Kyoto

Kyoto was previously known as Heian-kyō, meaning 'Heian capital', after becoming the capital of Japan.

Kyoto is one of the few Japanese cities that still have an abundance of prewar buildings, such as traditional townhouses known as machiya.

Kyoto contains roughly 2,000 temples and shrines, making it one of the best-preserved cities in Japan.

Kyoto is home to 40 institutions of higher education, including the highly ranked Kyoto University.

The Kyoto dialect, known as Kyō-kotoba or Kyōto-ben, was the de facto standard Japanese until the late Edo period.