Kyoto
828 km²
San Francisco
121 km²
Japan
USA
Area Comparison
Kyoto is 6.8x larger than San Francisco
Population Comparison
Kyoto has 1.7x more people than San Francisco
Kyoto is significantly larger, covering 6.8 times the area of San Francisco. Kyoto spans 828 km² (320 mi²) while San Francisco covers 121 km² (47 mi²) — a difference of 707 km². You could fit San Francisco inside Kyoto approximately 6 times.
To put Kyoto's size in perspective, its area of 828 km² is roughly the same size as New York City. Meanwhile, San Francisco at 121 km² is about 1.2x the size of Paris (city proper).
Kyoto's footprint is roughly about 116,000 American football fields, 14 times the area of Manhattan, or 8 times the area of Paris — pick whichever unit feels intuitive. San Francisco, by comparison, equals about 17,000 American football fields, 60 times the area of Monaco, or 35 times the area of Central Park.
Kyoto, officially Kyoto City , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. As of 2020, the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it the ninth-most populous city in Japan. More than half (56.8%) of Kyoto Prefecture's population resides in the city. The city is the cultural anchor of the substantially larger Greater Kyoto, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 3.8 million people.
Known as "Thousand-Year Capital", Kyoto covers 828 km² with a population of 1.5 million. The city was established in 794. Kyoto is known for Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavilion, Gion geisha district, among other attractions.
More than half of Kyoto Prefecture's entire population lives within Kyoto City itself.
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the fourth-most populous city in California and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with a population of 826,079 in 2025. Among U.S. cities with a population of 300,000 or more, San Francisco is ranked first by per capita income, second by population density, and sixth by aggregate income as of 2023.
Also known as "The City by the Bay", San Francisco has an area of 121 km² and is home to 0.9 million people. The city dates back to 1776. Visitors come for Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, Cable cars, and much more. Getting around is easy with the BART & Muni.
San Francisco ranks first by per capita income among all US cities with 300,000+ residents as of 2023.
Kyoto has a population density of 1,763 people per km² — a relatively spread-out city. San Francisco, with 7,190 people per km², is a densely populated city. San Francisco is dramatically more crowded, with 4.1x the population density.
Size Ratio
San Francisco fits inside Kyoto ~6 times
Density Gap
San Francisco is 4.1x more densely populated
History
Kyoto is ~982 years older
Kyoto covers 828 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Santiago (838 km²), New York (783 km²), Berlin (892 km²), Hamburg (755 km²), or Bangalore (741 km²).
San Francisco covers 121 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Vancouver (115 km²), Paris (105 km²), Miami (143 km²), Barcelona (101 km²), or Lisbon (100 km²).
The straight-line distance from Kyoto to San Francisco is 8,601 km (5,345 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~10h 37m.
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