Lonely Planet Kyoto

by Kate Morgan, Rebecca Milner

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher

Lonely Planet's Kyoto is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Walk through thousands of vermillion entrance gates towards the summit of Fushimi Inari-Taisha; glimpse 'old Japan' in the lanes of Gion; and time your trip for the best cherry blossom and crimson maple leaves. All with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of destination and begin your journey now!

Inside Lonely Planet's Kyoto:



Colour maps and images throughout

Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests

Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots

Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices

Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss

Cultural insights provide a richer, more rewarding travel experience - covering history, people, music, cuisine, politics, etiquette

Covers Downtown Kyoto, Kyoto Station Area, Southern Higashiyama, Northern Higashiyama, Central Kyoto, Northwest Kyoto, Arashiyama & Sagano, Kitayama Area & North Kyoto
The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet's Kyoto is our most comprehensive guide to the city, and is perfect for discovering both popular and offbeat experiences.

Looking for just the highlights? Check out Pocket Kyoto & Osaka , our handy-sized guide featuring the best sights and experiences for a shorter visit. After wider coverage? Check out Lonely Planet's Japan for a comprehensive look at all the country has to offer.

About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, nine international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more.

'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times

'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves, it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia)

Genres: Travel, Japan, Nonfiction, Reference, Japanese Literature

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2012

Reviews

[s_evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyoto is a wonderful place to travel to, and this guide helped me get a sense of the lay of the land, see what our options were, and get a few food suggestions too that were worthwhile. Some issues with this guide's descriptions/mapping out (need to flip around a lot) and giving more directions to less accessible/more busing/walking places would gave been helpful. Overall though a great book for a great city!

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

6th edition, 2015. If you are going to Kyoto, you won't regret bringing this along, even if you already have the LP Japan guide. I used both, and while a good amount of the Kyoto book is included in the country guide, this is still worth having. It will fill you in on the major attractions and the neighborhoods of downtown Kyoto, but also some of the places on the outskirts of town, like Arashiyama, where I spent a lovely day.

[Redfox5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

49 days till Japan! I shall be spending two nights in Kyoto but after reading this, I wish we were spending a little more time there.

This was an informative little guide, that has helped me narrow down some of the top sights I want to visit. I’ve also been using this with TripAdvisor, saving all the places I want to go on there.

Like all of these types of guide book, can get a little dull reading description after description or restaurants and shops, might be best to read this in small bites, rather than tackle it all at once.

I also liked that Kyoto history was included at the back, as I know very little Japanese history. It’s nice to have some background information.

I would recommend this I’d you are planning a trip to Kyoto, helped me get more excited for my trip!

[Beata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super helpful. Good information and great maps of various neighborhood walks. Kyoto is way too full of stuff to be able to pick the essential sights, and I appreciate their highlighting of top pics. I've been to Kyoto before, but this book was still essential for me to plan a good trip.

[Tonya Lowery St. John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very helpful little guide to have as I explored Kyoto. I keep in on my Kindle so it doesn't take up too much space and the search feature is very helpful.

[Kasey Mazak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kyoto by the Seasons and Kyoto’s Top 10 are awesome sections in this Travel Guide:

“…There’s also the Kyoto Heritage Preservation Association’s Autumn Special Exhibit, when 20 or so historic structures generally closed to the public – like Toji’s five-storey pagoda – open their doors…The Autumn Special Exhibit takes place over roughly 10 days in late October and early November (for details see http://www.kobunka.com/).”

“Nishiki Market positively oozes old Japan atmosphere and you can imagine what it was like here before someone decided to attach the word ‘super’ to the word ‘market’.”

[Shaunda Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the 7th edition (2018), which is the most recent available.
The information is very helpful, and it’s written in a clear but engaging style, all of which I appreciated.
However, since COVID, many of the recommended restaurants are no longer open, and the prices cited for several I looked at have almost doubled.
It’s still a helpful guide, but anyone using it should be sure to confirm current information online before making firm plans.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting - have been to Kyoto & brought back some great memories! Also ,learned some things I wished I would have known about when there.

[Caitlin Leivers · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love lonely planet travel books. it was good to have a book devoted exclusively to Kyoto in order to learn more in-depth information.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to travel! 😩

[J C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chock-full of practical information, the most useful of all being, to the monetarily shoe-strung me, various costs associated with varying selections of eateries, sleeperies, and activities.

Anything the traveler needs is here. My dad has found the series in general too cluttered but I think it's perfect: There's a short history, bite-sized expositions of local culture and local sights, and dedicated segments to walking tours and nearby excursions. To top it off, a leisurely picture spread awaits for when you get too bogged down in the details -- perfect for before-the-trip fantasizing.

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm leaving for Kyoto in less than a month and this reading was essential to give me more than a basic idea of the city I'm going to reside in. Extremely detailed guide with hundreds of details and interesting information. It doesn't take for granted that their readers are ignorant about Japan either, which is very refreshing. Definitely will recommend.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful travel guide covering not just where to go and what to see but some cultural background as well. Lots of practical information that helped me get around the city on my own.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how this book was divided into neighborhoods. Most of the info was helpful.

[Zina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will review this when I'm back from my trip

[Allie Frickert]

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