A friend of mine called Kyoto AFT- "Another Fuckin' Temple" Beautiful city, but high traffic tourist spots near the train station are a crush. To get actual serenity you need to trek further. Even then, once you've seen 4-5 temples back-to-back, their majesty starts to weaken as your feet ache.
SoraNews24Kyoto is officially more popular than ever, so why don't visitors want to return?