Located in the southern part of the area, Kyoto city is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Kyoto covers an area of 827.83 square kilometers and has 11 districts. As of October 2019, the city has a population of 1.47 million and a population density of 1778.4 (sq. mi.), making it the eighth-largest city in Japan.

Kyoto is considered as one of the cultural and educational capitals in Japan. There are 37 universities in the city. It is also ranked in the first place with the highest proportion between the number of universities and students (per million people) among other metropolises in Japan.

Historically, Kyoto had been the capital of Japan. In 794, Kyoto was chosen as the new seat of Japan's imperial court by Emperor Kanmu. The Emperors of Japan ruled from Kyoto in the following eleven centuries until 1869, when the court relocated to Tokyo. Years of history have made Kyoto a city rich in historical sites and the center of traditional Japanese culture. Traditional festivals like Aoi Matsuri and Gion Matsuri have taken place in Kyoto for over thousand years. In 1994, UNESCO listed 17 locations in Kyoto as a World Heritage Site. Kyoto as the heart of the traditional Japanese culture has become a famous tourist destination, the city has attracted more than 50 million tourists from local and abroad per year.

The original city was arranged in accordance with traditional Feng Shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capital of Changan and Luoyang. Heian-kyō was about 5.2 kilometers north to south and 4.5 kilometers east to west. Dai Dairi where the emperor lived was located directly north of Heian-kyō centered on Suzaku Road, and the city was divided into two symmetrical parts, Ukyō (also known as "Changan") and Sakyō (also known as "Luoyang"). Heian-kyō was a large-scale and traditionally well-planned city in East Asia.

Kyoto City was free from the damage of World War II. Shrines, temples, monuments, and streets were mostly preserved. Religion, aristocracy, samurai, and civilians' culture and historical festivals have attracted a large number of foreign tourists. The city of Kyoto has been designated as the international culture city by the Japanese government under the law of ”International Culture and Tourist City Law”.