Kyoto has become a top tourist destination for well-heeled Westerners as the former capital's popularity continues to rise.
Voted the world's best city to visit by readers of Travel+Leisure magazine for the second year in a row, wealthy travelers are flocking there in record numbers, staying at luxury hotels and spending their cash on some of the world's finest cuisine.
In 2014, 55.64 million tourists visited Kyoto, city records show. The 1.83 million foreigners as well as tourist expenditures of ¥762.6 billion were both record highs.