Kyoto — Private Guided Tours & Top Attractions

Kyoto (京都) — literally “Capital City” — was the imperial capital of Japan for over a millennium, and has the reputation of being its most beautiful city. Unlike Tokyo, Kyoto was spared the bombing of the Second World War and never suffered the earthquakes that reshaped other Japanese cities — which is why so much of old Japan survived here.

The city can surprise first-time visitors. The first impression is often of urban sprawl around the ultra-modern glass-and-steel station — a city steeped in tradition colliding with the contemporary world. But the persistent visitor soon discovers Kyoto’s hidden beauty in the temples and parks that ring the city centre, and finds that the hours spent searching for them are themselves part of the experience.

Kyoto is our home — the city from which My Japan Guide designs all its private itineraries across Japan. We know its rhythms intimately: the early morning light at Fushimi Inari before the crowds arrive, the right season for each temple garden, the hidden lanes of Nara and Osaka a short train ride away.

Also Kyoto, as a former capital with a rich history, is a haven for food lovers, boasting a unique and diverse culinary scene.