Home of Japanese emperors for 12 centuries, Kyoto is still the country’s reservoir of tradition, but its heritage of grace and mystery, dating from its formation as the imperial capital in 794, is overgrown with the sprawl of a modern 21st-century kingdom. The business district, south of Kyoto’s Imperial Palace, is now surrounded by modern neighborhoods that reflect little of the city’s venerable treasures.

Kyoto’s TV and movie industry, Japan’s largest, is busy cranking out scores of samurai flicks at Toei Uzumasa Eigamura, a cultural theme park of mock monuments and streets. The Kyoto International Manga Museum, the world’s largest collection of these distinctively modern Japanese comic books, features over 300,000 volumes to date. Nintendo, Kyocera, Murata Machinery and other firms have made Kyoto their headquarters. While Kyoto’s artisans still turn out handmade crafts and clothing, particularly kimonos, the manufacture of traditional goods has declined. A rash of high-rise developments began to intrude upon Kyoto’s traditional cityscape starting in the mid-1990s. Kyoto’s vast new train station represents the cutting edge of these ongoing, ultra-modern, Western-style developments. Now Japan’s second-largest rail hub, Kyoto Station encompasses its own shopping mall, movie theater and hotel, all under one 15-story glass and steel atrium.

Fortunately the old palaces, shrines and shogun-era neighborhoods are still in place, too. The “inner Japan” of Buddhist pagodas, imperial castles, shogun strongholds, geisha teahouses and samurai streets is what sweeps so many visitors west of flashy Tokyo. Electronics, manufacturing, research and textiles are leading industries here, but tourism tops the list, employing two of every three workers, who in turn serve close to 50 million visitors annually. Fourteen of the 17 World Heritage sites, collectively designated as the “Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto” by UNESCO in 1994, are within Kyoto’s precincts.

Thus, the main problem many travelers face is how to reach the innumerable treasures scattered across the rapidly changing face of Kyoto. The key is selecting the appropriate form of transportation. Kyoto’s two subway lines are the quickest way to get to downtown sights, including museums devoted to the history of the city, manga comic books and even kaleidoscopes. Central Kyoto also offers Nishik Market (a cook’s paradise), Pontocho (a pedestrian avenue of bars and teahouses), the renowned Gion district of traditional wooden shops and the splendid Kyoto Imperial Palace and Park — not to mention a series of magnificent temples, villas and shrines, including the incomparable Zen complex of Daitoku-ji. One-day subway passes are priced at about $6. Worth considering are the Kyoto Sightseeing Card and map (one-day pass about $12, two-day about $20) for unlimited subway and city bus travel.

The bus system is a must for reaching many of the key attractions lying beyond walking distance of the subway stations, particularly in the northwest precincts. The buses depart from Kyoto Station; the fare is about $2, announcements and electronic signs are in English, and a handy flyer called Bus Navi outlines the bus lines to most attractions. The Raku Bus, specifically geared to foreigners headed for prime attractions, leaves from platform D2 at Kyoto Station (about $2 per ride) and is covered by the Kyoto Sightseeing Card. For temple-touring beyond city center, especially in the Higashiyama districts, the Keihan train line and the Keifuku tram lines are the way to go, and both can be reached from subway or bus stations. To pinpoint the sights you want to see and plan an efficient itinerary, check out Japan National Tourism Organization’s self-guided “Kyoto Walks” pamphlet which maps out sites, bus numbers and walking routes.

A more adventurous way to immerse yourself in downtown Kyoto is by bicycling the backstreets and alleyways. The Kyoto Cycling Tour Project (tel 81 75 354 3636) near Kyoto Station rents mountain bikes with helmets and bilingual maps for $10–20 per day. Guided cycling tours can be booked in advance.

Most hotels can simplify the transportation issue with guided tour packages. Among smaller, more intimate private tour companies catering to English-speaking travelers are Johnnie’s Kyoto Walking and Lonely Planet guidebook author Chris Rowthorn’s Walks and Tours of Kyoto. Both bring you close-up exposure to Kyoto’s cultural facets.

No matter how you get around old Kyoto, don’t neglect the new city’s shopping and entertainment outlets. Stroll the fabled Gion district after dark, then finish up with a saké salute, perhaps atop the Kyoto Hotel Okura for a meditative view of the lights that festoon the ancient capital.

The best news for travelers is that Kyoto’s city government, with an eye to preserving the city’s increasingly strangled historic sights, recently passed strict restrictions on building heights, banned rooftop advertising, curbed the proliferation of flashing neon signs and severely restricted auto traffic along downtown’s most clogged avenue, Shijo-dori. The city has also set out to restore its traditional wooden houses, known as machiya, converting them into restaurants, shops and inns. Outwardly, Kyoto may stun visitors with its plethora of parking lots, pachinko parlors and aluminum-coated apartment complexes, but the temple gates, castle walls and shop houses still preserve the essence of inner Japan.

Diversions

Kyoto is a clockwork of stunning sights, starting with the 13-stone, endlessly enigmatic temple garden at Ryoan-ji (13 Goryonoshita-cho, Ukyo-ku, tel 81 75 463 2216), the touchstone of Zen Buddhism in Japan. This koan made visible, transcendent in its simplicity, is situated in northwest Kyoto within walking distance of the Golden Temple, Kinkaku-ji (1 Kinkakuji-cho, Kita-ku, tel 81 75 461 0013), which ranks second only to Mt. Fuji in the pantheon of Japanese emblems. Bordering a reflecting pool, this shogun’s three-story pavilion is leafed in blazing gold. Also in the northwest hills is Kyoto’s most popular castle, Nijo-jo (541 Nijojo-cho, Nakagyo-ku, tel 81 75 841 0096), a ninja’s delight, complete with squeaking “nightingale” floors to detect intruders and secret doors and passageways for guards.

Hardly less adorned with ancient wonders, central Kyoto contains the sweeping grounds of the Kyoto Imperial Palace and Park (3 Kyoto Gyoen, Kamigyo-ku, tel 81 75 211 6348), the 24 timeless temples of the Zen Buddhist Daitoku-ji (53 Daitokuji-cho, Kita-ku, tel 81 75 491 0019), the serene Zen retreat of Tofuku-ji (778 Honmachi 15-chome, Higashiyama-ku, tel 81 75 561 0087) and the running arcade of red torii gates on the mountain path to the Fushimi-Inari Shinto shrines (68 Yabunouchi-cho, Fushimi-ku, tel 81 75 641 7331).

There are scores more of these knock-out temples, castles and villas, but once you’re “templed-out” and darkness falls, you can wander the narrow lanes of Pontocho or the former pleasure precinct of Gion, both charming districts where geishas haunt the teahouses. To fathom the deeper currents of Kyoto’s magic, however, wait for sunrise and follow the flowery Path of Philosophy, Tetsugaku-no-Michi, emerging at Kyoto’s Silver Pavilion, Ginkaku-ji (2 Ginkakuji-cho, Sakyo-ku, tel 81 75 771 5725), located far opposite the Golden Temple on Kyoto’s sublime compass.

Info to Go

The nearest international airport is Kansai International Airport (KIX) in Osaka, where the Haruka Limited

Express train ($30, 75 minutes) and the airport limousine bus ($24, 90–135 minutes) provide transfers to Kyoto. The nearest domestic airport is Osaka International Itami Airport (ITM), where the limousine bus ($14, 55 minutes) is the quickest link. The Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo ($150, 2.5 hours) also serves Kyoto. Visit www.city.kyoto.jp.

Lodging

Hyatt Regency Kyoto

Considered the best in town by many business travelers, this former emperor’s residence boasts regal rooms and splendid concierge services. 644-2 Sanjusangendo-mawari, Higashiyama-ku, tel 81 75 541 1234, $$$$

Kyoto Hotel Okura

Downtown’s tallest hotel tower has the view, along with plush rooms, smiling service and direct access to the subway system. Kawaramachi-Oike, Nakagyo-ku, tel 81 75 211 5111, $$$$

Westin Miyako Kyoto

Business travelers give this lavish hilltop hotel high marks for its view, garden grounds, fitness facilities and recently upgraded rooms. Sanjo, Keage, Higashiyama-ku, tel 81 75 771 7111, $$$–$$$$

Dining

Ganko Takasegawa Nijoen

Savor Kyoto’s best, from sushi to kaiseki, delivered with grace at a reasonable price in this 400-year-old garden mansion. 484-6, Hagsashi Namasu-cho, Kiyamachi-dori, Nakagyo-ku, tel 81 75 223 3456, $$$

Misogigawa

A traditional teahouse is the serene setting for fusion cuisine featuring the very pricey French/Japanese creations of Chef Teruo Inoue. Sanjo-sagaru, Pontocho-dori, Nakagyo-ku, tel 81 75 221 2270,$$$$

Yoshikawa

Tempura tops the menu at this intimate café where you can watch the chef from the counter or retire to a tatami mat room with beguiling garden views. Tominokouji-dori, Oike-sagaru, Nakagyo-ku, tel 81 75 221 5544 $$–$$$