The best things you can do for free in Kyoto
7 min read • Feb 7, 2022
It's easy to visit Kyoto on a budget. From stunning temples to incredible landscapes, here are the best free things to do in Kyoto.
Travel Stories
Kyoto
- How to navigate Kyoto on a budget
6 min read • Feb 2, 2022
From cheap travel to affordable food and accommodations, discover our top tips for exploring Kyoto on a budget.
- When to plan a trip to Kyoto
7 min read • Jan 19, 2022
Kyoto presents a new face with each changing season. From cherry blossom viewing to the parades of Gion Matsuri, here are the best times to visit Kyoto.
- The 7 best hikes in Kyoto – for scenery, city views and mountaintop temples
9 min read • Jan 5, 2022
Stunning Kyoto Prefecture, with its spectacular mountain ranges, is crisscrossed by hiking routes. Here are seven of our favorite hikes around Kyoto.
- Discover history, culture and world-class food in Kyoto’s most exciting neighborhoods
7 min read • Dec 23, 2021
If you’re looking to explore Kyoto, check out these five diverse neighborhoods in Japan’s most historic major city.
- Kyoto's 7 best museums for contemporary art, traditional sake and popular manga
6 min read • Dec 20, 2021
From fascinating displays of traditional local crafts to stunning exhibitions of modern art, here are seven of the best museums in Kyoto.
- Things to know before visiting Kyoto
6 min read • Dec 16, 2021
From planning your trip to local etiquette, here are the most important things to know before going to Kyoto.
- Your guide to Kyoto's most beautiful parks
6 min read • Nov 26, 2021
From open grassy spaces to beautifully landscaped strolling gardens, discover 10 of the best parks in Kyoto.
- 15 best things to do in Kyoto
9 min read • Jul 16, 2021
Kyoto is old Japan writ large: atmospheric temples, sublime gardens and traditional teahouses.
- Riding Japan’s ‘New Golden Route’: The vibrant cities of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka
8 min read • Feb 17, 2021
No places better represent the gamut of Japanese culture than Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, and there's no better way to visit them than via Shinkansen
- Best places to eat in Kyoto
5 min read • Mar 12, 2020
From elegant kaiseki cuisine to imaginative tofu dishes, here’s our foodie guide to the best restaurants in Kyoto.
- Kyoto's ji-biru scene is a must for craft beer connoisseurs
6 min read • Mar 4, 2020
In the past 10 years, Japan has seen a new generation of craft beer breweries spread across the country – and Kyoto has some of the best ji-biru in Nippon.
- Everything you need to know about green tea culture in Uji, Japan
4 min read • Jan 6, 2020
Uji is renowned for producing some of the world's best green tea. We explore tea culture in Uji and what attractions this Japanese city has to offer.
- 7 of the world's most expensive restaurants
4 min read • Oct 21, 2019
From avant-garde cuisine in Shanghai to dining underwater in the Maldives, here are seven of the most expensive restaurants in the world.
- The world’s most impressive presidential suites
4 min read • Jul 27, 2019
Looking for a memorable place to celebrate a momentous occasion or just want to splurge on an over-the-top vacation? These presidential suites are lavish…
- Best things to do in summer in Japan
5 min read • Jun 21, 2019
Summer in much of Japan is hot and can be unrelentingly humid, but it’s also the season for top festivals, mass folk dancing, mountain hikes, and enjoying…
- Kyoto and more: the highlights of Japan’s Kansai region
5 min read • Apr 3, 2019
You could cover a lot of ground on a trip to Japan, or very little, and still get to experience the best of what the country has to offer. Centrally…
- A guide to romantic Japan: where to eat, stay, love
7 min read • Jun 15, 2017
Manga comics, blazing neon, speeding trains, supersized pedestrian crossings – Japan might not immediately inspire a vision of traditional romance, but…
- An introduction to Kyoto’s Buddhist temples
4 min read • Nov 10, 2014
Each of Kyoto’s Buddhist temples is a world of its own. Some are bustling places, thronged with pilgrims from all over the world. Others are lonely and…
- LLocal flavour on Kyoto’s Kiyamachi street
3 min read • May 8, 2012
Kiyamachi, Kyoto's biggest nightlife strip, is a one kilometre stretch running parallel to the central Kamo River between two main boulevards, Sanjō and…
- KKyoto’s coffee culture
4 min read • Mar 6, 2012
In a city known for tea and temples, Kyoto is also home to a surprisingly vibrant coffee scene.
- SSakura season in Kyoto
3 min read • Mar 6, 2012
With Zen gardens, bamboo groves, Buddhist temples and geisha shuffling along cobbled laneways, Kyoto seems to be lifted straight from the scenes of an…