Asia
Kyoto
Ryokan ritual, temple mornings, and the neighbourhoods that reward staying put.
Photo by Dmitry Romanoff on Pexels
When to go
Late November for maple season; April for blossom; either books out early
Search as
Kyoto
Region
Asia
Kyoto rewards restraint. The city has more than a thousand temples and the instinct is to attempt all of them, which produces a blur. Choose a neighbourhood, stay several nights, and walk it at seven in the morning before the coaches arrive. A proper ryokan is not accommodation, it is the reason you came, and the good ones are booked a year out for autumn.
