An international metropolis with around 1,5 million citizens. Many foreigners live in the city, many as students, but there is also a large, more permanent community of gaijins that carries spouse visas. Considering what the city has to offer in way of culture, history, and nature, it's not really surprising. Kyoto has its share of the popular concrete bunker architecture for sure, but there are still some old quarters left, like Gion and Pontocho, and a lot of beautiful, famous gardens, shrines, and temples, some of them included in the world heritage list, and many more designated as national treasures. At the same time as Kyoto has an international atmosphere, it is also very traditional. A contradiction it might seem, but it works, just as the Japanese themselves.

Kyoto is located in a basin, surrounded on three sides by mountains, and the only natural direction of expansion is towards south, in the direction of Osaka and Nara. In the surrounding mountains live monkeys, wild pigs and bears. In the city yakuza, geishas, and foreigners. Tourism is a big industry, even bigger than english lessons.

The winters can be bloody cold. Most houses don't have any insulation and small fissures here and there seems to be the standard building procedur.The houses are built for summer is the usual explanation, and summers in Kyoto can be pretty hot and humid. If you don't take care, clothes, floppy discs, and video tapes are soon covered in mould. During the hottest days you can barely walk from one wending machine to the next. There are lots of wending machins in Kyoto.