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Kyoto · Japan
A vermillion hall and arched bridge reflected in a still pond among autumn maples at Daigo-ji, Kyoto
Kyoto · Japan
Autumn at Daigo-ji, the vermilion hall among the maples.
The latticed wooden front of a Kyoto townhouse at night, a noren curtain at the door and a lantern lit on the step

a region of japan

Kansai

Kansai is the western heart of Honshu and the old centre of Japan: Kyoto and Nara, its two ancient capitals, Osaka and Kobe on the bay, Himeji Castle, Koyasan, and the onsen town of Kinosaki.

A townhouse door at night, Kyoto

Prefectures
Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Shiga, Wakayama and Mie

overview

Kansai, at a glance

For more than a thousand years the emperors reigned from Kansai, first at Nara and then at Kyoto, and the region still holds the greater part of Japan's national treasures. Kyoto's temples, gardens and geisha districts are the reason many travellers come to Japan at all; Nara, forty minutes away, keeps the great bronze Buddha of Todai-ji and the deer of its park.

Osaka is the region's commercial city and the country's kitchen, and Kobe, across the bay, its cosmopolitan port. Westward lies Himeji, the most celebrated of the castles that survive in Japan from the age of the samurai, and northward, on the Sea of Japan, Kinosaki Onsen, a willow-lined canal town of seven public onsen. To the south, in the mountains of Wakayama, the monasteries of Koyasan and the pilgrim roads of the Kumano Kodo are both World Heritage Sites, and on the coast of Mie stands Ise Jingu, the most sacred shrine in Japan.

Kansai International Airport serves the region directly, and the Tokaido Shinkansen joins Kyoto to Tokyo in about two hours and a quarter.

places

Where to go in Kansai

Our tours stay overnightOur tours visit for the dayOn a Custom Tour of Japan

  1. AmanohashidateA line of pines across the sea, and the coast of Tango beyond it.Kyoto
  2. Arima OnsenTwo springs, one of gold and one of silver, in a valley behind the mountain.Hyogo
  3. HimejiThe White Heron, standing over its walls since 1609.Hyogo
  4. Ise-ShimaThe shrine of the sun goddess, and a quiet bay of pearls.Mie
  5. Kinosaki OnsenA town of seven onsen, crossed on foot in yukata and wooden geta.Hyogo
  6. KobeA port city between the mountains and the sea, open to the world since 1868.Hyogo
  7. KoyasanA town of temples in the mountains, and a path of lanterns among the cedars.Wakayama
  8. Kumano KodoThe roads that emperors walked to Kumano, taken a gentle section at a time.Wakayama
  9. KyotoA city of gardens, kept for twelve centuries by people who never stopped tending them.Kyoto
  10. Lake BiwaThe great lake beside Kyoto, with castles, temples and merchant towns along its shores.Shiga
  11. NaraThe first capital, its temples still standing in the deer park.Nara
  12. OsakaA merchant city that has always eaten well, and still does.Osaka
  13. UjiA river town of tea, and a hall built to look like paradise.Kyoto
  14. YoshinoA ridge of temples in the mountains of Nara, planted with cherry trees as offerings.Nara

journeys

Tours of Japan that include Kansai

Each journey below includes Kansai; choose one to see its route, dates and price.

questions

Kansai: questions answered

What is the Kansai region of Japan?

The region of Kyoto, Osaka and Nara in western Honshu, also called Kinki: the prefectures of Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Shiga, Wakayama and Mie.

Should you stay in Kyoto or Osaka?

In Kyoto for its temples, gardens and evenings in Gion, and in Osaka for its food and its energy. Most of our journeys give Kyoto three nights or more and Osaka two, at the end, close to Kansai International Airport.

How many days do you need in Kansai?

Five to seven: three or four in Kyoto with a day in Nara, two in Osaka, and, if there is room, two nights at Kinosaki Onsen or Koyasan.

Which Luxury Japan Travel journeys include Kansai?

The Classic Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan, The Autumn Leaves Tour of Japan, Essential Japan, Classic Japan and Definitive Japan include Kansai. The Custom Tour of Japan can include anywhere in Kansai, on your own dates.

the regions of japan

The rest of Japan

All of Japan on one map

Reading on Kansai

Kansai, planned for you.

Tell us when you would like to travel and which places in Kansai draw you. We will answer with a journey shaped around them: one of our tours, a journey of The Private Collection, or a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone.

The Custom Tour of JapanOur tours of Japan