03Cities and regions

Former capital

Kyoto: wood, water, and light

Kyoto is the capital of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshu. The city population was 1,431,419 on 1 January 2026. In 794 the imperial capital moved to Heian-kyo, the origin of today’s Kyoto. In 1994 the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto entered the World Heritage list, covering 17 sites in Kyoto, Uji, and Otsu. Kinkaku-ji is a pavilion with two gold-leafed floors above a pond; the present building was rebuilt in 1955 after a fire. Kiyomizu-dera stands in the east of the city with a famous wooden stage overlooking the trees. Fushimi Inari sits at the foot of a 233-meter mountain, with gate corridors stretching about four kilometers. Visit Kyoto slowly: morning for the golden pond, midday for the stage, afternoon for the red corridor. Do not confuse it with a modern capital; its rhythm is wooden steps and water shade. Book an early morning for Kinkaku if you want the pond without obvious crowds, and leave Fushimi more hours because the path runs for kilometers. The city is best read on foot, not in a single car day.

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Kyoto population

1994

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Capital year