Kyoto: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Kyoto is a city of 1.5 million people in Japan, 50 m (164 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Osaka Itami International Airport (ITM), 39 km (24 mi) from the centre. It has a dozen or more railway stations on record, including Kyōto Station. Our booking partner lists 3,110+ places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Kyoto runs from about 9 h 51 min a day in late December to 14 h 34 min in late June (computed for 35.02° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Kyoto is served by 4 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Osaka Itami International Airport (ITM), 39 km (24 mi) from the centre, with a longest runway of 9,840 ft, which limits it to short and medium-haul aircraft. The alternatives are Kobe Airport (UKB, 65 km), Kansai International Airport (KIX, 81 km), Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO, 98 km).
Flights to Kyoto: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Kyōto Station, Yamashina Station, Karasuma Station, Kintetsu-Tambabashi Station, Takeda Station, Katsura Station. Trains to Kyoto
Buses to Kyoto · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 3,110+ places to stay in Kyoto (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 971 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (422), and 76 are five-star. Across 782 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 9 out of 10. Guests have left 858,463 reviews in total.
Hotels in Kyoto: the full picture, and book
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Kyoto National Museum | 384,340 | 2016 |
The busiest is Kyoto National Museum at 384,340 visitors in 2016. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
UNESCO World Heritage in the city: Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Kyoto
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Tokyo, 365 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Yokohama, 357 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Osaka, 43 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Nagoya, 106 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Kawasaki, 364 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Kobe, 64 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Saitama, 367 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Hiroshima, 310 km — trains · buses · car rental
- Sakai, 55 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Hamamatsu, 184 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
Twin towns and sister cities: Cologne, Florence, Kyiv, Xi'an, Guadalajara, Zagreb, Prague, Paris, Boston, Cusco, Edinburgh, Zermatt, Jinju, Kraków.
Common questions
Which airport serves Kyoto?
Osaka Itami International Airport (ITM), 39 km (24 mi) from the centre, plus 3 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Kyoto?
About 1.5 million people live in Kyoto, across 828 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Kyoto in?
Asia/Tokyo, currently UTC+9.
What currency is used in Kyoto?
The Yen (JPY). Traffic drives on the left.
How many hotels are there in Kyoto?
Our booking partner lists 3,110 or more places to stay in Kyoto, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Kyoto?
Tokyo (365 km), Yokohama (357 km), Osaka (43 km), Nagoya (106 km), Kawasaki (364 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.