Kyoto is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Japan - for good reason. 48 million people visited in 2006! (That is the equivalent of 40% of the population of Japan and comes out to over 125,000 per day!) The New York Times recently offered a travel guide to Kyoto for the frugal traveler. Check out the recommendations including restaurants, bars, hotels, and attractions including some links and photos.
The NY Times article was ok. Not much real insight for me from it. I did not encounter any exclusiveness in Kyoto as the article mentioned at all. There are travel packages for getting discounts on hotels. They are 3 day packages that include flights, but that is in Japan only. The thing I learned from Kyoto, is if you are touring, get a tour guide that drives a taxi. They are the best for getting around Kyoto and they are very knowledgeable about old Kyoto. There is so much history there, I’d say it is worth the investment of a tour guide to answer your questions, but it helps if you speak Japanese.
I think that is good advice, Mr. T. I ended up in a taxi with a driver who had been a tour guide and who gave us all kinds of information about the different cherry trees. It was wonderful.
I find that Kyoto can be exclusive — there are certainly layers to that old city. But I still love it and, yes, it is widely visited for a reason.
I like the way it said under $200 a day. I thought to myself, I can have a good day for a lot less money than that - and that’s me thinking in £s given the low value of the dollar.
Personally I avoid tour guides and rely on a good book. Though if you really get stuck then you can always call up the tourist bureau before you get there and ask for one of those “goodwill guides”, who get their payment in practising their English - which is quite cool, really.