If you’re planning a trip to Japan, Kyoto will likely be up there as one of the top cities on your list (typically along with Tokyo, Osaka, and Hiroshima). It’s within a few hours of Tokyo, making it an easy trip on the Shinkansen, but holds its own. 

While it shares similarities with the capital (like fast-paced, sprawling neighborhoods, skyscrapers and temples galore), Kyoto’s history as the former Imperial court of the country and its long traditions of Geiko, Maiko and Kabuki Theatre, attract millions every year. 

The city is split up into 11 wards, with the main ‘downtown’ areas around Kyoto Station and the Kawaramachi/Teramachi neighbourhoods. The Kamo River splits the city in half, with the main business district on the western side, and the more historical temples and neighborhoods on the eastern side (including Gion, one of the most popular neighborhoods). At the far west of the city, you’ll find the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and Monkey Park, where macaque monkeys roam freely on Mount Arashiyama. 

When I visited in February 2025, I found that while there are nowhere near the number of people in Kyoto that live in Tokyo, the city felt similarly busy in central touristy areas. I was also surprised by how spread out different attractions are, and how long it can take to move from one area of the city to the other, so that’s worth keeping in mind when you make your itinerary! 

A quick note on the links in this guide: we’re not affiliated with any of the external sites included in this guide, so we’re not getting any kick-backs or commission. We’ve only included resources we think will genuinely be useful to help you decide if this destination is for you.

Getting there

The closest airport to Kyoto is Kansai International Airport (KIX), which is actually closer to Osaka than Kyoto. Osaka and Kyoto are less than 1 hour apart (by car), and it takes about 90 minutes to get to Kyoto from KIX by public transport. 

The options to fly to KIX airport directly are more limited than for Tokyo, but it’s still large enough where you’ll be able to fly direct from some cities, or via a connecting flight from almost anywhere. 

You’ll find non-stop flights to KIX directly from these cities in Europe and North America: 

• Paris (CDG) with Air France 
• Amsterdam (AMS) with KLM 
• Munich (MUC) with Lufthansa
• Helsinki (HEL) with Finnair
• San Francisco (SFO) with United 
• Los Angeles (LAX) with JAL 
• Vancouver (YVR) with Air Canada

As with Tokyo, you’ll find the cheapest 1-stop fares if you fly via China from the UK or Europe. From North America, the cheapest 1-stop option is usually via Tokyo. 

Here’s our handy guide on what to expect when booking your flight to KIX airport:

From Europe:

• Expected average price range: €450-€650 rtn
• How many cheap flight alerts we’d expect in a year: 15
• Lowest price we’ve ever seen: €384 rtn

From the UK:

• Expected average price range: £400s-£480s rtn
• How many cheap flight alerts we’d expect in a year: 7-8
• Lowest price we’ve ever seen: £363 rtn

From the USA:

• Expected average price range: $580s-$750s RT
• How many cheap flight alerts we’d expect in a year: 10+
• Lowest price we’ve ever seen: $331 RT

From Canada:

• Expected average price range: $1000s-$1100s RT
• How many cheap flight alerts we’d expect in a year: 8-9
• Lowest price we’ve ever seen: $917 RT

By train

I arrived in Kyoto by Shinkansen from Tokyo (which is how most visitors get to the city). The journey took about 2-2.5 hours and cost about £70/€84/$98 (14,370 JPY) per person. We booked our tickets directly at the Shinkansen ticket machine in Tokyo Station about 30 minutes in advance.

There are generally 10–12 trains per hour, and they are either with Nozomi, Kodama or Hikari train services. Nozomi and Hikari trains tend to be express trains (with only 4–5 stops between the two cities), whereas Kodama stops at more than 15 stations. Because of this, you can expect them to take over an hour longer than the express trains. 

You can catch the train to Kyoto from other major cities in Japan, too. Here’s how long it’ll take you, and generally, how much a ticket will cost (as of August 2025): 

• Nagoya (35 mins) 6110 JPY (approx. $41/£30/€35)
• Osaka (45 mins), 570 JPY (approx. $4/£3/€3)
• Kobe (1 hr 20 mins), 3910 JPY (approx. $36/£20/€22)
• Hiroshima (1 hr 45 mins), 11820 JPY (approx. $80/£59/€68)
• Yokohama (2 hrs 20 mins), 13700 JPY (approx. $92/£69/€79)
• Fukuoka (2 hrs 45 mins), 16780 JPY (approx. $110/£84/€96)
• Niigata (5 hrs 20 mins), 22800 JPY (approx. $150/£115/€130)

Getting around

Metro and suburban trains

Similarly to Tokyo, you can get around the city center with the Kyoto Subway. There are 31 stations across two subway lines, and they’ll take you to most of the main sites in the center of the city, like Nijo Castle, Pontocho Alley and Nishiki Market. 

To use the metro, you’ll need an IC card. These are contactless cards that you can preload with cash and use at the ticket barriers to enter the station. The same cards that work in Tokyo generally work here (e.g., Suica and Icoca). There are also Kansai-specific IC cards, like Pitapa. 

Unlike in Tokyo, many of the main sites in Kyoto are a little further outside the downtown area and will require suburban trains outside the subway network. This will be the case for sites like Arashiyama in the west of the city, Fushimi Inari Taisha to the south-east, and many of the temples. 

You’ll still be able to use your IC card, and pricing will be about the same (220-900 JPY depending on distance), but the main difference is frequency — the subway will typically come every couple of minutes, where you may be waiting up to 15 minutes for a train. 

Buses

We used buses occasionally when we were in the city. We found the bus especially useful when coming back to the hotel from the end of the Philosopher’s Path, which isn’t anywhere near a train or metro station. There’s a flat fee of 230 JPY (approx. $1.55/€1.30/£1.15) and you’ll need exact change if you’re not using your IC card.

When you're waiting for the bus in Japan, you should line up on the footpath next to the bus stop until it arrives. 

Read more about riding the bus here. 

Geisha IRL: Geiko, Maiko and the performing arts

If there’s one word that’s associated with Kyoto in the western world, it’s ‘Geisha’. This profession is unique to Kyoto, and comes with hundreds of years of culture and history. 

While fetishised overseas, Geisha are not what many people think they are. In real life, these performers are known by the terms Geiko (or Maiko, an apprentice Geiko). They live an extremely demanding lifestyle, learning skills of dance, playing instruments, and the art of conversation, which take years to master. While they do entertain visitors in tea houses around Kyoto, they do so in groups, and as a tourist, you’re unlikely to see them in action. 

The Geiko and Maiko live in okiya (boarding) houses, which you can find in the Gion district (these houses are easily spotted by the wooden nameplates over the door of each Geiko and Maiko living in that house). There are estimated to only be 100-150 Geiko practicing in Kyoto, a real decline in from their peak population of 80,000 in the 1920s.

FYI, If you’re lucky enough to see a Geiko or Maiko walking around, it’s best to admire them from a distance, and put your phone away. There has been backlash in recent years of tourists taking unsolicited photos of Geiko and Maiko on the streets of Gion. 

If you’d like to learn more, the newly opened Gion Kagai Art Museum is your best bet. You’ll find out all about the many years of training these women go through, see different clothing items worn during performances (including beautiful kimonos), watch videos of real-life Geiko speaking about their lives and explaining the art from their own perspective. 

You can also pay to watch a 15-minute performance with a practicing Geiko and Maiko, which I can highly, highly recommend. Admission is 3,100 JPY (or about £15/€18/$20).  

Kabuki Theater

Kabuki Theater is another performance art that has become famous across Japan and the world. The performers wear masks and perform scenes of moral conflicts, traditions, and Japanese legends. 

Plays are usually around 3–4 hours long and don’t have English subtitles or audio guides, so they're not as accessible as other performances you may be used to. If you’d like to get a taste of a show but don’t want to sit through a whole play, buy a ‘Single Act’ seat, which is usually only 30 minutes.

If you’d like to see one, your best bet is to go to Minamiza Theatre in the Gion district.

Useful links

If you'd like my top apps and websites to use on your trip to Kyoto, check out my guide to Tokyo.