The .kyoto Domain: A City Ending That Checks Your Address
.kyoto was recorded in the root zone on 8 January 2015 under an ICANN registry agreement dated 7 November 2014, and the operator is Kyoto Jyoho Gakuen, a higher education institution based in the city. The ending is a geographic extension for Kyoto city and prefecture in Japan. The nTLDstats page accessed on 12 August 2026 shows 1,058 registrations, of which 958 sit in the zone file.
Local businesses, craft workshops, accommodation and tourism services, cultural institutions and universities all use the name. What sets this zone apart is that the geographic tie is genuinely enforced. Try candidates through a .kyoto domain search, and compare the .koeln page, which imposes no connection requirement at all.
This is one of the rare endings that does not merely evoke a place but requires a tie to it. The registry's nexus policy obliges every registrant to supply a valid physical address in Kyoto prefecture at the time of registration; without one the registration is refused. Enforcement continues after that: the registry runs random spot checks and investigates third-party complaints, and where the requirement is not met the name goes on hold for thirty days and may be deleted if nothing is corrected. One door stays open for applicants without a Kyoto address but with a legitimate purpose: those who can demonstrate a positive economic contribution to the city, or who obtain the endorsement of the Kyoto Prefectural Government or the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce, may apply to the registry directly. Settle your address position before choosing this ending.
.KYOTO Domain at a Glance
- Sponsoring organisation Kyoto Jyoho Gakuen (academic institution)
- ICANN registry agreement 7 November 2014
- Root zone record 8 January 2015
- Geographic requirement Yes; a Kyoto prefecture address at registration
- Registered domains 1,058 (nTLDstats, 12 August 2026)
- Present in the zone file 958 names, about 91%
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .kyoto domain
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.kyoto Domain Prices — No Surprise Fees
Registration, transfer and renewal fees are listed separately. The renewal price can differ from the first-year price, so you see both up front.
-
New Registration
$84.90 /year -
Transfer
$84.99 /year -
Renewal
$93.49 /year -
Restore
$276.29 -
Late Renewal
$18.70
Included With Every .kyoto Domain
-
Free DNS management
Change A, MX, TXT and CNAME records yourself from the panel — no waiting on anyone when you move a site or mailbox.
-
Domain lock
While the lock is on, nobody can move your domain to another registrar without your approval.
-
Domain forwarding
Point the domain at your existing site, a campaign page or a social profile — at no extra cost.
.kyoto Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: your .kyoto domain is put on Client Hold on its expiry date, so the site and e-mail stop that same day. You can still renew during the first 20 days, but from this point a late renewal fee is added on top of the renewal price. On day 20 the registration is deleted and until day 50 only a paid restore brings it back. Nothing at all can be done in the 5 days that follow, and on day 55 the name is open to anyone. There is exactly one way never to enter this chain: keep auto-renewal on.
Domain Is Available (Available)
A .kyoto address at this stage has not been taken yet, and it goes to whoever registers first. Check the name you have in mind — if it is free, it can be yours within minutes.
Domain Is Active (Active Period)
Once registration is complete, the domain is registered to you for the term you selected. You can renew at any point before it expires to keep it active, or switch on auto-renewal so you never have to watch the date.
Renewal Window (Client Hold)
On its expiry date your .kyoto domain is put on Client Hold: the site and e-mail go down that day, but the registration is still yours. A single renewal within these first 20 days brings everything back exactly as it was — nothing is lost. The only difference is that a $18.70 late renewal fee is now added to the renewal price; renewing before the expiry date avoids that fee entirely.
Redemption Period (Redemption / RGP)
On day 20 the registration is deleted and the 30-day redemption period that ICANN requires of every gTLD registry begins. The name is not released to anyone during this time; only you can take it back, by paying the restore fee, until day 50. That fee is far higher than a renewal — renewing on time is always the cheaper route.
Pending Delete (Pending Delete)
Once the redemption window closes too, the domain enters its final 5 days and there is no way back. Neither renewal nor restore works here; nobody — your registrar included — can return the name to you. The registry uses this window as the last hold before the name goes back into the pool.
Open to Anyone Again (Released)
On day 55 the name .kyoto returns to the pool and anyone can register it. Sought-after names are often gone within seconds, and there is no guaranteed way to get one back. Yet staying out of this timeline is entirely in your hands: leave auto-renewal on and the expiry date will never catch you off guard.
The timeline above is the schedule Atak Domain applies and publishes. The ICANN chart you will find elsewhere shows a renewal window of up to 45 days after expiry; ICANN's policy on expired registrations (section 2.2.1) lets registrars delete an expired domain at any time, provided they disclose their policy in advance. We apply that window as 20 days and publish it here in plain sight. Full text of the policy: ICANN Expired Registration Recovery Policy
.kyoto Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.kyoto Domain Registration
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .kyoto domain
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.kyoto Domain Support
- IDN Support Yes
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support Yes
Frequently Asked Questions About .kyoto Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
-
Yes. The registry requires a valid physical address in Kyoto prefecture at the time of registration.
Where no such address is supplied, the registration is refused outright. Among geographic endings that is strict practice: many city extensions impose no comparable condition. If you have no address there, consider the exception route below or choose an ending that asks for no connection at all.
-
Yes, applicants with a legitimate purpose may approach the registry directly.
The policy names three accepted grounds: demonstrating a positive economic contribution to the city, obtaining the endorsement of the Kyoto Prefectural Government, or presenting the endorsement of the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce or another economic association present in the city. Because this is an exception, assessment can take longer than an ordinary registration, so plan your timeline around it.
-
It is. The registry runs random spot checks and investigates complaints from third parties.
Where the requirement is not met, the name first goes on hold for thirty days and the sponsoring registrar is notified. That period gives you a chance to correct the information; if nothing comes back, the name may be deleted. So update your registration details promptly whenever your business address changes, and review the current record through whois search.
-
Reading size on its own is misleading; the published share is the better indicator.
Of 1,058 registrations, 958 sit in the zone file according to the nTLDstats page accessed on 12 August 2026, roughly 91 percent. Almost every registered name is therefore genuinely live, which shows the address requirement keeps parked holdings out of the zone. The practical consequence: short descriptive stems remain available and competition is low.
-
Yes. The zone follows the standard gTLD transfer rules.
When planning the move, think about the eligibility side as well: your contact record at the receiving registrar must carry the Kyoto address correctly, or a later check may raise a problem. Once you have lifted the lock and obtained the authorisation code, start the process from the domain transfer page.
Ready to Claim Your .kyoto Domain?
Type a name and see in seconds whether it is free on .kyoto. If it is taken, we list close alternatives right away.
Get Help for .kyoto Domain Registration
Need help registering a .kyoto domain? Our team is ready to assist.