A place that makes you want to question forever – Kyoto: Why I continue to be drawn to it
2025.12.16
Kyoto Station
I am currently a fourth-year student in the Faculty of Business Administration at Ryukoku University, and will soon be entering my fifth year of studying abroad in Japan. I spent the first year in Tokyo preparing for university entrance exams, and then spent the next four years living as a student in Kyoto.
Kyoto is a city that is both vast and small. It is so vast and deep that even after three years I still can't see it all, but it is also a place with a mysterious charm, where the small shrines and temples seem to draw all my thoughts.
Kyoto and I - the beginning of our relationship
In fact, I had felt a special connection to Kyoto long before I decided to study abroad in Japan.
When I was in junior high school, I was crazy about anime and was strongly drawn to the love story between Shinichi and Ran in “Detective Conan.” The “School Trip Arc” aired around that time, and I was captivated by the romantic atmosphere depicted in autumn Kyoto, particularly the setting of Kiyomizu-dera Temple, and I began to strongly wish that “I too would someday experience a scene like that world.”
Then, in the summer after I graduated from junior high school, I finally set foot in Kyoto for the first time. I also visited Kiyomizu-dera Temple, which I had longed to visit, but it was in the middle of renovation work at the time, and I couldn’t even see the roof tiles. Strangely, however, my spirit did not waver; rather, in the silence, I was able to feel the elegance of the city of Kyoto and the passage of time.
The cherry blossom trees on Sannenzaka are still there, their fresh green leaves shining in the setting sun and swaying in the breeze. At that moment, I felt as if the cherry blossom trees were gently promising me that I would definitely return to this place again.
"Why Kyoto?" - Confusion
With a lingering longing in my heart, I decided to study abroad in Japan. Like many international students, I spent my first year in Tokyo.
Tokyo was truly bustling, overflowing with light and people wherever I went. Neon lights lit up Shibuya Crossing all night, and the lights of Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district glittered ceaselessly. North of Ikebukuro’s west exit, a variety of accents were heard, the aroma of familiar cuisine wafted through the air, and the skyscrapers of Otemachi towered in the darkness like giant steel beasts sucking away the passion of the people. In the stifling atmosphere of Tokyo, exhausted from studying for entrance exams, I began to feel that if I stayed here, I might lose sight of my roots.
Before I knew it, I was counting down the days until I could head to Kyoto.
Around that time, my teachers and friends repeatedly asked me, “Why did you choose Kyoto?” Each time, I would give a different answer. “Because I want to walk around Kiyomizu-dera Temple in the autumn foliage season,” “Because Kyoto has a deep culture,” “Because the university I want to study at is in Kyoto” — all of these were true, but I felt like none of them were really the core of the matter.
Even though I was heading towards my destination, Kyoto, the shape of my destination was still a fog. But there was one thing I was sure of: “I feel like in Kyoto I can rediscover my roots.” In this quiet, deep city where time flows gently, I felt like I’d finally found a place where I could feel like “it’s okay to be here.”
That’s why I came to Kyoto.
