golden Temple; the main disappointment was the weather but given it was autumn you can't expect to much on this front! |
|
|
|
by jdnas
| 11 Jan 2007 | 100% |
|
One of my new favorite cities in the world. If you have the opportunity to go, DO NOT pass it up. The food, sightseeing, and people that live there are all incredible. I would love to live there myself someday soon. The winter weather was also very mild. No snow or rain, just cold. It is also very easy to get around by bus and train. BUT, I found Kyoto to be the best city to just get lost. Get on a bus and get off at a random place and just walk around. Go where your feet takes you and have fun. The whole city is fun and safe. |
|
|
|
by Herve9691
| 1 Feb 2007 | 80% |
|
Kyoto is quite big, don't underestimate it if you want to see most of the temples in and around and take the time in Gion... |
|
|
|
by chrissam42
| 24 Mar 2007 | 80% |
|
Kyoto is a great city for walking; the small back streets are lovely. Great restaurants and of course a million temples and shrines to see anywhere in the city. Public transportation is annoying; the trains don't go to the most popular tourist spots, and buses are invariably crowded. Every rail line is run by a different company so you can't get a single ticket that covers all the trains in the area. But even with all that, we had a great week in Kyoto and plan to go back again. |
|
|
|
by dixid
| 31 Dec 2006 | 80% |
|
Kyoto is great! But dont come here in summer, it's too hot! The best seasons for comming to Kyoto are autumn and spring. |
|
|
|
by sharon5935
| 17 Dec 2006 | 80% |
|
Kyoto is one of the best places to experience Japan. The culture, the sightseeing and the people are worthing to discover and experience. I would love to experience it again. |
|
|
|
by supudom
| 1 Jan 2007 | 40% |
|
good city, poor transport. walking is better than bus due to traffic jam. the subway exit is too long away too. Maybe bicicles rent ting should be tried. |
|
|
|
by manuel8111
| 1 Dec 2006 | 100% |
|
One of the best places to visit in Japan for a cultural experience of the past of this culture. the city is nice and it has a lot of other cities really close is good for making it you place to stay and make some other day trips to nara, himeji, osaka, etc. not the best place for party since you have osaka really close by, but still offers good options downtown. |
|
|
|
by Dfish3942
| 15 Dec 2006 | 100% |
|
Kyoto is hands-down my favorite place to be in Japan. A fantastic mix of ancient, I'm talking 1500 years old, tradaitional culture, and sprawling modern city. The people are friendly and more of them speak English than you might expect, due to the booming tourism trade. There are traditional foods and crafts here that you can't buy anywhere else. Check for the dates and locations of the frequent festivals at various temples and shrines, and getting to said festivals is no problem, with the ubiquitious public transportation. |
|
|
|
by jamesnomidd
| 30 Dec 2006 | 80% |
|
I am living in Japan for a year teaching. This is where I would recommend anyone to visit, especially if they only had one city to see. |
|
|
|
by mlawlor
| 2 Feb 2007 | 100% |
|
Kyoto is cool, walk around the the east side of the city just at the foot of the mountains it's cool. I wouldn't bother with that Philosophers walk the guide books reccomend - just explore yourself. |
|
|
|
by tomas1711
| 5 Apr 2007 | 100% |
|
We hit the right week for a fantastic view of many places in this city. |
|
|
|
| 12 Jan 2007 | 80% |
|
With the right crowd it is awesome. Lots of sights, lots of temples, some natural beauty and a good night life. |
|
|
|
by bigastarwa
| 17 Apr 2007 | 100% |
|
Kyoto is a great city with so much to do. The busses are good and can take you from temple to temple. |
|
|
|
by chocojenn
| 27 Mar 2007 | 80% |
|
It rained the entire time we were there...not a total bummer, but enough to accentuate a bad travel pairing. Kyoto itself was absolutely fabulous, and everyone should go and see everything it has to offer! |
|
|
|
by AliSmi6999
| 24 Jan 2007 | 80% |
|
Excellent place to visit and i would say is a must whem visiting Japan along with Tokyo!!! These two cities contrast each other very well!!! There are many many temples to see in Kyoto and if this not to your liking i would suggest only a few days as you can become templed out!! However is still a great city |
|
|
|
by Rahmat5937
| 17 Mar 2007 | 80% |
|
Hanakiya gave me the feeling of living in the real japanese home style. eimi-san and her family are very kind to us. I will defenitly come back to this place next time I have a chance to stay in kyoto. The location is nearly perfect as what I want to see at the first place was kiyomizudera temple and other shrines nearby, maruyama park, also gion. The streets on nearby complex had little lights on at night giving a beautiful night scenery. The only minus of this place are walking climb up from nearest bus stop and lack of safe lock for those who needs secure locker (but I didn't need it) |
|
|
|
by cronovi12773
| 18 Apr 2007 | 80% |
|
Japan is really expenisve (on the American dollar) and Kyoto is no exception. Expect to spend at least 20-30 on food and drinks, and that's without partying. |
|
|
|
| 13 Mar 2007 | 100% |
|
I was expecting to see low, sprawling, open land filled with temples, shrines, gardens and spirituality, but Kyoto's bustling with modern city life filled with large shopping centers, new buildings and traffic! There are more streets labelled in English than in Tokyo so I found it easier to locate myself on maps. The city layout is more gridlike too. When the 'walk' signal appears, music plays along with it while you cross the street. |
|
|
|
by bnorth1441
| 19 Mar 2007 | 80% |
|
Great place to visit. A must see in Japan. Don't plan too much of a long trip. It's a beautiful city, rich in history, but after a couple days the temples and shrines become somewhat boring. I think 4 days is enough to see everything and do everything. |
|
|
|
| 26 Mar 2007 | 80% |
|
Kyoto is the place to go if you want to visit shrines and temples. Do try to avoid the peak periods as the Japanese tourists do visit them as well. If nature is your thing, you can visit the park around the Imperial Palace or the Maruyama park or if you wish, go further afield to the Arishiyama area to wander. |
|
|
|
by evlay9355
| 3 Mar 2007 | 100% |
|
What a wonderful city, it's got everything and feels very cosmopolitan. Extremely easy to navigate and the people very friendly! |
|
|
|
| 25 Mar 2007 | 100% |
|
Absolutely beautiful city to sightsee, walk around, shop, and chill out! So much to see! |
|
|
|
by jerhild
| 11 Apr 2007 | 80% |
|
Kyoto was pretty nice. The city has a lot to see but many of the sites lack ambience because they are overouristed. You can see a lot of temples in Japan in better settings then these simply because you won't find such crowds. Nevertheless Kiyomizu is not to be missed and Ryoanji zen garden must be seen. |
|
|
|
by elkhad3730
| 31 Oct 2007 | 100% |
|
Right in the middle of Gion and the Geisha district. Must be at least 100 years old. :) Modern bathrooms, clean common area, rooms are a little musty (from the age of the building). Still,, we had our own private garden (in the room off the kitchen) and the staff were fabulous. They helped us with directions, translations, and even made phone calls for us. Ask for Nao! lol |
|
|
|
by jwelty504
| 16 Nov 2007 | 60% |
|
Kyoto is laid out in such a way that you can NOT \"do\" it in one day. You will only see 2-3 things per day and that\'s complicated by the geography. Often, the things on your \"to see\" list are in separate parts of the city--with poor subway service. Kyoto\'s bus service is better, but I prefer to take the subway in Japan, since it\'s easier to use as a rule. You should plan to arrive at your first destination BEFORE it officially opens. Yes, that\'s how early you should be. It\'s also not a good idea to get into the city late at night (past 6 or 7) if you plan to eat dinner out. Most places do their last orders at 8:30 and you will need to get to your hostel, settle in, and THEN figure out where you want to eat and get there. You will burn up a lot of money and patience trying to bop around the city on the subway if you are not decisive and don\'t check restaurant schedules (opening hours AND days). This is not a city where you can easily get to your second or third choice. It presents something of a challenge, since most of the sights you\'d want to see in Kyoto close around 4:30-- so you really can\'t afford to spend a lot of time on lunch--even though dinner in any city might be impossibly un-budget-friendly. If you are new to Japan, the rules are different. In that case, you can enjoy Japan\'s famous konbini (convenience store) food--including traditional items like onigiri and oden. However, if you eat these things normally when you don\'t feel like cooking, you can\'t happily fall back on konbinis when you are in the area and want a quick but regional bite. In the end, I actually enjoyed my stays in Himeji and Nara more because they were just less stressful and more do-able than Kyoto. Again, you might read \"you\'ll need xx number of days to see Kyoto\" Don\'t think that it\'s optional. It\'s better to not go to Kyoto at all than waste money and grow to hate the city because you didn\'t have enough time to see anything. |
|
|
|
by dwittman
| 12 Nov 2007 | 80% |
|
Kyoto has to be one of my all time favorite cities in Japan! Very quiet, a LOT of culture, beautiful city, great temples/shrines to see, great place to relax. It has all the city ammenaties, but still much of traditional japanese life. |
|
|
|
by Emilyd6433
| 19 Nov 2007 | 80% |
|
The Autumn leaves are amazing and the temples and shrines are very very interesting. Really loved Kyoto and the food here is also very yummy and good value for Japanese standards. |
|
|
|
| 3 Nov 2007 | 60% |
|
is a city which full of temple. But the shopping area also quite unique. There is a very beautiful cake house at the kyoto station, full of special cake outside the shop for display. |
|
|
|
| 1 Sep 2007 | 120% |
|
The staff were very helpful and friendly! The location was near many of the temples, giesha neighbourhood, restaurants, shopping...... What is up with the rastifar common room? The shower room could be expended with some ventilation. Anyway good value for the money! l would stay here again. |
|
|
|
by pskully
| 23 Aug 2007 | 120% |
|
While Kyoto is almost indisputably the heart of Japanese culture, after a day of sightseeing in the historic shitamachi, there are plenty of places to let loose. Kyoto has everything that a Japanese city should offer, without the hurry-hurry of Tokyo. |
|
|
|
by yd
| 17 Feb 2008 | 120% |
|
Castles, pagodas, temples, geishas, shrines and even gravesites, to shopping, whether markets or department stores, all conveniently accessed by 4 bus routes that encircle the city. If thats your cup of oolong tea, then Kyoto is a must go!. Best cultural experience i got out of from 5 cities i visited in japan. |
|
|
|
by matto6943
| 9 Apr 2008 | 160% |
|
Wonderful city - best spot in Japan even if I still haven`t been in Tokyo - anyway I`m sure that there you can find all culture and amusement you could need. It`s possible to walk a lot because there are lots green or residential areas where there`s a few traffic or nothing at all. Also amazing shrines and in spring cherry blossoms get everything look better. |
|
|
|