The Best Things to Do in Kyoto
As soon as you get to Kyoto, go to the Imperial Household Agency and see if there are any spots left for touring Katsura Rikyu, arguably the most beautiful house in Japan. It’s actually easier to get in as a foreigner than as a Japanese...
Fushimi Inari Taisha on Inariyama mountain is dedicated to the Shinto gods of rice and sake, but Inari is also the god of merchants and that brings a lot of businesspeople to worship here. Everyone else stops by to see the thousands...
Kyoto’s Ryoanji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to Japan’s most famous seki-tei garden, which is simply composed of rocks and raked gravel. The garden is surrounded by high walls on three sides; the fourth side faces the...
Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion), not to be confused with Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion; both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto), is set up against the eastern mountains. Most tours go to Kinkakuji, because it’s close to Ryoanji, but the Kinkakuji...
Back in the days before burglar alarms, how did you know if strangers were in the house? Nijo-jo, with ingenious cunning right out of a ninja movie, was built with a “nightingale floor”: The smooth wooden planks of the...
Sanjusangendo is dedicated to Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. Kannon appears in many forms—as a beautiful woman, as a man, as someone with a horse’s head. In Japan, perhaps her most popular representation has her sporting 11...
Mount Hiei, at the northwest edge of Kyoto, is home to one of Japan’s largest temple complexes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Construction began in 788 C.E. by the monk Saicho, who is also credited as founder of the Tendai school of...
