Out of the 72 major cities outside of Tokyo, Kyoto secured the first spot as the city with the greatest strengths for the second consecutive year, thanks to its allure as a tourism destination, a Tokyo-based study revealed.
Kyoto is located in the greater region of Kansai, forming the Keihanshin metropolitan area together with Osaka and Kobe. To date, Kyoto is considered the cultural capital of Japan and a major tourist destination, with a number landmark locations such as Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kiyomizu-dera, Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji, and the Katsura Imperial Villa, as well as the top-notch Kyoto University.
Kyoto Hailed as “Best City” Outside of Tokyo
According to the study released by the Mori Memorial Foundation’s Institute for Urban Development, the top three cities were unchanged from the previous year, with Fukuoka and Osaka taking second and third place, respectively, as shared in a report by the Japan Times.
The study analyzed each city’s characteristics and gave a score based on six criteria: economy and business, research and development, cultural interaction, daily life and livability, environment, and accessibility. The report also ranked Tokyo’s 23 wards using the same criteria.
Japan’s former capital also secured the No. 1 spot in the cultural interaction category, which includes the level of friendliness toward foreign travelers, as it scored highly on the preparation of tourist information centers and hospitals offering multilingual support, as well as the number of luxury hotels.
Of note, Kyoto also scored highest in the research and development category, which factors in the number of top colleges, submissions of research papers and the presence of global specialist firms.
Meanwhile, Fukuoka and Osaka ran each other close, as both scored highly on economy and business, as well as accessibility. Osaka topped both categories but ranked at the bottom for the environment and second-worst for daily life and livability.
Kyoto is one of the places in the country which has retained its historical and traditional roots in contrast to Tokyo, which has become a technological hub and a standard for modern-day living across the world.
Kyoto has around 1,680 temples and 812 beautiful shrines, which makes the city an attractive tourist destination in the country, and given its rural setting, many locals and foreign nationals find it an excellent place to live or retire in. Plus, it’s also not as congested as other major cities in the country.
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