Explore Kyoto beyond the tourist trail

Temples, gardens and markets from Arashiyama to Fushimi, on one map you can plan your days with.

Updated

Photo: Antonio Campoy / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Where to stay

Where to Stay in Kyoto: Kawaramachi, Gion or Kyoto Station?

Short answer: Kawaramachi for a first trip, Gion for atmosphere, Kyoto Station for short stays and day trips by train. Eight areas compared by station.

By Roam Kyoto Updated

The short answer: downtown Kawaramachi for a first visit, Gion for atmosphere, Kyoto Station for a short trip or day trips by train.

Up early for one sight? Sleep in Arashiyama for the bamboo grove or on the Higashiyama slopes for Kiyomizu-dera at 6:00, and see what's near any hotel on the map.

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The map

Every place in these guides, on one map you can plan a day with.

314 places, from temples and shrines to gardens, markets, cafes and museums. Each one lists its nearest station, a cost band, how long to allow and the best time to go.

Save the ones that appeal and open them in Google Maps as a walking route, or set your dates and search hotels around whichever part of the city is on screen.

Open the Kyoto travel map Browse every place as a list

Every place in central Kyoto on the map, plotted at its real position beside the Kamo and Katsura rivers. River courses © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Neighbourhoods

Where to base yourself and where to spend an afternoon, with the best places in each and how to get there.

  • Arashiyama

    Bamboo at first light, then the maple temples under Mount Ogura

    Photo: othree

  • Okazaki

    Art museums, Meiji gardens and Nanzen-ji along the Lake Biwa Canal

    Photo: Libra1111 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Kawaramachi

    Downtown Kyoto, between Nishiki Market and the Kamo River

    Photo: Izu navi

  • Gion

    The teahouse streets below Yasaka Shrine, best early or at dusk

    Photo: Kentaro Ohno

  • Kitano

    Tenjin's head shrine, Kyoto's oldest geisha district and Daitoku-ji

    Photo: Richard, enjoy my life!

  • Kyoto Station

    Free temples and late ramen a few minutes from the platforms

    Photo: Martin Falbisoner / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Imperial Palace

    Free palace walks, a park that never shuts, and the court's old shops

    Photo: Jason Riedy

  • Higashiyama

    Kiyomizu-dera at opening, then the temples and pottery below it

    Photo: Domenico Convertini

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