An Le, CIEE: Kyoto, Japan Summer 2025
Kyoto feels incredibly easy to simply exist in. Everything interesting to see is within a walkable distance, and the public transportation system makes up for the parts that aren’t. Upon completion of my study abroad program, I went to Tokyo for a week to compare the two cities. Tokyo is a great place for last-minute gifts and shopping, but you have to really go out of your way to find things to actually do. Even restaurants do not compare. While both cities have plenty of options, it was much more expensive to eat in Tokyo without having to resort to fast food.
In Kyoto, historical sites and landscapes can only be a couple blocks away from your housing. It might be a small city compared to Tokyo, but the quality of life certainly stands out. I think this is especially important to evaluate before studying abroad because it is easy to get caught up in the touristy aspects of travel. While Tokyo is the biggest and most famous city in Japan, I cannot say it is the most livable. The day to day streets are not as enchanting to walk through as the ones in Kyoto, which range from lines of small shops to red gated bridges and rivers. There felt like very few “third places” in Tokyo, while Kyoto had plenty to choose from without having to worry about catching the last train on time.
Both cities are fun to visit, but Tokyo feels better suited as a vacation getaway. Kyoto is a perfect mix of the hustle and bustle of a city while also having the peace and quiet of suburbia. In other words, Kyoto is a city that sleeps while Tokyo stays awake at night. I’m sure the economic opportunities of Tokyo are significantly better than the ones in Kyoto though.
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