What it’s Like Living in Japan’s #1 Tourist City

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-17

[00:00:01]Hello world. I'm sure that many of you watching this video who have been to Japan before have stepped foot in Kyoto.

[00:00:07]The former capital of Japan is one of the most popular tourist destinations for both domestic and international visitors. And despite the heavy toll that the co pandemic had on tourism, visitor numbers have boomed here with millions of international visitors dropping by Kyoto every year, reaching the highest levels of visitors in the city's recorded history.

[00:00:28]But this video isn't really about tourism in Kyoto. It's just an important piece of the puzzle in figuring out more about this fascinating city. So, in our quest to understand what it's like to live in Kyoto, we interviewed born and raised Kyoto as well as international residents who now call Kyoto home. We'll walk through a bit of the popular Shijou Karasuma area where a local will share what her neighborhood was like back in her childhood days. We'll also hear about the pros and cons of living in Kyoto, from the convenient structure of the city streets to the high cost of housing. And of course, we'll share a bit about Kyoto manners and stereotypes.

[00:01:02]Are Kyoto really that snobby and passive aggressive? Or are they like any of us who take pride in where we come from?

[00:01:09]And by the end of the video, we'd like to hear your thoughts on whether Kyoto sounds like a city that you'd like to live in or not. So, without further ado, let's dive right into life in Kyoto. And I'll let Bobby, our producer on the ground, take it away.

[00:01:23]>> Thanks, Greg. One of the first people we'd like to introduce is Okumasang.

[00:01:27]She's a born and raised Kytoi from the Shijou Karasuma area, a district known for its trendy shopping and central location.

[00:01:47]Fore!

[00:01:56]Foreign! Foreign!

[00:02:06]And this is If I'm being honest, what Okumurasan says here about cars blocking the streets feels relevant even now. I'm sure the streets are much less congested than what they used to be, but I am always weary of cars in Kyoto, and they can be a bit anxietyinducing.

[00:02:54]Anyway, the first stop that Okumasan showed us on our neighborhood walking tour was the Shin Bukong, a shopping center and hotel that was recently built around the former Kyto central telephone office. I say around because the facade of the historical landmark was kept intact even though most of the structure was replaced. The Shinukan is filled with trendy shops and gets quite a bit of foot traffic. It is one of many examples in Kyoto city of old buildings being repurposed or updated to keep up with modern interests. Like the Manga Museum, what was once a public elementary school has become a hip museum complex with cafes, shops, and a popular green space for people to lounge in. Unfortunately, it wasn't open when we were filming, but it's a neat spot to check out if you're looking to relax a bit. And something neat was that Okumarasan happened to have a photo of herself participating at a Heaman period parade back in the '90s where participants gathered at this very elementary school. Anyway, let's get back to Okumasan, who will quickly guide us through Nishiki Market.

[00:04:26]Put this.

[00:04:54]Once we made it out of Nishiki Market unscathed, we headed over to the financial district of Karasadori, where you'll see some of Japan's most prominent banks on full display. While the architecture here is quite modern, you can still see some Showa era influences on the outside of the buildings. This out with the old and in with the new while keeping a bit of the old intact seems like a frequent theme in Kyoto City.

[00:05:39]For those of you who are unfamiliar with Gio Matsi, it is one of the largest and most famous festivals in Japan, dating back to the 8th century. It's an annual celebration that lasts the entire month of July with various events and parades happening every day. And in such parades, there are these large ornate floats called Yamabokco floats hauled around by neighborhood volunteers. All 33 of these Yamaboko floats are stored in this specific zone of Shijou Karasima. And so this neighborhood is appropriately called Yamabokco Cho. And in this area that is steeped so richly in culture and tradition is where you'll find weeaboo central, that is the Pokémon Center.

[00:06:46]During the rest of our walk, we passed by other local landmarks that Okumasan grew up with, like the YMCA, where she learned how to swim, or the former Shiman Kaikon, where the Pokémon Center now stands. Okumurasan played table tennis with friends after school. And we even grabbed a refreshing coffee at the snazzy Kisaten chain called Inoda Coffee, which according to Okumasan, any true Kyotoy is bound to know.

[00:07:11]So, now that we've familiarized ourselves with a bit of downtown Kyoto, let's hear from some of our other Kyoto friends that we interviewed about what they like and don't like about life there. And to give you a bit of context about their backgrounds and experience in Japan, I'll do some brief introductions. Starting with my friend Arisa. She's a popular content creator in Kyoto who promotes various towns and regions throughout Japan. She married a Kyotoite and they are now raising a young daughter. Akari is a born and raised Kyotoite who is currently living in Tokyo for career purposes but plans on moving back to Kyoto in the future.

[00:07:41]Her family has run a gold leaf business for multiple generations and so they are probably as traditional as it gets when it comes to Kyoto. Clementine is a French fashion designer who has lived in various parts of Japan including downtown Kyoto, Osaka, Miyazaki and now the quieter western part of Kyoto city.

[00:07:57]She and her husband Will have lived in Japan for over 10 years now and are raising their son in Kyoto.

[00:08:04]Aron is a photographer and translator who has lived in several cities throughout Japan, including Naguya, Osaka, and Okama, who now calls Kyoto home. Yuki was born in Kyoto and raised near Matsu, which is relatively close to Arashima. He and his wife Mai both have family in Kyoto and are currently raising a baby boy. And these lovely women are the crew of Attorio, a salon in downtown Kyoto that offers traditional Japanese hairdressing and antique kimono wearing experiences for both tourists and couples taking wedding photos like we did. So now that you're acquainted, let's hear what they have to say.

[00:08:38]>> Hi, my name is Arisa. I'm from Malaysia and I've been living in Kyoto for pro probably around eight years already. I love it to be honest as much as I have complaints, but don't we all? And yeah, I I can't imagine of a better place to live than Kyoto. To put it in words, I guess is to say that the slow pace of life because in bigger cities, we're constantly rushing, you know, trying to get to one place to another. But in Kyoto, we have a good balance of both.

[00:09:09]You know, there are times where you need the rush, like when you're in the in Kyoto station, you feel that. And the minute you step out of it, just two stops like in Shijou area like where we are right now, you feel like the slow pace of life, you know, you take a step back, enjoy just the view and just little things that even walking, you just discover something new every day.

[00:09:33]It's like, oh, I've never noticed that before. Even though I walked this path like a hundred times.

[00:10:20]Yeah, I love just visiting like local tofu or yuba shop that that's like really old and you get to talk with is like grandma and grandpa visiting all the traditional traditional but modern store. I feel like if it's only traditional it's hard like the offering is very traditional but and like some businesses have like innovated themselves and make like not modern offering. So I like to take all my friends to those places. So like you get to feel the core but at the same time it's quite modern.

[00:11:48]>> If I want to go out to drink with friends like this is definitely a place to do that. And if I want to just like shut and like chill I could do that.

[00:11:56]Like I could be here by myself and still have fun and there are plenty of opportunities to meet people. Yeah. I'd say it's like lives up to its expectations. Like literally like if you're like in Kanamachi area and like you think it's too noisy and there's too many people around, you can walk like a block and end up in a quiet place and yeah, you end up like in a quiet place that's like close to nature. And I think I like that duality of Kyoto. You can't get that in Tokyo and I don't think you can get you can get that in Osaka either. So yeah, Kyoto is still very special to me and I plan on being here for a while.

[00:12:44]Fore! Foreign! Foreign!

[00:12:54]Fore It's I know it's changing and it's good, but still like especially older generation are very conservative and they don't want to change anything.

[00:14:04]Especially my dad with my family business, they're really like he doesn't want to do anything and it's not like it's not like you're trying not. Yeah.

[00:14:18]So some people are a bit like that conservative and yeah so that's yeah that's probably the one thing that I don't like about I definitely had an easier time making friends with other foreigners out here.

[00:14:34]Um, and my experience in other places in Japan, live other places I live in Japan is like I could talk to a stranger, a str a Japanese person that's a stranger and like it'd be a little bit receptive to it, but I think you kind of just get grouped in with a tourist if you're a foreigner here. Um, and I could kind of sense the tension there. Um, I used to work with a team of I think maybe I told you before, but a team of Japanese people and they weren't all from Kyoto and they said they really felt excluded like they really felt like foreigners for to the other people who are born in Kyoto. Or the fact that people are very nice. I'm speaking about Kyoto. But then they don't have a choice. That's how they interact. You have to be nice in a way. There's a special way about Kyoto, I think, of being like this. Like Osaka doesn't have this. And when I was in Miyazaki, definitely not. Like people speak to you because they want to. If they don't want to, they they don't. Or if if they're in a good mood, they'll show they're in a good mood. If they're not, then they they're not going to engage with you. But here, I think there's this pressure of always being nice and polite.

[00:15:54]And sometimes I tell Will like, "Oh, this lady was really nice."

[00:15:59]And like I speak about it afterwards and he's like, "Yeah, but she's Kyoto, you know." Oh, yeah. Okay.

[00:16:07]Of course. Yes. So, it it's not deeper.

[00:16:09]There's nothing deeper than this. She was just nice. It it doesn't mean that she appreciated us. That's what I mean.

[00:16:18]And this I find a bit hard because once you know it, you start to analyze but also I don't want to analyze like I I would rather stay naive and think oh maybe she likes me or a little and also not everyone is like this like whatever rule exists or habits not everyone is actually following the rules. So sometimes people are just genuinely nice.

[00:16:45]>> As Akari, Clementine, and Aron mentioned, Kyoto have a reputation for being a bit on the conservative and exclusive side. So I wanted to dive in a bit more and hear from everyone about the stereotypes associated with Kyotoes.

[00:16:58]>> You I can't generalize all of Kyoto people, but in the city central where um where we're currently at, Kyoto city, they have what we call Kyoto pride. I mean definitely so because they were the capital city you know like after the Nara moved and then they were the longest and they still carry this pride till this day even though it's been like centuries already.

[00:17:21]So yeah for other areas if you're talking about like Fushimi um Arashyama or even Miyazu like upper north aside they probably won't have this. They're likely more friendlier and less colder when we talk. Yeah. And we don't have what we you know like everyone assumes Kyoto people have this passive aggressive notion when they speak like it is time to go back they ask you do you want kind of thing I mean it's I know it's a joke but not a very healthy joke you know not all Kyoto people are like that cuz my family doesn't do that you know people think Kyoto people are like mean and exclusive and it's kind of true when I Look at my grandma and grandpa's generations. Yeah, I grew up in like pretty much the center of Kyoto. So I my identity is definitely like Kyoto gym, but personally I feel more like open.

[00:18:21]Hopefully I'm more open than like my grandparents generation kind of and I feel a lot of young Kyoto people are quite like open and like you know bantici like adventurous and yeah doing edgy stuff. So, I think the culture itself is changing, but yeah, I think we're still Kyotoin, but the definition of Kyotoin is hopefully changing to be better.

[00:18:52]>> I think that people outside of Kyoto don't look forward to meeting Kytoides because they have like a sense of superiority. And I think that's true, but it depends on the demographic. If you're like born in the showa era from my experience like the people yeah old people that I meet like at work and stuff like that they kind of have that like superiority complex but I feel like that has completely gone away in people from the younger generation that I've met. They don't really Yeah. I don't know. They don't look down on people from other prefectures. And when they go to when they go to other prefectures like they fit right in like they're not like a man now at all. So I feel like whatever people didn't like about it does not exist in our current generation. I'd say yeah. Yeah. They still have pride. Like they still have pride and like they still love being from Kyoto, but like it's never something that keeps them from making relations with other people.

[00:20:19]To piggyback on Yuki's example of passive aggressive Kytoite behavior, we decided to do some middle school drama club level reenactments for you.

[00:20:36]So this so in In this situation, Yoko on the left is not complimenting her friend's child. She's saying in a polite way that they're playing too loudly and perhaps too often. But to someone who doesn't read between the lines or the air of the situation, such comments can be misinterpreted as positive and meaning.

[00:21:27]Here, Yoko points out my watch so that I will inadvertently look at the time and decide for myself that it's getting too late and that I should get going. But if you're on the innocent side, you might just think that it's a conversation starter or that they're just being friendly, dashing the Kytoite's hopes of you leaving sooner rather than later.

[00:21:44]These were just shot for fun, and I'm not sure how common such interactions are these days. But it might be helpful to keep in mind that in Japan and perhaps especially in Kyoto, direct statements and confrontations can be quite uncomfortable. So using roundabout language and gestures is a sort of culturally convenient way to get the point across while avoiding accusations of being rude or aggressive.

[00:22:06]>> I think it's mostly because the Kyoto is a smaller city. So it feels that in Kyoto it feels like everybody's watching you and es especially with family business and everything cuz all my not all but a lot of my friends grew up with the family business and there are lots of like old businesses in the neighborhood. It feels like you are seen as the family business's daughter. So it feels a bit like restricted like when I do something weird or silly like it's so bad like I don't want to damage the rep not like reputation but like it's going to spread out in the neighborhood so fast anyways. So it's a bit like >> so that's that all these pressure makes everybody behave really well in front of each other at the same time they talk behind everybody's back at this as well.

[00:23:03]So it's that that's what makes Kyoto people like look mean like and I thought about it and maybe it's because of the family businesses can because it's really old and you can't like damage your ancestors like like what they built up and everything. So you have to behave really well.

[00:23:29]Fore!

[00:23:49]Foreign! Foreign!

[00:24:08]Perhaps the biggest elephant in the room is the topic of tourism in Kyoto. Are there too many tourists in Kyoto? Does Kyoto even need tourism that much? Are the problems that we hear online about tourism simply exaggerated? I wanted to hear from the people we interviewed their thoughts on the matter. So, first let's follow my friend Clementine through a bit of Arashimama's famous bamboo garden, one of the most popular tourist spots in Kyoto.

[00:24:32]>> Sometimes it is peaceful like like there's no reason why there's nobody, but sometimes you just arrive at the right time and it's still quiet.

[00:24:40]>> Do you find these types of places still to be quite like inspiring or >> Yes. Like right now, we're walking and I just saw the chameleia in bloom and the birds, sound of birds. Even if there was a crowd, I think if I had time to appreciate it, I I would.

[00:25:06]But it's hard. It's hard when you're trying to make your way between people.

[00:25:10]So, the place still looks pretty good, but the I don't know.

[00:25:18]The subtleties are gone.

[00:25:19]>> Yeah. And you you have to think about other people because you hear them.

[00:25:22]Whereas if you walk and it's quiet, you can get lost in your thoughts or >> Yeah.

[00:25:27]>> Yeah.

[00:25:28]>> Do you want to go a bit more?

[00:25:29]>> Venture in a little bit.

[00:25:32]>> Cuz that's I think a question that people ask me often like is it worth going? But it's hard to say yes or no because it depends why you're why you're going. What are you looking for? If you want to see then go. If you want to relax in the nature, you can choose any other bamboo forest in Japan and there's like thousands of them. So, from my personal feelings, I don't feel like there's more people. I know everyone says there are more people, but I've always been to places that were really, really crowded.

[00:26:09]So now I notice them more because I live in Japan for longer and I notice especially um on a fashion point of view like how people dress. No, >> sometimes you see ladies in the you say like uh workout outfits like very uh shape showing exactly um leggings and things. And if I was living in France still, I think I wouldn't be surprised. But here, it's so rare to see that when you see it, it attracts your attention.

[00:26:42]Oh, so it's quite funny because I think, oh, they don't live in Japan. Whereas sometimes you can see foreigners, how they behave or how they dress, it can give you a hint that they live here.

[00:26:55]I feel like the area that's got crazy is very limited. It's only around the Ki Miza temple or like >> yeah Gon area. So actually I don't think any of our like daily life were affected that much. Uh yeah, I know except for like buses and trains that my mom's a bit annoyed with the buses like she can't catch a train the buses like but they are like putting more buses in like the city. So it's it's not too bad. I feel like some um tourists are actually looking for like quick easy to digest kind of experience. It's like some people just want to take photos for Instagram and like go to Kizera and wear kimono and that's good but I I wish more people could appreciate like deeper culture to cut and like if the market wants something more authentic then more of those authentic businesses can thrive and and more people would make those businesses. I know it's hard to like communicate the like deeper culture and that's why people like to get quick and easy experiences but I hope we can make it like easier to digest and so that more people can like appreciate or like enjoy the real culture. I I just want to say there are a lot to a lot more to see not just in Kyoma or King Kakundi. I hope more people actually come to like local areas or just enjoy Kamogawa like chamoga so that so that they can feel the local people's lives.

[00:28:54]for like we know we have like an an inbound issue in I mean it's usually only like segregated to certain spots of Kyoto.

[00:29:32]Well, with better management I'm pretty sure we can disperse those, you know, like what other perfections are doing because other perfections don't have this issue. They are more welcoming towards um tourism um because they need it to survive.

[00:29:48]In Kyoto, we cannot say that oh we have too much, we don't need it. No, you do need it because we have seen the effects of COVID for three years when when the world when Japan was shut off from the wall, a lot of businesses were affected and as a local who has been here, I've seen um I've seen lots of shops come and go during the three years alone. So, it's crucial for the economy, but we need to do better to have a better infrastructure to accommodate that.

[00:30:34]Soch.

[00:30:50]foreign.

[00:31:29]I wanted to include some information we came across about overnight visitors in Kyoto from the year 2024. This was a particular year because it was the first time in the city's history when inbound tourists outnumbered domestic tourists with 8.21 million foreign visitors versus 8.09 million Japanese who stayed overnight. Another metric that caught our attention was from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. The survey data shows what percentage of Japanese and inbound visitors plan on going to specific spots in Kyoto City. It's not too surprising to see that for inbound tourists, Kiomizer hits the number one spot at 66.6% followed by Nijou, the Gon area, Fushimi, and the usual suspects. But what surprised me was that the number one spot for Japanese visitors is not Arashyama or Kawamachi or any obvious tourist spots, but the Kyoto station area. This could be because the term visitor is quite vague. A lot of visitors come to Kyoto from nearby cities like Osaka, Nagua, and Coobe for day trips. So perhaps there are a lot of visitors who simply want to shop around Kyoto station and soak in the vibes before going back home. But here's another stat for you to mle over. Over 50 million visitors come to Kyoto every year and roughly 80% of them are Japanese. So by simply looking at the numbers, we can comfortably say that there are more Japanese people who visit Kyoto than inbound tourists. On a side note, looking at these numbers might be helpful for tailoring your itinerary in Kyoto. If you want to avoid large crowds, just avoid the places with the highest percentages. Anyway, I thought it was important to include some stats in here so that we have a balance of anecdotal and statistical evidence.

[00:33:32]I don't know what I hope that images of visitors doing something stupid don't take over in the media so people have a general bad idea about foreigners in general and get mixed up with between some very few rude visitors and all the rest of us who live here. But like the other day or this last fall, there were a couple of girls um sitting on my neighbor's rock in front of the house. And I was really debating inside myself cuz I was with a customer uh who came for a full day sewing. So we take a lunch break together at the end of the street. And we came out and I saw these two girls were like, "Oh, I know my neighbor wouldn't like people sitting on this rock." and I didn't know if they could speak English um because I couldn't tell where they were from. And uh and I felt bad like I had a really big debate within myself in a just in a fractions of seconds like should I tell them to move? Uh also they're not being loud, they're not trashing.

[00:34:58]Should I should I say something or is it my place to say something? Are they going to be confused if I say something?

[00:35:05]But I didn't say anything. But I think if it would have been something worse, I would have say something. Uh, sometimes I find trash in front of my house here where I work. Um, and I think if I saw the person who did this, I would certainly say something because there's a bin just around the corner. But this this being foreigner or Japanese, it doesn't matter. I don't want people to put their waist on the on the ground.

[00:35:34]Now, on to the topic of raising a family or starting a life in Kyoto. Many of the people I interviewed either have kids or have raised kids in Kyoto, so I wanted to hear what they had to say.

[00:36:23]This Tokyo.

[00:37:41]Kingch.

[00:38:01]The last thing I wanted to touch on was the pleasing aesthetic of Kyoto city. As Greg explained in a previous video about Kiloto's strict architectural rules, city planners and locals have made a concerted effort over the years to maintain Kyto's beautiful and interconnected visual identity. And so, it was fun to hear from my friends about their feelings on the vibe and look of Kyoto.

[00:38:22]>> You know, if you pass the house, especially in the city center, here we have little gardens and things, but in the city there's no gardens. There is not that much space between your door entrance and the road, but still people are going to put a lot of plants in pots and sometimes they're going to pile up in front of the house to the point that it looks almost too much but in a nice way. That's really an image of Kyoto for me. Um, another image wood and brown. And Kyoto is very brown and earth color kisaten which is something I discovered in Kyoto. So I know it's not only in Kyoto, but that's for me there are some really nice ones in Kyoto.

[00:39:07]>> The architecture and just like the presence of culture here does contribute to the positive experience that I have.

[00:39:13]I'm pretty used to the classical architecture here, but I recently had an experience where I took a night bus from Tokyo to Kyoto and I arrived like at 4:45 or like 5:00 a.m. or something like that. So, none of the buses or trains were running. And I had like a 3 kilometer walk with my luggage. But yeah, I started walking and I put on my headphones and I was listening to Nuja and yeah, I like walk past like Hong Gangji Temple and a lot of like routes that I usually a lot of streets I usually don't take and there's a lot of beautiful architecture there that I don't really get a chance to enjoy. And what made it even better is like it's 5:00 a.m.

[00:39:52]Nobody's around.

[00:39:57]speech. Speech. Speech.

[00:40:28]What does this I feel I'm lucky that I grew up in Kyoto. It's very like specific and and so hopefully I want to go back to KTO in a few years and do more of the businesses that I wanted to do like the deeper c culturally embedded but I want to offer like those to everybody traveling as well and be open.

[00:42:01]And on that note, we wrap things up with a big thanks to everyone who helped out in this video. We've left links to their shops and social media links in the description. Thanks for watching. See you next time. Peace. What's it like living in a big tourism city where you're from?