Just on the edge of town in Kyoto is Arashiyama. The touristy prefecture is famous for cherry blossoms in spring and brilliant orange maples in the fall. The timing wasn’t right for either but no matter. We were there for the monkeys.
The last day of my 2007 trip to Japan we visited the city of Nara just to the south of Kyoto. Nara is famous for two things: Todai-ji and the many tame deer that roam the city.
You may be thinking, “Fushimi Inari whaaa?” but I can assure you that you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you’re ever in Kyoto, definitely visit Fushimi. If you’ve ever in Fushimi definitely skip the sparrow. You’ll thank me on both counts.
During a visit to Kyoto in 2007 I had the chance to tour the Imperial Palace. These grounds were where the emperor lived until the government moved to Tokyo in the late 19th century. (See photos of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo here.)
After a long day of meetings we slipped off to visit Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion. It is, perhaps, one of the most iconic places in Kyoto and one that I’d seen numerous great photos of in the past.
Perhaps you thought I was kidding when I said there was a temple or shrine every 500 feet on the Philosopher’s Walk? Check out this sign post for proof! We continued our stroll visiting most of the shrines along the way.
I spent another week in Japan in early August. the first morning we were in Kyoto we wandered the Philosopher’s Walk, a mile long path on the eastern side of the city. The trail skirts the hills and has a shrine or temple nearly every 500 feet.
One easy way to pack in some sight seeing on a short trip is to make sure and visit things at night. Big attractions are often well-lit and offer some interesting photo opportunities. I put this tactic to good use by visiting the Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto at night.
While in Kyoto I was also able to stop by and see Nijo Castle (Nijojo). It was built in the early 1600’s by Tokugawa Ieyasu. While the name probably isn’t familiar, his story certainly is: the novel (and later mini-series) Shogun.
On a recent trip to Japan I visited Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto, a Buddhist temples first built in 798 and reconstructed in 1633. The temple offered fantastic views of the city of Kyoto and plenty of photo ops.
