Exploring Kyoto, Revised Edition

On Foot in the Ancient Capital

UPDATED: This book will be updated with current information on transportation, internet use, new locations, and revised maps and trails to reflect modernization and changes.

AUTHORITATIVE: Author is a long-time Kyoto resident who knows first-hand all the best places, hidden passages, and great spots to walk, view gardens, visit temples, and soak in the classic Kyoto ambience. She leads tours and knows many fascinating shops and shopkeepers and brings all that hard-earned knowledge into this single, compact package.

UNIQUE AND SAVVY: Not a book by a committee but by someone with a deep love and knowledge of the city. Clancy knows the city inside out and can lead others to special places and off-the-beaten-track discoveries.

• 6,000+ copies sold of previous edition
• Kyoto is a perennial favorite destination of tourists. People go there wanting to see traditional culture, gardens, and temples, and this book has them all!
• The Japanese government is investing heavily in promoting Japan as a tourist destination in advance of the 2020 Olympics, so from 2018-2020 tourism to all parts of Japan is expected to be strong. Kyoto is only 2 1/2 hours from Tokyo by bullet train.

TOURISM IN JAPAN

• In 2015, according to www.tourism.jp, there were 2,621,212 North American visitors to Japan, with 2,066,516 from the U.S. Among other English-speaking groups There were 752,150 visitors from Australia, 516,976 from the U.K., 462,780 from Canada, and 98,804 from New Zealand.
• Japan attracted 24.03 million international tourists in 2016. Japan has 19 World Heritage Sites, including Himeji Castle, Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto and Nara.
• The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 ranks Japan 4th out of 141 countries overall, which was the best in Asia. Japan gained relatively high scores in almost all aspects, especially health and hygiene, safety and security, cultural resources and business travel. (Wikipedia/Tourism in Japan)
• Japan Times (Oct 19, 2016) reported: "Tokyo and Kyoto have been picked as the world's best and second-best cities outside the United States, the U.S. travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler said Tuesday."
• "The total number of foreign visitors to Japan this year [2016] is expected to top 20 million for the first time. The government has doubled its annual target of overseas visitors to 40 million in 2020, when Tokyo will host the Olympics and Paralympics." (Japan Times)
• "Kyoto's popularity in recent years has created a surge in demand for hotel rooms. A survey of 27 major hotels by the Kyoto Convention Bureau last year showed their occupancy rate over the January to December period was around 89 percent. During seven months, it went over 90 percent, and in November, the occupancy rate reached 94 percent." (Japan Times)