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Tokyo and Kyoto are two of Japan’s most misunderstood cities—which is curious, when you think about that they’re the 2 most-visited ones, by far.
The overall considering (not less than for the un-initiated) goes that futuristic Tokyo is a large metropolis, arguably to such an awesome extent that you simply want not less than per week there to scratch the floor. Historic Kyoto, against this, is small and simply manageable, and tranquil on prime of that.
For sure, a giant a part of my comparability of Kyoto vs Tokyo can be about debunking falsehoods and contextualizing over-simplifications. However I hope it’s greater than that, as nicely.
Why Kyoto and Tokyo Are Japan’s High Two Locations
For a lot of vacationers, Tokyo and Kyoto—or, not less than, their pre-travel perceptions of the 2 cities—are the right yin-yang combo to begin their journeys. Whereas Tokyo is the world’s largest metropolis, with a amount of Michelin-starred eating places exceeded solely by the variety of neon indicators it’s dwelling to, conventional Kyoto is a low-rise idyll replete with historical temples, tranquil bamboo forests and haunting rows of vermillion torii gates. Or one thing like that.
Now, I in fact don’t contest the truth that Tokyo could be very totally different from Kyoto, and that the cities complement one another nicely for a complete host of causes. However I’m undecided that the simplistic narratives surrounding the 2 cities units correct expectations for every. Individuals typically count on Kyoto to be calmer and fewer crowded than it’s in actual life, and for Tokyo to be rather more insurmountable than it actually is.
Tokyo
Methods to Evaluate Kyoto with Tokyo
Expanse
Tokyo is totally large, with even the core “23 wards” stretching from Shibuya within the west to Taito within the east, and from Arakawa within the north to Ota within the south. It could take an hour or longer to cross the town in any course! Nonetheless, Kyoto additionally covers loads of land space, despite not having as many high-rises. Historic Higashiyama is round an hour by practice east of lush Arashiyama, and greater than half-hour north of Fushimi.
Getting there and round
Whereas it isn’t arduous to succeed in both Kyoto or Tokyo, solely Tokyo is immediately accessibly by air: Attending to Kyoto requires you to fly to Osaka’s Itami or Kansai airports (presuming you don’t simply take a Shinkansen from Tokyo). Likewise, whereas Tokyo has 13 metro strains and dozens of city rail strains, Kyoto boasts only a few railways (JR, Keihan and Hankyu) and two subway strains that solely cross at a single level; buses are probably the most helpful native transport.
Issues to do
Issues to do in Tokyo are arguably extra eclectic than these in Kyoto. In Tokyo, for instance, you’ll be able to observe up a sushi breakfast at Tsukiji Outer Market with lunch in historic Asakusa, dessert alongside zany Takeshita Road and sundown drinks in futuristic Shinjuku or Shibuya. Kyoto is extra one-note—most sights, from the Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavilion within the north, to Tofuku-ji temple within the south—have some sort of historic really feel.
Motels
Whether or not in Tokyo or Kyoto, you’ve gotten a variety of motels to select from. In Tokyo, these vary from upscale properties like Resort the Celestine Ginza, to enterprise motels like Resort Richmond Asakusa, to capsule motels like 9 hours Hamamatsucho. Likewise, Kyoto lodging runs the gamut, from the five-star Dhawa Yura Kyoto, to ryokan like Ryokan Karaku, to finances motels like Sotetsu Fresa Inn Kiyomizu-gojo.
Day journeys and excursions
Each Japan’s present capital and its former one make nice bases for exploring their surrounding areas—Kanto and Kansai, respectively. In Tokyo, you’ll be able to head for the hills and go to Nikko, to the ocean and see Kamakura and even to the Fuji 5 Lakes area on the base of Mt. Fuji. From Kyoto, in the meantime, common day journeys embody the deer-filled metropolis of Nara, superlative Himeji Citadel and even Osaka (typically paired with a wa-gyu lunch in Kobe).
Kyoto
How Many Days Do You Want in Kyoto? What About Tokyo?
Kyoto won’t have as many skyscrapers as Tokyo, however it’s a must to cowl loads of floor to see the entire place. While you mix central Kyoto districts like Higashiyama, Arashiyama and Fushimi with day-trip locations like Fushimi and Uji (and, optionally, Himeji, Kobe and Osaka), you shortly strategy a state of affairs the place you want a minimal of 4-5 days simply to scratch the floor of the Kansai area.
Conversely, whereas Tokyo is certainly enormous, you actually solely want a full day or two in its metropolis middle to get the gist, together with historical Asakusa, futuristic Shinjuku and Shibuya, the youthful districts of Akihabara and Harajuku, and the not possible sophisticate of upmarket Ginza. I normally advocate a complete of 4-5 days in Tokyo, presuming that you’ll take day journeys to locations like Kamakura, Nikko and the Fuji 5 Lakes.
Different FAQ About Visiting Tokyo and Kyoto
Which is healthier to go to, Tokyo or Kyoto?
Neither Tokyo nor Kyoto is “higher” than the opposite; I like to recommend visiting each throughout your journey to Japan. Nonetheless, I like to recommend disabusing your self of the narrative that Tokyo is just too enormous or loopy to digest throughout a brief journey, or that Kyoto will essentially be tranquil. Plan to discover each cities with as open a thoughts as doable.
Is Kyoto calmer than Tokyo?
Sure neighborhoods of Kyoto positively really feel calmer than Tokyo, notably within the mornings and evenings when tour teams have both left or aren’t there but, and locals are nonetheless inside their properties. Nonetheless, Kyoto’s hundreds of thousands of annual guests imply that despite principally missing high-rise buildings, Kyoto can really feel like a really huge metropolis certainly.
Is Kyoto dearer than Tokyo?
Costs in Kyoto are fairly just like these in Tokyo, for the overwhelming majority of vacationers. The principle distinction is that whereas in Kyoto, costly motels are usually extra ornately conventional or opulent within the scope of service, what you actually pay for in Tokyo (which is without doubt one of the world’s most crowded cities) is flooring house.
The Backside Line
To some extent, evaluating Kyoto vs Tokyo is a idiot’s errand. The cities are extremely totally different from each other, other than the truth that each have served as Japan’s capital. My aim in scripting this put up is to not encourage you to go to one metropolis and skip the opposite—you’ve seemingly already dedicated your self to seeing each—however quite that will help you set extra real looking expectations. Tokyo shouldn’t be so enormous and unruly that you must spend per week there to get a way of the place; Kyoto, against this, is bigger and extra fashionable than its status would possibly counsel. Need insights about journey in Japan which can be extra customized? Contemplate hiring me to plan your Japan itinerary!
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