Why Kyoto Is My Favorite City in Japan (After 10 Years and Three Different Cities)
Let me ramble a bit about Kyoto, the city I’ve lived in for the last five years.
During my time in Japan, I’ve lived in three very different parts of the country: first was Shimane Prefecture, out in western Japan. Next was Tokyo for about three years. And now, I’m in Kyoto. Of all the places I’ve lived, Kyoto is by far my favorite, and here’s why.
(Side note: My connection to this city goes back even further since I actually studied abroad in Kyoto back in college, years before I ever imagined living here permanently.)
It’s Beautiful and Not Overrated
The obvious reason first: it’s just a really beautiful city, with an enormous amount to do. I know Kyoto has a reputation for being overly touristy, but honestly, tourists come here for good reason. It really is a wonderful place to visit. There’s no shortage of amazing attractions: temples, shrines, historic streets.
Visitors tend to funnel into a handful of famous spots, like Fushimi Inari Shrine, the Arashiyama area, and Kiyomizu-dera. And yes, those places get insanely crowded. Tourists might wonder how anyone could possibly live in such a crowded city. But the paradox is that people who actually live in Kyoto never actually go to those places. It’s the same as how Parisians have no particular reason to visit the Eiffel Tower, and New Yorkers avoid Times Square like the plague.
Outside of those tourist-heavy areas, there’s a ton to explore and so many great things to do off the beaten path.
Perfect Balance of City and Nature
Kyoto is, by every measure, a major Japanese city: there are several bustling downtown areas, tons of shops and restaurants, plenty of tall buildings. If you want that big-city energy, it’s there for you.
But if city life ever starts to wear you down, Kyoto also gives you very easy access to nature and quiet. My favorite spot in the whole city is the Kamogawa River, which runs straight through Kyoto from north to south. It’s this incredible public space where people gather to do basically everything: picnics, jogging, biking, practicing instruments (nobody minds the noise on the riverbanks), playing sports, even dance practice. It’s free, it’s open to everyone, and it’s one of the most relaxing places I know. Kyoto is also surrounded by mountains, so if you’re into hiking or just want to get some fresh air away from the pavement, there are always great trails nearby.
When I lived in Shimane, which is a much more rural part of the country, things were relaxing for sure. But I often felt like something was missing, because I felt isolated and really missed the big-city energy. Tokyo was the opposite problem: incredible energy, but sometimes overwhelming, and it was actually hard to find places to just relax and get away from it all. In over five years living in Kyoto, I’ve never really run into either problem because I can match my day to my mood. High energy when I want it, and quiet and calm when I don’t.
An Amazing Location
Kyoto sits in the Kansai region, alongside cities like Osaka, Kobe, Nara, and Shiga Prefecture, which is literally Kyoto’s next-door neighbor. Osaka in particular is one of Japan’s biggest cities, rivaling Tokyo in scale and sheer amount of things to do. So if Kyoto ever doesn’t have quite what I’m looking for on a given day, Osaka is right there, less than an hour away by train. Kobe, Nara, and Shiga are all just as easy to reach. Living here, you’re basically never at a loss for somewhere new to explore.
Not Too Big, Not Too Small
Kyoto is also refreshingly compact, nothing like the sprawling, sometimes overwhelming scale of Tokyo. That compactness makes getting around really easy, especially if you have a bicycle. Public transportation isn’t quite as extensive as Tokyo’s, but it’s more than enough. I’ve never once felt like I needed a car here.
And speaking of biking, it’s great here since the city is compact and mostly flat. Most places I want to go are reachable in under 20 minutes by bike, since everything is close together. And outside a handful of specific areas, the city just isn’t that busy.
Biking along the river is one of my favorite things to do here. It’s incredibly relaxing.
It’s Actually Affordable
Tokyo is, by a wide margin, the most expensive city in Japan. A studio apartment there can run anywhere from about ¥70,000 to well over ¥100,000 a month, depending heavily on location, size, and age of the building. Kyoto rent, by comparison, tends to land around the national average, more like ¥40,000 to ¥60,000 a month. Nicer parts of town might push toward ¥70,000, but that’s the exception rather than the rule. Most people I know living in studio apartments here pay somewhere around ¥50,000 a month or less.
For comparison: when I lived in Tokyo, I had a fairly nice studio apartment, about 25 square meters, in a decent neighborhood, and I was paying just over ¥100,000 a month. In Kyoto, my first place was actually a small detached house: two floors, a living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, and even an attic. Way more space than I needed living alone, and it only cost around ¥85,000 a month. That was literally cheaper than my Tokyo apartment which felt like a shoebox in comparison. If I’d gone for a more typical studio setup instead, I could easily have found something under ¥50,000 a month. It’s easier to live affordably here if that’s what you want.
To be fair, this comes with a trade-off: average wages in Kyoto are lower than in Tokyo if you’re working locally. But in my own experience, I’ve been able to save considerably more money living here and worry a lot less about things like finances and hellish morning commutes. That extra breathing room ended up mattering a lot during the more experimental, lower-income stretch of my career after I left my full-time job.
It’s Chill
Last thing: Kyoto just has an easygoing vibe, and everything here moves at a noticeably slower pace than in a big city. People generally seem more relaxed, and in my experience, friendlier overall than in Tokyo. I think that edge you feel in big cities is kind of unavoidable: there’s so much constant stimulation that people naturally learn to tune out the world around them just to function. I get it, since I literally did that myself when I lived in Tokyo. But that pressure just doesn’t really exist here in the same way. People seem to have a bit more time and energy to spare, which has made it much easier for me to connect with people and build real friendships. That, to me, has been one of the most valuable parts of living here.
Final Thoughts
If you’re thinking about visiting Japan, I’d definitely recommend making Kyoto a stop. Some people will tell you it’s overcrowded or overrated, but I don’t agree. I think this city has something to offer almost anyone. And if you happen to be considering studying or working in Japan and have some say in where you end up living, I’d recommend giving Kyoto a try. It’s been fantastic for me, and I plan on staying here for the long run.
That’s just my perspective, but I hope it was interesting if you were curious what it’s actually like to live here. If you’ve got questions about the city, or about living in Japan more broadly, drop a message and I’m happy to answer.