Kyoto

Currency

Japan remains more cash-based than most visitors expect, especially at temples, small restaurants and markets. Exchange rates at the airport are acceptable; withdrawing from 7-Eleven ATMs is usually better.

ATMs & cards

7-Eleven and Japan Post ATMs are the two that reliably accept foreign cards, and they are open long hours. Many bank ATMs will simply reject a foreign card. Decline conversion.

Kyoto is more cash-dependent than Tokyo — temples and small restaurants often take nothing else.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

Exceptionally safe. The etiquette matters more than the risk: do not photograph geiko and maiko in Gion without permission — some streets now ban it outright with fines. Go to Fushimi Inari before 07:00 to have it to yourself.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Worth having

• Routine vaccinations up to date
• Japanese encephalitis only for long rural stays in summer

Getting treated

Superb, and ambulances are free. Treatment is not: visitors pay in full up front, and hospitals routinely refuse cards, so carry cash and real insurance. Finding English-speaking staff outside major cities is the harder problem — the JNTO medical directory is worth bookmarking before you go.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Kyoto specialises in kaiseki and tofu cuisine. Nishiki Market is good for snacking but touristy. Department store basements (depachika) have superb, affordable prepared food.

Getting around

• Bus — the workhorse of Kyoto sightseeing, though slow in peak season
• Subway — only two lines, but fast for north-south trips
• Bicycle — Kyoto is flat and grid-shaped, one of the best cycling cities in Japan
• Train — JR and private lines reach Arashiyama, Fushimi Inari and Nara
• Airport: Haruka express from Kansai to Kyoto Station (75 min, ~¥3000)

Must-see

Things to do

• Walk the full Fushimi Inari torii trail
• See Kinkaku-ji reflected in its pond
• Cycle through Arashiyama and the bamboo grove
• Visit Kiyomizu-dera at sunset
• Do a tea ceremony
• Day trip to Nara and its deer park

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Japanese

• Helloこんにちは — Konnichiwakon-nee-chee-WA
• Pleaseお願いします — Onegaishimasuo-neh-gai-shi-MAS
• Thank youありがとうございます — Arigatou gozaimasua-ri-ga-TOH go-zai-mas
• Yes / Noはい / いいえ — Hai / Iiehi / EE-eh
• Excuse meすみません — Sumimasensoo-mi-ma-SEN
• How much is it?いくらですか — Ikura desu ka?ee-KOO-ra des ka
• The bill, pleaseお会計お願いします — Okaikei onegaishimasuo-KAI-kay
• Cheers!乾杯 — Kanpai!kan-PIE

Sumimasen does double duty as excuse me, sorry and to get a waiter’s attention. It is the single most useful word here.

Religion

Shinto and Buddhist, practised together

Most Japanese observe both without conflict — Shinto for birth and marriage, Buddhist for funerals. Few describe themselves as religious. Purify hands and mouth at the shrine basin before approaching.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Take shoes off wherever you see a step up or shoes lined up
• Carry your rubbish until you find a bin — there are almost none in public
• Stand in the queue markings on platforms and let passengers off first
• Receive business cards and change with two hands

Don't

• Do not tip — it causes confusion and can be refused as insulting
• Do not talk on the phone on trains, and keep conversation quiet
• Do not stick chopsticks upright in rice or pass food chopstick to chopstick; both echo funeral rites
• Do not photograph geiko and maiko in Gion — some streets ban it outright and fine offenders