The capital of capitals. Cradle of culture. The city of a thousand temples. City of Emperors. The heart and soul of Japan. Alpha and Omega of the Land of the Rising Sun. Hundreds of epithets can be found about the old capital of Japan. But to put it very simply, if you’ve traveled in Japan and haven’t visited Kyoto, you haven’t been to the real Japan.
Ninaji – an oasis of peace in the heart of Kyoto
You will probably arrive in Kyoto by shinkansen bullet train. At Kyoto station I would first advise you to go to the tourist information center to pick up Kyoto maps and buy Kyoto bus and metro one-day tickets at the same time. One day bus and metro pass costs 1100 yen. Although there are several subway lines in Kyoto the most convenient way to get around is by bus.
In Kyoto every minute is precious and you will probably be staying somewhere in the center of Kyoto in a hotel, so in order to save time and to use your time effectively in this cradle of culture, I would first advise you to grab a taxi and go to the hotel to leave your things.
The first temple to visit would definitely be the beautiful Ninaji.
The stop next to the temple is called Ninaji. Buses 10, 26 and 59 go here. From central Kyoto you will most likely have to take bus number 26. The temple is on the western outskirts of Kyoto, so I would advise you to take a bus as it will take about half an hour to move.
Ninna-ji (仁和寺) was founded in 888 later reconstructed in the 17th century. Since the temple is a UNESCO heritage site it is understandable that there will definitely be something to feast your eyes on.
Ninna-ji was founded in the early Heian period. 886 Emperor Koko ordered the construction of Nishiyama Goganji Temple to bless the nation and spread the teachings of Buddhism but did not see it completed. Emperor Uda had the construction completed in 888 and named it “Ninna” after the reign of the deceased Emperor Koko. From 888 until 1869 ruling emperors traditionally sent a son to the temple, who would take over as high priest when a vacancy occurred.
After abdicating, Emperor Uda became the first Monzeki, or aristocratic priest of Ninna-ji. From that time until the end of the Edo period the temple had a succession of high priests from the imperial family.
In 1467 the temple was destroyed by fire and the fighting of the Onin war. About 150 years later it was rebuilt. The temple’s rebuilding period coincided with the rebuilding of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto so it was funded by the Emperor.
The tradition of aristocrats or persons from the imperial family serving as the head of the temple ended with the 30th Monzeki Junnin Hosshinno at the end of the Edo period.
Most of the surviving buildings were built in the 17th century including a five-story pagoda and a garden of flowering dwarf cherries called Omura cherries which grow to about 2-3 m in height.
When visiting the temple the biggest impression is the entrance to the temple where you will be greeted by beautiful pine trees. The most important object is the garden inside the temple. Sit down and just immerse yourself in the contemplation. Every detail of the garden, every tree, every herb has its place. Each patch of land is managed by Buddhist monks.
Ryoanji – the ultimate zen garden
If you visit Japan but you haven’t been to Kyoto then something is wrong with your trip. If you have visited Kyoto but you haven’t visited Ryoanji then you haven’t been to Kyoto. This temple is a must see. Necessary. It’s just necessary.
After visiting the Ninna-ji temple if you manage to catch the 10 bus you can go one stop further to the next masterpiece of japanese culture. However my recommendation would be to just walk up to Ryoan-ji. It will take 10-15 minutes to reach it on foot.
Ryoan-ji (竜安寺, Dragon Temple of Peace) is a Zen temple in northwestern Kyoto. Temple belongs to the Myoshin school a branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. Ryoan-ji garden is considered one of the best surviving examples of kare-sansui (“dry landscape”), a sophisticated type of Japanese Zen temple garden design that typically features distinctive larger rock formations set among smooth pebbles (small carefully selected polished river stones) raked into linear patterns. The temple and its gardens are included in the list of historical monuments of old Kyoto and in the UNESCO world heritage list.
In 11th century the site of the temple was the domain of the Fujiwara clan. In 1450 the land where the temple stood was purchased by another powerful warlord Hosokawa Katsumoto. He built his residence there and founded the Zen temple Ryoan-ji. During the Onin Clan War the temple was destroyed. Later in 1488 restored.
For many centuries the temple served as a mausoleum. The tombs of the emperors are grouped into the so-called seven tombs of the emperors. The burial places of the emperors – Uda, Kazan, Ichijo, Go-Suzaku, Go-Reizei, Go-Sanjo and Horikawa – are very modest. The mentioned tombs look so simple that you would never think that emperors are buried here. You can visit the graves after you exit Ryoanji Temple and walk to the right side along the pond.
The most famous object of the temple is the already mentioned stone garden. There is much controversy over who built the garden and when. However most sources date it to the 15th century. It is also disputed whether the garden was created by monks or by professional gardeners called kawaramon or a combination of the two. In one of the stones in the garden the names of two kawaramon are engraved: Hirokojiro and Kotaro.
But the definitive story based on documentary sources is this. Hosokawa Katsumoto 1450 founded the temple but the complex was burned down during the Onini War. His son Masamoto built the temple at the very end of the same century. It is not clear whether there was any garden in front of the main hall at that time. The first descriptions of the garden which clearly describe the garden in front of the main hall date from 1680-1682. It is described as a composition of nine large stones arranged to represent tiger cubs crossing water.
As the garden currently contains fifteen stones it was clearly different from the garden seen today. In 1779 the buildings were destroyed by a great fire and the wreckage of the burnt buildings was thrown in the garden.
Zen garden. Ryoan-ji Dry Garden. The clay wall painted with subtle browns and oranges over the years reflects “sabi” and the rock garden – “wabi” simultaneously reflecting the Japanese worldview or aesthetics of wabi-sabi.
The garden is a rectangle of 248 square meters measuring twenty-five meters by ten meters. It contains fifteen stones of various sizes carefully arranged in five groups: one group of five stones, two groups of three stones and two groups of two stones. The stones are surrounded by white gravel, which is carefully raked by the monks every day. The only vegetation in the garden is moss around the stones.
The garden is designed to be viewed from a seated position on the porch of the hojo the residence of the monastery’s abbot. The stones are placed in such a way that the entire composition cannot be seen from the veranda at once. They are also arranged in such a way that only fourteen stones are visible at any one time when looking at the garden from any angle (not from above). Traditionally it is said that the fifteenth boulder can only be seen after attaining enlightenment. Whenever you visit the garden there will always be a group of downed tourists trying to see the fifteenth stone. Don’t give in to the temptation but hang around without moving anywhere for ten minutes and you will definitely find a place on the terrace. Take your time. Sit back and immerse yourself in Buddhist meditation. Let time stand still. Be here and now. Perhaps you will be enlightened and see all fifteen stones at once.
Like any work of art an artistic garden is open to interpretation or exploration of possible meanings. In Japan and beyond there are many different theories about what a garden should symbolize: from islands in a stream, a family of tigers crossing a river, mountain peaks to theories about the secrets of geometry or the rules of balance of odd numbers. Garden historian Gunter Nyche wrote: “The Ryoan-ji garden does not symbolize anything, or rather, to avoid misunderstandings, the Ryoan-ji garden does not symbolize and has no value in replicating the natural beauty that can be found in the real or mythical world. I consider it an abstract composition of “natural” objects in space, a composition whose function is to encourage meditation.”
Do not be in a hurry to leave the temple grounds after you have strengthened your Zen Buddhism experience. Ryoan-temple on the other side of the stone garden is also a teahouse and tea garden dating back to the 17th century. Near the tea house is the famous stone water pool, where water for ritual purification flows constantly. This is Ryōan-ji tsukubai, which translates to “squatting”; due to the small height of the pool the user must bend down to use it thus expressing respect and humility. The kanji written on the surface of the stone pool: 五, 隹, 止, 矢, when read separately have no meaning. Although the framework of the water basin is circular, the circular surface opening itself is square (口). If each of the four kanji is read together with 口 (the square-shaped radical is pronounced kuchi, meaning “mouth” or “opening”), which the square opening is meant to represent, then the characters become 吾, 唯, 足, 知. It reads “ware, tada taru (wo) shiru”, which literally translates to “I only know sufficiency” (吾 = ware = I, 唯 tada= only, 足 = taru = enough, enough, to be sufficient, 知 = shiru = to know) or more poetically “man already has everything he needs”. Thus over the centuries tsukubai has gently reminded the many monks living in the temple daily of the vow of poverty.
Kinkakuji – famous golden pavillion
After visiting the famous stone garden return to the bus stop and wait here for bus number 59. Bus will take you to the Kinkakuji mae stop after about 10 minutes.
This is one of the most Instagrammable temples in all of Kyoto. Local Japanese do not like it very much due to its too defiant aesthetic that is not characteristic of Japan.
Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺, literally “Temple of the Golden Pavilion”) is officially called Rokuon-ji (鹿苑寺, literally “Temple of the Deer Garden”). It is one of the most popular buildings in Kyoto attracting many visitors every year. It is designated as a National Special Historic Site and is one of the 17 sites that make up the Historic Monuments of Old Kyoto, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The site of Kinkaku-ji was originally the Villa Kitayama-dai. The history of Kinkaku-ji began in 1397 when the villa was bought from the Saionji family by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and transformed into the Kinkaku-ji complex. After Yoshimiko’s death the building was converted into a Zen temple by his son based on his wishes.
During the Onin War (1467-1477) all the buildings of the complex except for the pavilion burned down.
This was not the only fire that destroyed the unique temple. In 1950 July 2 2:30 a.m. the pavilion was burned down by 22-year-old novice monk Hayashi Joken who later tried to commit suicide on the Daimon-ji hill behind the building. He survived and was later arrested. The monk was sentenced to seven years in prison but after a few years he was released due to mental illnesses including schizophrenia. However not long after the arsonist monk died of tuberculosis.
The current building of the pavilion which you will see before your eyes was built in 1955. The main pavilion has 3 floors 12.5 m high. Although it is claimed that the reconstruction is a copy close to the original,a considerable number of experts in architecture and history doubt whether such an extensive coating of gold leaf was used for the original building. In 1984 it was found that the coating of the Japanese lacquer was slightly decayed so in 1987 a new coating was completed, as well as gold leaf gilding much thicker than the original coating (0.5 µm instead of 0.1 µm).
As you can guess from the name kinkaku the name comes from the gold leaf that covers the pavilion. The gold used was meant to soften and purify any pollution or negative thoughts and feelings associated with death. In addition to the symbolic meaning of gold leaf the Muromachi period placed great emphasis on the visual senses. And indeed, when visiting the temple grounds on a clear day the golden pavilion bathed in sunlight is wonderfully reflected in the pond in front of the temple. Sometimes you even wonder where to look which temple looks more impressive.
Gion – mysterous geisha’s district in old Kyoto
After visiting both temples I would recommend getting on a bus heading towards the famous Gion quarter and the Tsurugawa river that separates Kyoto.
Gion (祇園) is a special district of Kyoto that originated in the Sengoku period as an entertainment district in front of Yasaka Temple. The area was built to meet the needs of travelers and visitors to the shrine. It eventually became one of the most exclusive and famous geisha districts in all of Japan. Today it is one of the few relics of true authentic Japan. During the war Japan burned non-stop so if you are a tourist who wants to see an authentic part of Japan Gion is a wonderful place. Something similar but on a much smaller scale can still be seen in Kanazawa as well as in the ancient village of Shirakawa which is extremely popular with tourists.
In popular culture Gion became popular with famous geishas thanks to Arthur Golden’s book Memoirs of a Geisha.
It is interesting to note that Kyoto geisha do not call themselves geisha but use the local term “geiko”. The term geisha means “artist” or “person of art” while the literal term geiko basically means “child of art”.
Although Gion has seen a significant decline in geisha over the past century the area is still famous for its preservation of traditional architectural forms and entertainment. I had to attend a geisha party for tourists in Tokyo when there were over thirty people. There is a hall in Kyoto also in the Gion district dedicated to introducing geisha arts to tourists.
Gion retains a number of old-style Japanese houses called machiya which roughly translates to “town house” some of which function as ochaya or “teahouses” where geishas entertain guests. At parties visitors are singing, enjoys traditional dancing, games and socializing. One of the funniest games is when a geisha pours sake or beer and asks you to drink by softly repeating nonde nonde nonde (drink drink drink) and then after emptying the glass of beer she smiles kindly saying oniichan ga tsuyoi (elder brother is strong, i.e. tolerates alcohol).
In the evening both geisha and maiko travel throughout the district to attend parties, classes, and various other events. So if you want to see the real geisha’s walk around the adjacent streets of Gion in early evening around 18-19.
Hanami Street (花見小路, Hanami-Koji, “Flower Viewing Street”) and its surroundings starting from Shijo Street at the north where the famous Ichiriki tei (now a restaurant) stands and extending south to the main Kennin-ji temple are the most popular destination for tourists.
By the way at the entrances of Gion you can find dressing salons called henshin studios where for a certain fee tourists are dressed as maiko or geisha allowing them to walk the streets of Gion and take pictures. However according to the laws of Kyoto these tourists must be dressed modestly so as not to be confused with geishas or maiko.
If your legs are still alive walk around the Gion district and head towards the Gion Shijo subway station. The river Kamo one of the symbols of Kyoto flows nearby. It’s a perfect romantic spot for a riverside stroll. All I suggest is to cross the bridge and immediately after crossing the Kamogawa River on the right is another fun block. There is a small stretch of the Shirakawa River with many traditional restaurants. It is an extremely popular area. It is surrounded on the south side by traditional establishments that stand right in front of the river some of which can be accessed via bridges from the north side. The north side also used to have buildings but they were demolished as a fire safety measure in World War II and this section is now mainly a pedestrianized street lined with cherry blossoms. In spring they are illuminated in the evening. If your wallet allows choose a more luxurious restaurant in this district to enjoy traditional Kyoto dishes. If you want to save money I would suggest moving further away from the river towards the depths of the city of Kyoto.
Nijo castle
When planning the itinerary for the second day my advice is to start the morning with Nijo Castle.
Anyone interested in Japanese history and culture undoubtedly dreams of seeing a real Japanese castle. If I had to recommend five castles that should be visited when the opportunity arises my ranking would be as follows. First, the beautiful Himeji Castle, the magnificent Kumamoto Castle, the castle in Matsumoto, the castle in Nagoya and the famous Nijyojo Castle in Kyoto.
Just visiting Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines drives travelers crazy after a few days so you want some kind of different experience. If you are already in Kyoto do not go to the emperor’s palace which sounds very proud but in reality you will not see anything like what you expect. There will be no emperor, no palace, no impressive objects, just a tourist sign. Instead of the palace visit Nijo Castle. It is located in the central part of Kyoto so it is easily accessible by both bus and subway, and probably walking distance from your hotel.
Nijo Castle (二条城, Nijo-jo) is a plain-type castle in Kyoto. The castle consists of two fortification rings, Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of Honmaru Palace, various outbuildings and several gardens. The area of the castle is 275,000 square meters. m (27.5 ha), of which 8,000 sq. m occupied by buildings. The area is huge therefore there are several options. I suggest you visit Ninomaru Palace and the nearby garden first. Afterwards you can walk to the ruins of the former Honmaru Palace. On the sides there are steps that when you climb up you can see the view of Kyoto.
It is one of the seventeen historical monuments of ancient Kyoto that have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
A little history about the origin of the castle. In 1601 the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu, ordered all feudal lords in western Japan to contribute to the construction of Nijo Castle which was completed in 1626 under Tokugawa Iemitsu. Some of the land from the abandoned Shinsenen Garden (originally part of the Imperial Palace in southern Kyoto) was used in the construction of the castle and its abundant water was used in the castle’s gardens and ponds. In 1625-26 parts of Fushimi Castle such as the main tower were moved here. In 1625 Nijo Castle was built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shoguns. The Tokugawa shogunate made Edo, now Tokyo, its capital but Kyoto remained the seat of the imperial court. The actual Kyoto Imperial Palace is located northeast of Nijo Castle.
Central fortress or tenshu in 1750 was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. It’s a pity but in 1788 the inner palace was destroyed by a fire that engulfed the entire city. The place remained empty until 1893. In its place residence transferred from the Kyoto Imperial Palace was built.
Ninomaru Palace remains today and is definitely worth seeing. As you walk through the long corridors you will once again be amazed by Japanese asceticism. Tatami mats, tatami mats, practically no furniture. When Europeans visits Nihonomaru they constantly wonders if this is a real palace where are the halls of mirrors, where are the sculptures, where are the halls for banquets or the walls of the palace are hung with impressionist paintings. You won’t see anything like it. But asceticism is also enchanting.
This palace also has a very important historical significance. In 1867 at Ninomaru Palace Tokugawa Yoshinobu issued a declaration returning power to the imperial court. In 1868 the emperor’s cabinet was established in the castle. The palace became the property of the emperor and was declared a separate palace. At that time the Tokugawa bramble coat of arms was removed wherever possible and replaced with the imperial chrysanthemum.
In 1939 the palace was donated to the city of Kyoto and opened to the public the following year.
Covering an area of 3,300 square meters, the Ninomaru Palace (二の丸御殿, Ninomaru Goten) consists of five separate buildings connected to each other and is almost entirely constructed of hinoki cypress. The decoration uses a lot of gold leaf and intricate wood carvings to show visitors the power and wealth of the Shoguns. The sliding doors and walls of each room are decorated with murals by artists from the Kano school.
The castle is a great example of social control manifested in architectural space. Lower-ranking visitors were received in Ninomaru’s outer rooms-halls, while high-ranking visitors were shown the more delicate inner palaces. Instead of trying to hide the entrances to the bodyguard rooms (as was done in many castles), the Tokugawas decided to highlight them. Thus, this construction was suitable for Edo period visitors to express intimidation and authority.
The building has several different reception rooms, offices, and the shogun’s living quarters which could only be occupied by women. One of the most striking features of the Ninomaru palace is the “sleeping floors” (ugusubari) in the corridors which you can hear chirping as you walk. Some rooms in the castle also had special doors through which the shogun’s bodyguard could enter and leave to protect the ruler.
The sequence of rooms, starting from the entrance, is as follows:
Yanagi-no-ma (Willow Room), Wakamatsu-no-ma (Young Pine Room), Tozamurai-no-ma (Guardians’ Room), Shikidai-no-ma (Reception Room), Rōchu-no-ma (Cabinets) , Chokushi-no-ma (Emperor’s Messenger Room), Ōhiroma (Great Hall) is the central core of Ninomaru Palace, consisting of four halls:
Ichi-no-ma (First Grand Palace), Ni-no-ma (Second Great Palace), San-no-ma (Third Great Hall), Yon-no-ma (Fourth Great Hall)
as well as Musha-kakushi-no-ma (Palace of Bodyguards) and Sotetsu-no-ma (Palace of Japanese Ferns and Palms).
At the rear are the Kuroshoin (Inner Audience Hall) and the Shiroshoin (Shogun’s Living Quarters).
The grounds of the castle include several gardens and cherry and Japanese plum groves. Ninomaru Garden was designed by landscape architect and tea master Kobori Enshū. The garden has a large pond with three islands many carefully placed stones and topiary pines. Seiryu-en Garden is the newest part of Nijo Castle. It was built in 1965. in the northern part of the complex as a place for receiving official guests of Kyoto and for cultural events. Seiryu-en has two tea houses and more than 1,000 carefully arranged stones.
Fushimi Inari – the shrine of thousands of torii gates
Inari shrine will guarantee plenty of great photos. When you arrive at Inari you feel like a melting pot of nations. It feels like half the nations of the world have gathered.
Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社) is the main shrine of Inari kami. The temple is located at the foot of a mountain also named after Inari, which is 233m above sea level, and there are paths leading up the mountain to many smaller temples. The paths winding under the mountain stretch as much as 4 km and if you decide to go around the whole mountain it will take you at least 2 hours. In reality none of the tourists walk around the entire mountain because Kyoto as I mentioned is a city of thousands of temples and it’s really not necessary to spend half a day wandering around the mountain. It will be enough if you pass where the main flow of tourists moves. You’ll still spend about an hour here.
Inari was originally and remains primarily a deity of rice and agriculture but merchants and manufacturers also worship Inari as a patron of business. Each of the roughly one thousand Fushimi Inari-taisha torii, i.e. orange gate, donated by Japanese business and ordinary people. As you walk through the torii gate, there is one place where the torii prices are listed. The Japanese Shinto religion is very practical. I can’t remember exactly now, but if you have a thousand dollars/euros to spare, you can definitely build your own torii gate on this mountain.
The deity of Inari is so popular that this shrine has as many as 32,000 sub-shrines (分社 bunsha) throughout Japan. In the early Heian period the shrine became an object of imperial patronage.
Since 1871 until 1946 Fushimi Inari Shrine was officially designated as a Kanpei-taishia (官幣大社), meaning that it stood in the first rank of government-sponsored shrines.
The first buildings were built in 711. on Inari Hill in southwest Kyoto but in 816 at the request of the monk Kukai the shrine was moved to another place. The main structure of the sanctuary was built in 1499. At the bottom of the hill is the main gate and main shrine (御本殿, go-honden). Behind them in the middle of the mountain the inner temple (奥宮, okumiya) can be reached through a path lined with thousands of torii gates. At the top of the mountain are tens of thousands of mounds (塚, tsuka) for private worship.
The highlight of the temple is the torii gate. The custom of giving torii began to spread from the Edo period (1603-1868) to make a wish come true or as a thank you for a wish fulfilled. There are about 1,000 torii gates along the main road.
Another very important highlight of Inari temples are the fox statues. Foxes (kitsune) considered messengers.
During the New Year, the shrine attracts several million pilgrims.
Spectacular Kyomizu temple a symbol of Kyoto
Kiyomizu-dera (Japanese: 清水寺) is a Buddhist temple in the eastern part of Kyoto. The temple belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kiyomizu-dera was founded in the early Heian period in 778. Its current buildings were built in 1633 by order of Tokugawa Iemitsu. There is not a single nail in the entire structure. Seeing the massive structure of the temple at the foot of the mountain it is simply incomprehensible how such a structure can be built without the use of nails. It’s just mind-boggling.
Its name comes from the waterfall inside the complex which flows from the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means clear water or pure water.
The temple is located at the foot of a mountain so if you visit in the evening when the sun begins to set all of Kyoto is bathed in evening sunlight. It gets dark very quickly in Japan so before visiting Kiyomizu don’t be lazy and check what time it gets dark. There are also giant sakura trees growing at the foot of the temple so this is one of the most impressive sights if you visit Kiyomizu in the spring.
There are several other temples in the temple complex including a small temple dedicated to the god of love. Jishu Temple has a pair of “love stones” placed 10 meters apart between which single visitors can try to walk with their eyes closed. Reaching another stone with closed eyes means that the pilgrim will find true love. It’s possible to help with the transition but that means your love will need an intermediary.
The complex also offers a variety of talismans, incense and omikuji (paper spells). The area is especially popular during the holidays (especially during the New Year and Obon in the summer) when additional stands are set up in the area selling traditional holiday foods and souvenirs to crowds of visitors.
Kiyomizu-dera is located at the foot of Mount Otowa. The main hall has a large veranda supported by tall pillars offering spectacular views of the city. During the Edo period large verandas and main halls were built in many popular places to accommodate large numbers of pilgrims.
Below the main hall is the Otova waterfall where three water channels fall into a pond. Visitors can drink the water which is believed to have wish-granting powers.
Another very beautiful tradition dating back to the Edo period is associated with this temple. There is a saying “to jump off the stage of Kiyomizu”. According to this tradition if someone survived the 13-meter jump from the stage their wish would come true. During the Edo period, 234 jumps were recorded of which 85.4% survived. In 1872 this practice was banned. I would not recommend repeating this practice.
By the time you visit Kiyomizu it will probably be evening so I would suggest a leisurely walk around the old quarters of Kyoto after going down. After a short walk you will reach the famous quarter of Gio, which you visited the previous day. So enjoy old Japan before leaving Kyoto to explore other Japanese wonders.
