Alternative destinations near Kyoto.
Places near Kyoto that score high on beauty and low on crowding, according to our data.
Katsuragi
This town in Nara Prefecture where traditional temple complexes with red-and-dark-timber halls, stone lanterns, and forested hillside backdrops sit close to…
Kakogawa
Sizeable Hyōgo city on the water, where a grand wooden Buddhist hall with sweeping tiled roofs and stone lanterns anchors a temple precinct shaded by mature…
Omihachiman
On the eastern shore of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, Omihachiman is a Japanese city known for its merchant heritage — the Omi merchants were among feudal J…
Nagahama
This walkable street of dark-timber merchant buildings and café-lined arcades draws visitors through Nagahama's historic core, a lakeside city in Shiga Prefe…
Miki
A city in Hyōgo Prefecture northwest of Kobe, Miki draws visitors with lively shrine festivals where crowds in matching happi coats carry ornate mikoshi up s…
Negoro
Negoro-ji, the head temple of the Shingi Shingon sect of Buddhism, sits within the Katsuragi Mountains in Iwade, Wakayama Prefecture, with grounds designated…
Kiyosu
Kiyosu, a town in Aichi Prefecture, was the base and castle town of the warlord Oda Nobunaga during Japan's Sengoku period, and served as the political centr…
Iwade
A Japanese town in Wakayama Prefecture where a striking multi-tiered pagoda and traditional timber hall set against forested hills signal the region's deep B…
Hikone
A traditional Japanese pond garden with autumn maples, a timber pavilion at the water's edge, and a white castle keep crowning the wooded hill above make thi…
Inazawa
A mid-sized Aichi Prefecture city in Japan's Nobi Plain, where a well-preserved Shinto shrine complex — featuring a thatched-roof hall, stone guardian lions,…
Akashi
This Japanese castle tower rises above a canopy of green trees in this waterfront city on the Akashi Strait, with a lively dining scene and easy access to UN…
Higashiōmi-shi
A hilltop viewpoint above Higashiōmi reveals a broad patchwork of flooded rice paddies and low-rise residential clusters spreading across Shiga Prefecture's…