Kyoto formerly known in the West as Meaco) is a city located in the central part of the island of Honshu, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan for more than one thousand years, it is now the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture located in the Kansai region, as well as a major part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area. Kyoto is also known as the City of Ten Thousand Shrines.

In Japanese, the city has been called Kyō, Miyako, or Kyō no Miyako . In the 11th century, the city was renamed Kyoto ("capital city"), after the Chinese word for capital city, jingdu  . After the city of Edo was renamed Tokyo (meaning "Eastern Capital") in 1868, Kyoto was known for a short time as Saikyō  

An obsolete spelling for the city's name is Kioto; it was formerly known to the West as Meaco  Another term commonly used to refer to the city in the pre-modern period was Keishi, meaning "metropolis" or "capital".

Country Japan

Region Kansai

Prefecture Kyoto Prefecture

Government

 • Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa

Area

 • Total 827.90 km2 (319.65 sq mi)

Population (December 1, 2014)

 • Total 1,469,604

 • Density 1,800/km2 (4,600/sq mi)

Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

- Tree Weeping Willow, Japanese Maple and Katsura

- Flower Camellia, Azalea and Sugar Cherry