Introduction
This is a personal guide to Kyoto and the surrounding areas was originally written by a frequent visitor to Japan for SIGCOMM 2007. Please visit the official conference site for registration, accommodation and transportation information provided by the organizers. This guide has 5 sections, click on the 5 headers above the picture to jump directly to the appropriate page. Most of the pictures were taken by myself during various trips to Japan, you can see larger versions by clicking on the images themselves.
Getting There
The closest international airport to Kyoto is (KIX). You could also use NAGOYA (NGO) and of course Tokyo’s NARITA (NRT) or Haneda (HND) airports. Tokyo is about 2.5 hours from Kyoto by Shinkansen (“bullet train”) and Nagoya is about 40 minutes away. (Assuming you take the fast Nozomi train).
In each case you will want to make your way to Kyoto railway station and from there take the Karasuma Line subway to the last stop KOKUSAI KAIKAN which is right in front of the conference venue and nearby conference hotel. (Cost: 260 yen). Here is a map of Kyoto with the train lines marked:
Of these, you only really need to worry about the logical North-South Karasuma line which gets you to and from Kyoto Station to the venue.
Notice also that the above map has all the major sight-seeing points listed. I recommend using the Karasuma line to get to a station near to your selected attraction, and then either walk or take a taxi from there. For example, suppose you want to see the famous “Golden Pavilion,” Kinkakuji, pictured above. You'll notice that it is relatively close to Kitaoji station. (It took about 5 minutes by taxi last time I tried).
The Venue and Hotel
Yes, this is the conference center where the famous “Kyoto Agreement” was signed. There used to be a sign near the front door announcing this fact, but it has been removed for some reason... The Kyoto International Conference Center is located out in the countryside, near a lake and lots of greenery.
The lake/park has a trail which you can get to by walking down the main road for about 500 meters, it's not officially possible to get to it directly from the conference center. (Involves some fence and hedge climbing, ask me sometime :-)
The hotel, The Prince Kyoto Takaragaike, Autograph Collection, is nearly, but not-quite, donut-shaped,
It is located directly across the road from the conference venue, has a couple of restaurants, a bar and a gift shop, but after a few days you'll probably want to head into Kyoto proper for dinner.
