Is kyoto tourist-y, would you say?

Question:

a few sources tell me it's crammed with tourism but does that ruin the effect of Ancient Japan, would you say?

Answer:

I would say the fact that Kyoto is a modern city ruins the effect of ancient Japan.

Look, the major Japanese cities are ALL crammed with tourists, and they're all modern. If you're looking for a city where people still live like it's the Heian era on a daily basis, you're not going to find that because it doesn't exist anymore. If you're looking for towns or parts of towns that have been preserved in their historical state, that DOES exist. But Kyoto is a modern city with modern people going about their modern lives. This includes tourists, just like everywhere else in Japan. If you don't like tourists, then go during the off season. There were almost none there in December when I went.