京都 Kyoto - Historic and Cultural Center
Kyoto was supposed to be our first destination when landing in Japan. We eventually arrived there only after being in Tokyo for a couple of days which turned out to be good, as the extreme modernity of Tokyo emphasised the traditional vibe of Kyoto. Formerly the Imperial capital of Japan and residence of the Emperor for more than one thousand years, the ancient city is also famous to be a cultural center known as the City of Ten Thousand Shrines.
And indeed, with its quiet Buddhist temples and colorful Shinto shrines, as well as impressive palaces and beautiful landscaped gardens, Kyōto is one of the best preserved cities in Japan.
Over the centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires, but due to its historic value and cultural center, the city was dropped from the list of target cities for the atomic bomb thanks to the intervention of Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson.
There are so many historic and cultural places to see in Kyoto that you could easily spend a month there and still have plenty of wonders to visit for a next trip. So if you have only a short time to enjoy the wonderful ancient city, you should definitely go for the following:
- Sanjūsangen-dō Buddhist temple, famous for its 1,000 life-size statues of the Thousand Armed Kannon.
- Kyōto-gosho (Kyōto Imperial palace), the former ruling palace of the Emperor of Japan. If you are there, don't miss the magnificent Imperial Palace Park!
- Buddhist temple of Daitoku-ji, which host a collection of Zen temples and peaceful japanese gardens.
- Nijō Castle, which was built as the Kyōto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns.
- Fushimi-Inari-taisha shrine and its endless number of vermillion torii.
- Nanzen-ji, a Zen Buddhist temple, and the Hōjō gardens. - Kyōto International Manga Museum hosts a collection of about 300,000 manga, the famous japanese comic book and is well worth a visit if you also want to enjoy a more modern Kyōto. - Nishijin textile center, to which I will dedicate soon a post of its own
During our few days in Kyoto, we stayed at a Ryokan close to the Kyoto Station. It was a really convenient spot for wandering around, but Kyoto, even restricted to the old part of the city, is pretty big and unfortunately the JRpass was not accepted in most of the bus lines. So we walked quite a lot, which allowed us to fully discover the Kyoto but also left us exhausted.
If you are staying in the Kyoto station area, there is an amazing view over the city that you will enjoy both during daytime and at night!
