Neighborhoods in Kyoto
One of our long-term ideas is to spend 1-3 months a year in Japan – we love the food, culture and lifestyle. So, our 2023 trip to Japan was partially to test-drive that idea – we rented an AirBnb with a kitchen, and frequently prepared breakfast and sometimes lunch there; looked for activities to be part of our daily life (yoga, language classes, etc.); and explored different neighborhoods of Kyoto to get a feeling for where we might want to be long-term.
Our first AirBnb was located in the Sanjocho (google maps) region of Nakagyo ward, close to many bus stops, about 4 blocks from Karasuma Oike subway station, a 9 minute walk from Karasuma station and a 13 minute walk from the Omiya Hankyu station. Much of our exploration centered around food. This area of town feels much more residential, that is, there are many people who live and work here. However, there are still many restaurants and art/souvenir stores, as well as produce, meat, fish, clothing, etc. stores. See our page on Sanjocho neighborhood for more details as well as Food in Kyoto for restaurants here and in Higashiyama ward.
Our second AirBnb was located in the Nishikawaracho (google maps) region of Higashiyama ward, very close to several streets with many restaurants and maiko clubs, as well as several train lines and bus stops, and walking distance to the Gion district and Kiyomizudera. See Food in Kyoto for restaurants here and in Nakagyo ward.
Arashiyama – see our post about our day trip to Arashiyama to explore the neighborhood. Although the area is lovely and fluctuates between highly touristy to quiet, stately neighborhoods, we felt it was a bit too far from the hustle and bustle of the city to be a long-term location for us.
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