Top choice in Downtown Kyoto
This elegant ryokan has long been favoured by celebrities from around the world. Facilities and services are excellent and the location is hard to beat. Opt for the new wing if you prefer a polished sheen; alternatively, request an older room if you fancy some ‘old Japan’ wabi-sabi (imperfect beauty).
Room 14 played host to Japanese writer Yasunari Kawabata back in the day and is around 200 years old. You'll need to reserve months in advance and reservation is preferred by email.
0.38 MILES
The covered Nishiki Market (Nishiki-kōji Ichiba) is one of Kyoto’s real highlights, especially if you have an interest in cooking and dining. Commonly…
28.9 MILES
This César Pelli–designed tower, which opened in March 2014, is Japan's tallest building (300m, 60 storeys). The observatory on the 16th floor is free,…
5.37 MILES
The thick green bamboo stalks seem to continue endlessly in every direction and there’s a strange quality to the light at this famous bamboo grove, which…
22.59 MILES
Nara's star attraction is its Daibutsu (Great Buddha), one of the largest bronze statues in the world. It was unveiled in 752, upon the completion of the…
9.18 MILES
Located atop 848m-high Hiei-zan (the mountain that dominates the skyline in the northeast of the city), the Enryaku-ji complex is an entire world of…
27.33 MILES
Hōryū-ji was founded in 607 by Prince Shōtoku, considered by many to be the patron saint of Japanese Buddhism. It's renowned not only as one of the oldest…
1.49 MILES
A buzzing hive of activity perched on a hill overlooking the basin of Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera is one of Kyoto's most popular and most enjoyable temples. It…
7.42 MILES
Located high on a thickly wooded mountain, Kurama-dera is one of the few temples in modern Japan that manages to retain an air of real spirituality. This…
0.16 MILES
Built in 1927, this imposing building takes up one block on the corner of Kawaramachi-dōri and Oike-dōri.
0.2 MILES
This museum is worth visiting if a special exhibition is on (the regular exhibits are not particularly interesting and don’t have much in the way of…
3. Kaleidoscope Museum of Kyoto
0.22 MILES
This one-room museum is filled with unexpected wonders in a wide variety of kaleidoscopes. Not sure who will enjoy this more, children or the adults…
4. Kyoto International Manga Museum
0.35 MILES
Located in an old elementary school building, this museum is the perfect introduction to the art of manga (Japanese comics). It has 300,000 manga in its…
0.35 MILES
This tucked-away temple makes for a worthy detour when hitting the boutiques and restaurants downtown. The name refers to its unique hexagonal shape, and…
0.38 MILES
The covered Nishiki Market (Nishiki-kōji Ichiba) is one of Kyoto’s real highlights, especially if you have an interest in cooking and dining. Commonly…
0.42 MILES
There are few streets in Asia that rival this narrow pedestrian-only walkway for atmosphere. Not much to look at by day, the street comes alive at night,…
0.54 MILES
Located in a large merchant’s house, this kimono-shop-museum walks visitors through the architecture of a traditional building built in the daibeizukuri…