Fushimi Sake District
Fushimi, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto
Fushimi has been brewing sake for 400 years, and the neighbourhood still smells like it — a sweet, yeasty fog that hangs in the air around the old wooden breweries lining the canal.
Gion District
Higashiyama, Higashiyama, Kyoto, Japan
Gion is where Kyoto keeps its most carefully preserved secret — the world of the geiko and maiko.
Higashiyama District
Keihokuhosonocho Higashiyama, Ukyo, Kyoto, Japan
Higashiyama is the Kyoto you came to see — narrow stone-paved lanes climbing through a preserved Edo-period neighbourhood of wooden machiya townhouses, ceramic shops, tea houses, and temples.
Kenninji Temple
584 Komatsucho, Higashiyama, Kyoto, 605-0811, Japan
Kenninji is Kyoto's oldest Zen temple — founded in 1202 by the monk Eisai, who also introduced tea to Japan — and it sits right on the edge of Gion, hidden in plain sight while tourists walk past its walls on their way to spot geisha.
Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)
1 Kinkakujicho, Kita, Kyoto, 603-8361, Japan
Kinkaku-ji is covered in actual gold leaf — the top two floors are sheathed in it — and its reflection in the mirror-still pond in front is one of the most photographed images in Japan.
Kiyomizu-dera
294 Kiyomizu 1-Chōme, Higashiyama, Kyoto, 605-0862, Japan
Kiyomizu-dera's famous wooden terrace juts out from a hillside supported by 139 pillars — and not a single nail was used in the entire structure.
Kyoto Imperial Palace
3 Kyotogyoen, Kamigyo, Kyoto, 602-0881, Japan
The Kyoto Imperial Palace was the Emperor's residence for over a thousand years — from 794 until the capital moved to Tokyo in 1869 — and it sits in the centre of the city like a quiet eye in a storm.
Nanzen-ji
Nanzenji Fukuchicho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto
Nanzen-ji is where Zen Buddhism meets a Roman aqueduct, and somehow it works.
Nijo Castle
541 Nijojocho, Nakagyo, Kyoto, 604-8301, Japan
Nijo Castle was built to intimidate, and 400 years later it's still working.
Sanjūsangen-dō
657 Sanjusangendomawari, Higashiyama, Kyoto, 605-0941, Japan
Walking into Sanjūsangen-dō is one of the most overwhelming visual experiences in Japan.
Tō-ji Temple & Pagoda
1 Kujocho, Minami Ward, Kyoto
Tō-ji's five-storey pagoda is the tallest wooden structure in Japan at 55 metres, and it's been the defining landmark of the Kyoto skyline since 826.
Explore history in Kyoto
GPS-guided narration at every landmark. Tap a spot on the map, hear the story. Every fact verified.