Tokyo vs Kyoto: which Japanese city should you visit first?
Tokyo's electric modernity versus Kyoto's classical elegance: two writers debate which Japanese city offers the best experience.
For travelers planning their first journey to Japan, one question inevitably arises: Tokyo or Kyoto? Tokyo might seem like the obvious choice, right? It's the capital and it dazzles with its sheer scale and lightning-paced energy, a metropolis where ancient shrines neighbor neon-lit skyscrapers and world-class dining ranges from Michelin-starred sushi to backstreet ramen.
But Kyoto is a similarly enchanting city, a more classical beauty, where gilded temples, dream-like gardens and traditional tea ceremonies offer glimpses into imperial Japan, while night markets, experimental restaurants and a lively music scene, keep things moving forward.
In this showdown, two Japan experts make their passionate cases for why their preferred city deserves the crown as Japan's ultimate destination. Who will win you over?
Tokyo has it all
Having lived and worked more than a decade in Tokyo, multimedia journalist Phoebe Amoroso considers the metropolis her home, backyard and playground rolled into one. Always searching for the next great meal, she writes extensively on Japan’s food culture.
The city of Tokyo has been the heart of Japan for centuries before it took the official crown as capital from Kyoto in 1868. Now, it’s an ever-evolving, endlessly fascinating metropolis of 14 million people, where modernity and history can be felt side by side. 
To immerse yourself in the thrum of the megacity, traverse the famous Shibuya Crossing before heading up Shibuya Sky for breathtaking 360-degree vistas as the sheer scale of Tokyo spreads out before you. On a clear day, watch the sun sink behind the imposing silhouette of Mt Fuji at dusk. For that big city buzz, wander the neon-soaked streets of Shinjuku, before diving into one of the many izakaya (taverns), and wrap up your evening with an intimate drink at Golden Gai, a former post-WWII black market, now home to a warren of tiny bars.
But Tokyo is so much more than a Blade Runner fantasy. There are incredible gardens – one of my personal favorites, Shinjuku Gyoen, honors both Western and Japanese horticultural traditions with beautifully landscaped greenery framed by skyscrapers – and it’s one of the top Japan's places for cherry blossoms and fall foliage.
For those eager to reject the mainstream, head to hipster neighborhoods – like Shimo-Kitazawa and Koenji – that are full of secondhand and vintage clothes shops and places selling excellent coffee. Or wander the pockets that remain largely untouched by chain stores. Yanaka Ginza, for example, overflows with Shōwa-era nostalgia, as local neighborhood groups have worked to preserve early 20th-century buildings. The result is a retro shopping street, a modern art gallery in a converted bathhouse, and more than 100 tiny temples and shrines. 
Temples and shrines are, in fact, a point of contention with Kyoto: Japan’s former capital basks in its reputation like it’s the only place to find them. Yet Tokyo has so many excellent contenders. Meiji-Jingū might be one of the most popular shrines, but it remains a forested oasis of calm abutting the pop-culture neighborhood of Harajuku. Sensō-ji temple is gloriously vibrant – don’t miss Kaminari-mon, the imposing gate guarded by the gods of wind and thunder. But there are many overlooked gems, too. Gotokuji temple is filled with hundreds of lucky cats and Nezu-jinja – one of Japan's oldest shrines – surprises with its tunnel of vermilion torii gates, like a more intimate version of Kyoto’s famed Fushimi Inari that’s nowhere near as crowded. 
And that’s the thing about Tokyo: there are crowds, but there are always places to escape the crowds. I live barely 20 minutes from the chaotic commercial hub of Shinjuku, and yet I stroll my local neighbourhood, admiring the greenery, greeting dog walkers, and enjoying teishoku (set meal) lunches at mom-and-pop eateries. There are a wealth of day trip options, too. For nature lovers, a range of accessible hiking trails lies an hour west of the city (I spend my weekends trail running). Or hop down to Kamakura (one hour by train), described as “Little Kyoto”, for a wealth of cultural and historical sites juxtaposed with a laid-back surfing culture.
My final appeal is as a dedicated foodie: Tokyo is among the best food cities in the world. Experience the pinnacle of the craft of sushi, compare old-school and innovative ramen, sample smoky yakitori (grilled skewers) joints tucked down alleyways or take a culinary journey through a course of elegant small plates. Need a break from Japanese cuisine? Well, the city now boasts a global reputation for pizza, coffee and bakeries too.
Everybody should have a taste of Tokyo: for the city, for the food, and for a life that’s far from boring. Kyoto has so much, but Tokyo has it all. 
Kyoto is the cradle of classical Japan
Ever since first visiting Kyoto’s gilded temples as a teenager, Daniel Stables has visited the city many times in the years since in his role as a travel writer, uncovering new sides to Japan’s ancient former capital.
Kyoto is the most beautiful city in Japan – and that’s no small statement. This is a country chock-full of photogenic cities, from the samurai-era teahouses of Kanazawa to the elegant, cherry blossom-strewn castle town of Himeji. And, yes, the neon jungle of Tokyo has its charms too, but Kyoto – with its exquisite temples, hilltop monasteries and perfectly proportioned Zen gardens – takes the cake.
Like many visitors, I first fell head over heels for Kyoto the second I set eyes on its most famous attraction: Ginkaku-ji, known in English as the Golden Pavilion. This Zen Buddhist temple sits beside a shimmering pond, dotted with islands, in a verdant garden, and is almost ridiculously perfect, no matter which angle you look at it from. It takes its name from the fact that the top two of its three stories are completely covered in thick gold leaf – a traditional symbol of purity. Anywhere else, a building like this might seem gauche. But in Kyoto, where everything seems so considered and perfectly proportioned, it is a picture of good taste.
Speaking of good taste, Kyoto is also the home of kaiseki, Japan’s version of haute cuisine. Dating from the period when Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan (794–1868 CE), kaiseki takes the form of multicourse extravaganzas, with the perfect balance of dishes – miso soups, high-grade sashimi, pickled seasonal vegetables, hotpots of meat and wild plants – all presented so gorgeously, at restaurants like Kiyama, that you almost feel bad for eating them. Kyoto is also a hub for the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, an intricate ritual that sees you served piping-hot matcha tea accompanied by delicate mochi (rice cakes), through a dazzling routine of rotating teacups, bows and kimono-clad attendants. Try it at Maikoya, and don’t worry about making the wrong moves – the staff are very patient.
Another testament to the skill and ingenuity of Kyoto’s classical age is Kiyomizu-dera, a Buddhist monastery which hugs a forested hillside. Constructed in 778 without the use of a single nail, the building was booby-trapped to creak if unwanted nighttime visitors stepped on the wrong floorboard. I implore you to visit without tip-toeing around the place like a ninja – it’s impossible.
Any tour of Kyoto’s most beautiful buildings must also include Fushimi Inari, Japan’s most famous Shintō shrine. Fushimi Inari sprawls up a mountainside in the northeast of Kyoto, and is instantly recognizable by the 10,000 torii – symbolic wooden gates, painted a striking vermilion red, which lead by a hundred different avenues to the beautiful main shrine on top of the hill.
In all these ways, Kyoto is the Japan of people’s dreams – the Japan of postcards and picture books. But it is far from a city frozen in the past, and for every considered, classical element of the culture, there is a vibrant, modern, down-to-earth counterpart. While a formal kaiseki dinner makes for an unforgettable evening, you’re as likely to have one of your favorite Japanese food experiences amid the bustle and noise of the 400-year-old Nishiki Market, where sizzling stalls have been serving up skewers of shrimp, unagi (eel), gyōza (dumplings) and juicy wagyū (Japanese beef) steak. Fully sated, head out to explore the vibrant nightlife scene of this metropolis of 2.5 million people, with bands, rappers and DJs rattling the walls of venues like Jittoku, a historic former sake brewery, into the small hours.
