Old Capital, New Capital
Kyoto's beauty works at every scale. There are grand sights like the gilded Kinkaku-ji reflected in its pond or the wooden stage of Kiyomizu-dera above the trees. There are tiny moments too: a maple leaf on moss, a lantern glowing in a narrow alley. The bamboo grove at Arashiyama and the tunnel of torii gates at Fushimi Inari are both at their best at dawn, before the tour buses arrive.
Tokyo's appeal is the string of small places inside a huge city. A wooden bathhouse in an old neighborhood. Incense smoke at Senso-ji before the shops open. A former shogun's garden at Hama-rikyu with a teahouse on a pond. The view from Shibuya Sky as the crossing fills below you.
Couples who love history and nature lean Kyoto. Couples who love cities and modern design lean Tokyo. Most couples who try both say Kyoto felt more romantic and Tokyo more fun.
Ryokan or Skyline Suite
Kyoto has two of Japan's most romantic stays. Hoshinoya Kyoto sits upriver from Arashiyama and you arrive by traditional wooden boat, about fifteen minutes from the landing near Togetsukyo Bridge. Its roughly 25 riverside rooms have deep cypress tubs and kaiseki dinners can be served in your room. Aman Kyoto hides Kerry Hill's dark-timber pavilions in a forested garden in Takagamine, a short walk from the Golden Pavilion, with a natural hot-spring bath on site. Restored machiya townhouses rented privately are a cozier option.
In Tokyo, Aman Tokyo occupies the top floors of Otemachi Tower beside the Imperial Palace East Gardens. The lobby is stone and washi paper and the city spreads out below the windows. Ginza, Marunouchi and west Shinjuku all have strong luxury hotels. Tokyo rooms run small by US standards, so book a corner room or suite if space matters.
Kaiseki or Omakase
Kyoto is the birthplace of kaiseki, the multicourse seasonal cuisine that grew from the tea ceremony. Book one in a ryokan or a traditional restaurant in Gion or along Pontocho alley. The city is also known for shojin ryori, the vegetarian cooking of Buddhist temples, plus tofu and yuba around Nanzen-ji. Nishiki Market is for grazing on pickles and sweets. Uji, south of the city, is the heart of Japanese green tea.
Tokyo is the better city for sheer range. Sit at a sushi counter in Ginza and watch the chef work. Try tempura fried in front of you, yakitori under the tracks at Yurakucho and wagyu sukiyaki. Depachika food halls are made for picnic shopping. Tokyo's cocktail bars are among the most precise anywhere.
For one great dinner, both deliver. For a week of eating, Tokyo has more to give.
Arriving From the US
Tokyo is the easiest place in Asia to reach from the United States. Nonstop flights run to Haneda (HND) and Narita (NRT) from a long list of US cities, at roughly 11 to 14 hours. Haneda is about 30 minutes from the center, while the Narita Express takes about an hour.
Kyoto has no airport. The usual route is to fly into Kansai International (KIX) near Osaka and take the Haruka express to Kyoto Station in about 75 minutes, or ride the shinkansen from Tokyo in about two hours and fifteen minutes.
That makes an open-jaw ticket ideal: fly into Tokyo and home from Kansai, or the reverse. Use takkyubin luggage forwarding to send suitcases ahead so you ride the train with just a daypack. Getting around Kyoto, taxis are worth the cost for Arashiyama and the northern districts. In Tokyo, the subway and a Suica card in your phone wallet handle nearly everything.
Seasons and Crowds
Both cities share Japan's calendar. Cherry blossoms usually peak in Tokyo in late March or the first days of April and in Kyoto around the same time. Autumn maples reach Kyoto from mid-November into early December and Tokyo's parks in late November.
The difference is how crowds feel. Kyoto is compact and its temples are the main attraction, so spring and fall can feel packed at Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu-dera and Arashiyama. Early starts are essential. Tokyo absorbs visitors more easily because it is so big and because much of what couples do is eating, drinking and wandering neighborhoods.
The rainy season runs from early June to mid-July in both cities. July and August are hot and humid, though Kyoto's Gion Matsuri festival in July is a lively reason to go. Winter is cold, sunny and quieter, with the best Fuji views from Tokyo rooftops. Avoid Golden Week around early May.
What It Costs
Neither city is cheap at the top end. The splurge stays cost a similar amount. Our Tokyo pages put leading hotels at about $700 to $1,500 or more a night. Kyoto's top ryokan run well into four figures in cherry blossom and maple season. These figures are approximate and swing with season and the exchange rate.
Kyoto ryokan often include dinner and breakfast, which softens the price. Tokyo's top hotels usually do not, but you can eat brilliantly at every price in the city, from standing soba shops to department store food halls.
To stretch the budget, split Kyoto between one or two nights at Hoshinoya Kyoto or Aman Kyoto and a few nights at a central hotel near Gion or the Kamo River for easier evening dining. In Tokyo, Asakusa and Shibuya hotels cost less than Marunouchi or Ginza. Tipping is not expected anywhere in Japan.
How to Split Your Nights
For a ten-day honeymoon, try three nights in Tokyo, two in Hakone's hot springs and four or five in Kyoto. Arriving in Tokyo lets you use the early jet-lag mornings at Senso-ji and Toyosu. Hakone sits on the train line between the two cities, so a ryokan stop there adds a private onsen without backtracking. Kyoto comes last, when you are rested enough to enjoy dawn walks and long dinners.
With only a week, do three nights in Tokyo and four in Kyoto, or base yourselves entirely in Kyoto with a day trip to Nara. From Tokyo, the easy day trips are Kamakura's giant Buddha and beaches about an hour south and Nikko's shrines about two hours north. From Kyoto, Nara, Uji and the Hozu River boat ride are all close.
One etiquette note for both: public baths are split by gender, so book a room with its own tub to soak together.
