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74-492: Minato City Board of Education operates public elementary and junior high schools. Kaigan 1- chōme is zoned to Onarimon Elementary School (御成門小学校) and Onarimon Junior High School (御成門中学校). Kaigan 2-chōme is zoned to Shiba Elementary School (芝小学校) and Mita Junior High School ( 港区立三田中学校 ). 1-3, 14-19, and 22-30-ban of Kaigan 3-chōme are zoned to Shibahama Elementary School (芝浜小学校) while 4-13, 20-21, and 31-33-ban of 3-chōme are zoned to Shibaura Elementary School (芝浦小学校). All of 3-chōme

148-787: A Kintetsu line, and a municipal subway line. The Keihan Electric Railway , the Hankyu Railway , and other rail networks also offer frequent services within the city and to other cities and suburbs in the Kinki region. Although Kyoto does not have its own commercial airport, the limited express Haruka operated by JR West carries passengers from Kansai International Airport to Kyōto Station in 73 minutes. The Kyoto Railway Museum in Shimogyō-ku , operated by JR West, displays many steam, diesel, and electric locomotives used in Japan between

222-526: A World Heritage Site by UNESCO . Prominent landmarks include the Kyoto Imperial Palace , Kiyomizu-dera , Kinkaku-ji , Ginkaku-ji , and Kyoto Tower . The internationally renowned video game company Nintendo is based in Kyoto. Kyoto is also a center of higher learning in the country, and its institutions include Kyoto University , the second-oldest university in Japan. In Japanese, Kyoto

296-548: A major industry of Kyoto; Kyoto's kimono weavers are particularly renowned, and the city remains the premier center of kimono manufacturing. Sake brewing is another prominent traditional industry in Kyoto, and the headquarters of major sake brewers Gekkeikan and Takara Holdings are found in Kyoto. Other notable businesses headquartered in Kyoto include Aiful , Ishida , Nissen Holdings , Gyoza no Ohsho , Sagawa Express , Volks , and Wacoal . As of 1 May 2023, there were 154 municipal public elementary schools in Kyoto, with

370-401: A name. Unlike in other nations, named roads are not used in addresses but merely for logistic purposes; excepting in the above-mentioned Kyoto system. Kyoto Kyoto ( / ˈ k j oʊ t oʊ / ; Japanese : 京都 , Kyōto [kʲoꜜːto] ), officially Kyoto City ( 京都市 , Kyōto-shi , [kʲoːtoꜜɕi] ) , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in

444-709: A number of navigable rivers and canals in Kyoto. In contemporary Kyoto, however, waterways are no longer commonly used for transportation of passengers or goods, other than for limited sightseeing purposes such as excursion boats on the Hozu River and cormorant fishing boats on the Ōi River . Although ravaged by wars, fires, and earthquakes during its eleven centuries as the imperial capital, Kyoto suffered only minor damage in World War II . Kyoto remains Japan's cultural center. About 20% of Japan's National Treasures and 14% of Important Cultural Properties exist in

518-496: A significant number of one-way roads without sidewalks. Cycling is a common form of personal transportation in the city, although there are few areas set aside for bicycle parking and bicycles parked in restricted areas are impounded. Kyoto has fewer toll-highways than other Japanese cities of comparable size. There are nine national highways in the city of Kyoto: Route 1 , Route 8 , Route 9 , Route 24 , Route 162 , Route 171 , Route 367 , Route 477 , and Route 478 . The city

592-490: A total of 55,736 pupils. At the secondary level, there were 66 municipal public junior high schools with 27,046 students and 11 municipal public senior high schools with 5,117 students. Home to 40 institutions of higher education , Kyoto is one of the academic centers in Japan. Kyoto University is ranked highly among all universities nationwide, with eight Nobel laureates and two Prime Ministers of Japan among its alumni. The Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences and

666-479: Is "7-2" in both Japanese and roman, though the Japanese (literally Marunouchi 2-Chōme 7-2 ) is partly reversed to "7-2, Marunouchi 2-Chōme" in roman if chōme is separate. Similarly, if the chōme is included, these also form a unit, so in this example the string is 2-7-2 in both Japanese and Western alphabet. As mentioned above, there are certain areas of Japan that use somewhat unusual address systems. Sometimes

740-461: Is also part of the even larger Keihanshin metropolitan area , along with Osaka and Kobe . Kyoto is one of the oldest municipalities in Japan, having been chosen in 794 as the new seat of Japan's imperial court by Emperor Kanmu . The original city, named Heian-kyō , was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese feng shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang . The emperors of Japan ruled from Kyoto in

814-492: Is an east–west cross street). The street address may alternatively be given as 烏丸通七条下ル (with street ( 通 , dōri ) inserted), indicating clearly that the address is on Karasuma street. However, the system is flexible and allows for various alternatives, such as: For less well known buildings, the official address is often given after the informal one, as in the address for the Shinatora Ramen restaurant: As

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888-681: Is common to form them into a string separated by hyphens or the possessive suffix の ( no ), resulting in Asakusa 4-5-10 or Asakusa 4の5の10. This renders the two styles indistinguishable, but since each municipality adopts one style or the other, there is no risk of ambiguity. The apartment number may also be appended, resulting in 4-5-10-103. Street names are seldom used in postal addresses (except in Kyoto and some Hokkaidō cities such as Sapporo ). Banchi blocks often have an irregular shape, as banchi numbers were assigned by order of registration in

962-666: Is connected with other parts of Japan by the Meishin Expressway , which has two interchanges in the city: Kyoto-higashi Interchange (Kyoto East) in Yamashina-ku and Kyoto-minami Interchange  [ ja ] (Kyoto South) in Fushimi-ku. The Kyoto Jūkan Expressway connects the city to the northern regions of Kyoto Prefecture. The Second Keihan Highway is another bypass to Osaka. Traditionally, trade and haulage took place by waterway, and there continue to be

1036-422: Is dwindling and wells across the area are drying at an increasing rate. Kyoto has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cfa ), featuring a marked seasonal variation in temperature and precipitation. Summers are hot and humid, but winters are relatively cold with occasional snowfall. Kyoto's rainy season begins around the middle of June and lasts until the end of July, yielding to a hot and sunny latter half of

1110-491: Is easily understood. For example, 京都市 Kyōto-shi is abbreviated to 京、 Kyō– and 下京区 Shimogyō-ku is abbreviated to 下、 Shimo– . Combining these (and dropping okurigana ), one may abbreviate the address of Kyoto Tower to: Sapporo's system, though official, differs in structure from regular Japanese addresses. The city-center is divided into quadrants by two intersecting roads, Kita-Ichijo and Soseigawa; blocks are then named based on their distance from this point, and farther from

1184-498: Is located to the south of the Kyoto Imperial Palace . In the center of the city, there are several covered shopping arcades only open to pedestrian traffic, such as Teramachi Street and Shinkyōgoku Street . The original city was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese feng shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an / Luoyang . The Imperial Palace faced south, resulting in Ukyō (the right sector of

1258-449: Is the name of the city district; and 7-2 is the city block and building number. In practice it is common for the chōme to be prefixed, as in Japanese, resulting in the somewhat shorter: While almost all elements of the address are reversed when written in rōmaji , connected strings of numbers are treated as units and not reversed. Firstly, the "city block and building number" is a unit, and its digits are not reversed – in this example it

1332-535: Is zoned to Konan Junior High School (港南中学校). This Tokyo location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ch%C5%8Dme The Japanese addressing system is used to identify a specific location in Japan . When written in Japanese characters , addresses start with the largest geographical entity and proceed to the most specific one. The Japanese system is complex and idiosyncratic ,

1406-596: The iroha ordering (イ・ロ・ハ・ニ ... ) instead of numbers for blocks. These are called bu (部). For example, the address of the Kagaya Hotel in Nanao is: Some cities, including parts of Nagaoka, Niigata , use jikkan (甲・乙・丙 ... ) prefixed to the block number to indicate traditional divisions. These function similarly to chōme and are treated as such in addresses. For example, Yoita police station in Nagaoka has

1480-606: The Associated Kyoto Program runs a study-abroad academic program with a focus on cultural, language, and historical learning in and around the Kansai metropolitan area. Kyoto is served by rail transportation systems operated by several different companies and organizations. The city's main gateway terminal, Kyōto Station , connects the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train line with five JR West lines,

1554-635: The Hakodate Main Line or large roads to mark the new numbering. For example, far in the outskirts is the Sapporo Tachibana Hospital, at: Building 12 on block 3 of a chōme measuring 11 jō north and 2 chōme west of where the Hakodate Main Line meets Tarukawa Street. Or Toyohira Ward office, at: Building 1 on block 1 of a chōme measuring 6 jō south and 10 chōme east of where a small street meets

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1628-479: The Kansai region of Japan 's largest and most populous island of Honshu . As of 2020 , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it the ninth-most populous city in Japan. More than half (56.8%) of Kyoto Prefecture's population resides in the city. The city is the cultural anchor of the substantially larger Greater Kyoto , a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 3.8 million people. It

1702-463: The Kyōto Station complex. Kyoto became a city designated by government ordinance on September 1, 1956. In 1994, 17 historic monuments in Kyoto were inscribed on the list as UNESCO World Heritage Sites . In 1997, Kyoto hosted the conference that resulted in the protocol on greenhouse gas emissions ( United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ). Kyoto is located in a valley, part of

1776-731: The Toyohira River . The direction is understood based on the quadrant of the city the jō is considered to be in, which may be off from the actual direction to the city center, depending on the landmark used. Far-flung and less crowded parts of the city may instead use a standard chō name, rather than a numbered jō , such as Makomanai . Many areas of Ōita Prefecture including the cities of Ōita and Usuki commonly use an unofficial parallel system known as "administrative wards" ( 行政区 , gyōseiku ) or "neighbourhood council names" ( 自治会名 , jichikaimei ) . While outwardly similar, these addresses end in kumi (組) or ku (区): As

1850-644: The Uji River to the south, the Katsura River to the west, and the Kamo River to the east. Kyoto City takes up 17.9% of the land in Kyoto Prefecture and has a total area of 827.9 square kilometers (319.7 sq mi). Kyoto sits atop a large natural water table that provides the city with ample freshwater wells. Due to large-scale urbanization, the amount of rain draining into the table

1924-581: The Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics , both part of the university, have been affiliated with influential mathematicians and physicists. Private universities such as Doshisha University and Ritsumeikan University are also located in the city. The Consortium of Universities in Kyoto is a Kyoto-based higher education network consisting of three national universities, three public (prefectural and municipal) universities, 45 private universities, five other organizations, and representatives from

1998-449: The chō divisions are very small, numerous, and there is often more than one chō with the same name within a single ward, making the system extremely confusing. As a result, most residents of Kyoto use an unofficial system based instead on street names, a form of vernacular geography . This system is, however, recognized by the post office and by government agencies. For added precision, the street-based address can be given, followed by

2072-480: The municipality . For a large municipality this is the city ( shi , 市). Cities that have a large enough population (greater than 500,000 residents) and are regarded as such by order of the Cabinet of Japan are called designated cities , and are subdivided into wards ( ku , 区), where in the prefecture of Tokyo , 23 of them are designated as the special ward ( 特別区 , tokubetsu-ku ) with added authority to

2146-526: The 1880s and the present. The Tokaidō Shinkansen , operated by JR Central , provides high-speed rail service linking Kyoto with Nagoya , Yokohama , and Tokyo to the east and with nearby Osaka to the west. Beyond Osaka, many trains boarding at Kyoto continue on the San'yō Shinkansen route managed by JR West, providing access to cities including Kobe , Okayama , Hiroshima , Kitakyushu , and Fukuoka . The trip from Tokyo to Kyoto takes around 2.5 hours, and

2220-795: The Transportation Bureau and Kintetsu jointly operate through services which continue to Kintetsu Nara Station in Nara , the capital city of Nara Prefecture . The Tōzai Line runs from the southeastern area of the city towards the center, then east to west ( tōzai in Japanese) through the Kyoto downtown area where trains run beneath the east–west streets of Sanjō Street , Oike Street , and Oshikōji Street  [ ja ] . The Keihan Keishin Line has been integrated into this line, and thus Keihan provides through services to Hamaōtsu in

2294-515: The Yamashiro (or Kyoto) Basin, in the eastern part of the mountainous region known as the Tamba highlands. The Yamashiro Basin is surrounded on three sides by mountains known as Higashiyama, Kitayama and Nishiyama, with a maximum height of approximately 1,000 meters (3,281 ft) above sea level . This interior positioning results in hot summers and cold winters. There are three rivers in the basin,

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2368-503: The actual cardinal names of kita (north), minami (south), nishi (west), and higashi (east). The directional names for jō extend for about 7 kilometers to the north–south along the main Soseigawa Dori, but only about 3 kilometers at the most to the east and west; outside of that area, jō have other names, though the starting point of each is still the corner in the direction of the city center, often using landmarks such as

2442-400: The address also is written in Japanese to ensure correct delivery. Japanese addresses begin with the largest division of the country, the prefecture . Most of these are called ken (県), but there are also three other special prefecture designations: to (都) for Tokyo , dō (道) for Hokkaidō and fu (府) for the two urban prefectures of Osaka and Kyoto . Following the prefecture is

2516-411: The address is north ( 上ル , agaru , "above") , south ( 下ル , sagaru , "below") , east ( 東入ル , higashi-iru , "enter east") , or west ( 西入ル , nishi-iru , "enter west") of the intersection. More precisely, the two streets of the intersection are not treated symmetrically: one names the street that the address is on, then gives a nearby cross street, and then specifies the address relative to

2590-508: The address: The current addressing system was established after World War II as a slight modification of the scheme used since the Meiji era . For historical reasons, names quite frequently conflict. It is typical in Hokkaidō where many place names are identical to those found in the rest of Japan, for example Shin-Hiroshima (literally new Hiroshima) to Hiroshima, largely as the result of

2664-525: The area of Kyoto began as early as the Paleolithic period, although not much published material is retained about human activity in the region before the 6th century, around which time the Shimogamo Shrine is believed to have been established. During the 8th century, when powerful Buddhist clergy became involved in the affairs of the imperial government, Emperor Kanmu chose to relocate

2738-743: The capital in order to distance it from the clerical establishment in Nara . His last choice for the site was the village of Uda, in the Kadono district of Yamashiro Province . The new city, Heian-kyō ( 平安京 , "tranquility and peace capital") , modeled after Chinese Tang dynasty capital Chang'an , became the seat of Japan's imperial court in 794, beginning the Heian period of Japanese history . Although military rulers established their governments either in Kyoto ( Muromachi shogunate ) or in other cities such as Kamakura ( Kamakura shogunate ) and Edo ( Tokugawa shogunate ), Kyoto remained Japan's capital until

2812-408: The capital) being on the west, while Sakyō (the left sector) is on the east. The streets in the modern-day wards of Kamigyō-ku, Nakagyō-ku, and Shimogyō-ku still follow a grid pattern. Areas outside of the city center do not follow the same grid pattern, though streets throughout Kyoto are referred to by name, a practice that is rare in most regions of Japan. Kyoto was the largest city in Japan until

2886-429: The chō and land number. Sometimes multiple houses share a given land number, in which case the name (either just family name, or full name of resident) must also be specified; this name is generally displayed in front of the house on a hyōsatsu ( 表札 , name plate ) , often decoratively presented, as are house numbers in other countries. The system works by naming the intersection of two streets and then indicating if

2960-421: The city center, multiple blocks are included in each. The east–west distance is indicated by chōme (a slightly unorthodox usage of chōme ), while the north–south distance is indicated by jō , which has been incorporated into the chō name. The address to Sapporo JR Tower is: This address indicates that it is the fifth building on a block located on 5 jō north and 2 chōme west of the center, named with

3034-423: The city district name and block number, and detailed block maps of the immediate area are sometimes posted near bus stops and train stations in larger cities. In addition to the address itself, all locations in Japan have a postal code . After the reform of 1998, this begins with a three-digit number, a hyphen, and a four-digit number, for example 123-4567. A postal mark , 〒, may precede the code to indicate that

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3108-417: The city for defense and as firebreaks, and numerous buildings burned. The city has not seen such widespread destruction since. In the late 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi reconstructed the city by building new streets to double the number of north–south streets in central Kyoto, creating rectangle blocks superseding ancient square blocks. Toyotomi also built earthwork walls called odoi ( 御土居 ) encircling

3182-458: The city government announced that a record number of tourists had visited Kyoto. As a result of a sharp decline in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic , the mayor acknowledged in 2021 "the possibility of bankruptcy in the next decade" and announced job cuts in the administration and cuts in social assistance, including reductions in funding for home care. Traditional Japanese crafts are also

3256-484: The city government. The Consortium does not offer degrees, but allows students of member universities to take courses at other member universities. In addition to Japanese universities and colleges, educational institutions from other countries operate programs in the city. The Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies (KCJS) is a group of 14 American universities that runs overseas academic programs in Japanese language and cultural studies for university students. Similarly,

3330-476: The city, which showed the rebels' dissatisfaction towards the Tokugawa Shogunate. At the start of the Meiji period , the emperor's move from Kyoto to Tokyo in 1869 weakened the economy of Kyoto. The modern city of Kyoto was formed on April 1, 1889. The construction of Lake Biwa Canal in 1890 was one measure taken to revive the city. The population of the city exceeded one million in 1932. There

3404-609: The city. Teramachi Street in central Kyoto is a Buddhist temple quarter where Toyotomi gathered temples in the city. In 1603, the Tokugawa Shogunate was established at Edo (present-day Tokyo), marking the beginning of the Edo period . Nevertheless, Kyoto flourished as one of three major cities in Japan , the others being Osaka and Edo. At the end of the period, the Hamaguri rebellion of 1864 burned down 28,000 houses in

3478-401: The country in population decrease for two consecutive years. However, the population of the city rises during standard working hours, and Kyoto ranks seventh in Japan in terms of daytime population . Approximately 55% of the total population of Kyoto Prefecture is concentrated in the city of Kyoto, which is the highest ratio among the prefectures of Japan. The city of Kyoto is governed by

3552-608: The creation of new administrative districts and a number of municipal mergers that took place between the 1920s and the 1970s, the contemporary city of Kyoto is divided into eleven wards ( 区 , ku ) . The central wards, located to the west of the Kamo River, are small and densely populated. The city hall is located in Nakagyō-ku , and the Kyoto prefectural offices are located in present-day Kamigyō-ku . Kyoto contains roughly 2,000 temples and shrines. The main business district

3626-537: The cross street. What this means is that a building can have more than one address depending on which cross street intersection is chosen. For instance, the address of Kyoto Tower is listed on their website as: Following the postcode, this contains the city and ward, followed by the unofficial address, a space, and then the official address: This address means "south of the intersection of Karasuma and Shichijō streets" – more precisely, "on Karasuma, below (south of) Shichijō" (Karasuma runs north–south, while Shichijō

3700-598: The differing system has been incorporated into the official system, as in Sapporo , while in Kyoto the system is completely different from, but used alongside the official system. Kyoto and Sapporo have addresses based on their streets being laid out in a grid plan , unlike most Japanese cities. Although the official national addressing system is in use in Kyoto – in Chiban style, with ward ( 区 , ku ) , district ( 丁目 , chōme ) , and land number ( 番地 , banchi ) ,

3774-793: The following eleven centuries until 1869. It was the scene of several key events of the Muromachi period , Sengoku period , and the Boshin War , such as the Ōnin War , the Honnō-ji Incident , the Kinmon incident , and the Battle of Toba–Fushimi . The capital was relocated from Kyoto to Tokyo after the Meiji Restoration . The modern municipality of Kyoto was established in 1889. The city

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3848-528: The initial part of the address is familiar, it is often abbreviated – for example, Kyōto-fu, Kyōto-shi ( 京都府京都市 , "Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City") can be abbreviated to Kyōto-shi ( 京都市 , "Kyoto City") , as in the Kyoto Tower listing. More informally, particularly on return addresses for in-town mail, the city and ward can be abbreviated to the initial character, with a dot or comma to indicate abbreviation – there are only 11 wards of Kyoto , so this

3922-448: The late 16th century, when its population was surpassed by those of Osaka and Edo . Before World War II, Kyoto vied with Kobe and Nagoya to rank as the fourth- or fifth-largest city in Japan. Having avoided most wartime destruction, it was again the third-largest city in 1947. By 1960 it had fallen to fifth again, and by 1990 it had fallen to seventh. As of January 2022 , it was the ninth-largest city in Japan by population and had led

3996-641: The mayor of Kyoto and the Kyoto City Assembly, a municipal council . The legislative city assembly has 67 elected members, and terms are four years in length. As of 2024, the assembly is controlled by a coalition of members affiliated with the Liberal Democratic Party , Komeito , and the Democratic Civic Forum. Between the founding of the modern city and 1898, the governor of Kyoto Prefecture also acted as

4070-534: The mayor of the city of Kyoto. From 1898 through the Second World War, mayors were nominated by the Kyoto City Assembly and appointed by the Minister of Home Affairs . Since 1947, mayors of Kyoto have been chosen by direct election to four-year terms. As of 2024, there have been ten mayors elected using this system. While some mayors have resigned or died in office, no mayor has lost a reelection bid in

4144-436: The mayors. For smaller municipalities, the address includes the district ( gun , 郡) followed by the town ( chō or machi , 町) or village ( mura or son , 村). In Japan, a city is separate from districts, which contain towns and villages. For addressing purposes, municipalities may be divided into chō or machi (two different readings of the character 町, depending on the particular case) and/or aza (字). Despite using

4218-727: The names indicate, these derive from traditional neighbourhood councils. While they continue to be used locally (e.g. school and electoral districts) and may be accepted for mail delivery, they are not considered official addresses, and individual buildings in each kumi will also have a standard ōaza-banchi address. For example, Usuki City Hall, while within Suzaki 4-chome 1-kumi, has the formal address of Usuki 72–1, which may be prepended with ōaza  [ ja ] for clarity: Some cities in Ishikawa Prefecture , including Kanazawa and Nanao , sometimes use katakana in

4292-612: The neighboring city of Ōtsu , the capital of Shiga Prefecture . Within the city of Kyoto, the Tōzai Line also connects to the Keihan lines at Yamashina Station , Misasagi Station , and Sanjō Keihan Station , and to the Keifuku Electric Railroad at the terminal of Uzumasa Tenjingawa Station . Kyoto's municipal bus network is extensive. Private carriers also operate within the city. Many tourists join commuters on

4366-503: The number following is a postal code. In Japanese, the address is written in order from largest unit to smallest, with the addressee's name last of all. For example, the address of the Tokyo Central Post Office is or The order is reversed when writing in rōmaji . The format recommended by Japan Post is: In this address, Tokyo is the prefecture; Chiyoda-ku is one of the special wards; Marunouchi 2-Chome

4440-520: The older system, meaning that especially in older areas of the city they will not run in a linear order. For this reason, when giving directions to a location, people will often offer cross streets, visual landmarks and subway stations, such as "at Chūō-dori and Matsuya-dori across the street from Matsuya and Ginza station" for a store in Tokyo. Many businesses feature maps on their literature and business cards. Signs attached to utility poles often specify

4514-928: The postwar period. In the 2024 Kyoto mayoral election , independent candidate Koji Matsui was elected for the first time, supported by the Liberal Democratic Party , Komeito , the Constitutional Democratic Party , and the Democratic Party for the People . Information technology and electronics are key industries in Kyoto. The city is home to the headquarters of Nintendo , Intelligent Systems , SCREEN Holdings , Tose , Hatena , Omron , Kyocera , Shimadzu , Rohm , Horiba , Nidec Corporation , Nichicon , Nissin Electric , and GS Yuasa . Domestic and international tourism contributes significantly to Kyoto's economy. In 2014,

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4588-494: The product of the natural growth of urban areas, as opposed to the systems used in cities that are laid out as grids and divided into quadrants or districts. When written in Latin characters , addresses follow the convention used by most Western addresses and start with the smallest geographic entity (typically a house number) and proceed to the largest. However, even when translated using Latin characters, Japan Post requires that

4662-595: The public buses, or take tour buses. Kyoto's buses have announcements in English and electronic signs with stops written in the Latin alphabet. Buses operating on routes within the city, the region, and the nation stop at Kyōto Station . In addition to Kyōto Station, bus transfer is available at the intersection of Shijō Kawaramachi , Sanjō Keihan Station , and the intersection of Karasuma Kitaōji near Kitaōji Station . Because many older streets in Kyoto are narrow, there are

4736-601: The same character as town, the machi here is purely a unit of address, not administration; likewise, there are also ku address divisions that are not administrative special wards. There are two common schemes: However, exceptions abound, and the line between the schemes is often blurry as there are no clear delimiters for machi , aza , etc. There are also some municipalities like Ryūgasaki, Ibaraki which do not use any subdivisions. Below this level, two styles of addressing are possible. In both styles, since all address elements from chōme down are numeric, in casual use it

4810-473: The summer. Kyoto, like most of the Pacific coast and central areas of Japan, is prone to typhoons during the summer and autumn. In the 1870s, the city was divided into a northern ward (Kamigyō-ku) and a southern ward (Shimogyō-ku), each working as individual administrative divisions of Kyoto Prefecture. The modern municipality was created by the unification of these wards into the city of Kyoto in 1889. Due to

4884-414: The systematic group emigration projects since the late 19th century to Hokkaidō; people from villages across mainland Japan dreamt to become wealthy farmers. Historians note that there is also a significant similarity between place names in Kansai region and those in northern Kyūshū . See Japanese place names for more. Named roads ( 通り , tōri, dōri) are roads or sections deemed noteworthy and given

4958-675: The terminal of Kokusaikaikan Station and Takeda Station , and takes its name from the fact that trains run beneath Karasuma Street between Kitaōji Station in Kita-ku and Jūjō Station in Minami-ku. The Karasuma Line connects to the Hankyu Kyoto Main Line at the intersection of Shijō Karasuma in Kyoto's central business district and to JR lines and the Kyoto Kintetsu Line at Kyōto Station. In addition,

5032-609: The transfer of the imperial court to Tokyo in 1869 at the time of the Imperial Restoration . In the Sengoku period , the city suffered extensive destruction in the Ōnin War of 1467–1477, and did not really recover until the mid-16th century. During the war, battles between samurai factions spilled into the streets, and came to involve court nobility ( kuge ) and religious factions as well. Nobles' mansions were transformed into fortresses, deep trenches dug throughout

5106-752: The trip from Hakata Station in Fukuoka to Kyoto takes just over three hours by the fastest train service Nozomi . All Shinkansen trains stop at Kyōto Station, including Hikari and Kodama trains. The Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau operates the Kyoto Municipal Subway consisting of two lines: the Karasuma Line and the Tōzai Line . The two lines are linked at Karasuma Oike Station near Kyoto's central business district. The Karasuma Line runs primarily north to south between

5180-472: Was largely spared from conventional bombing as well, although small-scale air raids did result in casualties. During the occupation, the U.S. Sixth Army and I Corps were headquartered in Kyoto. As a result, Kyoto is one of the few Japanese cities that still have an abundance of prewar buildings, such as the traditional townhouses known as machiya . However, modernization is continually breaking down traditional Kyoto in favor of newer architecture, such as

5254-447: Was moved to the city of Edo and that city was renamed " Tōkyō " ( 東京 , meaning "eastern capital"), Kyoto was briefly known as "Saikyō" ( 西京 , meaning "western capital"). As the capital of Japan from 794 to 1868, Kyoto is sometimes called the thousand-year capital ( 千年の都 ). Historically, foreign spellings for the city's name have included Kioto and Miaco or Meaco . Ample archeological evidence suggests human settlement in

5328-452: Was previously called Kyō ( 京 ), Miyako ( 都 ), Kyō no Miyako ( 京の都 ), and Keishi ( 京師 ) . After becoming the capital of Japan at the start of the Heian period (794–1185), the city was often referred to as Heian-kyō ( 平安京 , "Heian capital"), and late in the Heian period the city came to be widely referred to simply as "Kyōto" ( 京都 , "capital city"). After the seat of the emperor

5402-553: Was some consideration by the United States of targeting Kyoto with an atomic bomb at the end of World War II because of the possibility that the city's importance was great enough that its loss might persuade Japan to surrender. In the end, at the insistence of Henry L. Stimson , Secretary of War in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, the city was removed from the list of targets and replaced by Nagasaki . The city

5476-447: Was spared from large-scale destruction during World War II and, as a result, its prewar cultural heritage has mostly been preserved. Kyoto is considered the cultural capital of Japan and is a major tourist destination. The agency for cultural affairs of the national government is headquartered in the city. It is home to numerous Buddhist temples , Shinto shrines , palaces and gardens, some of which have been designated collectively as

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