"Old Kyoto Town" a Kyoto Travel Page by Ramonq

The old section of Kyoto around the Gion area, is the stereotypical Japan of your travel dreams. Geishas, wooden houses, samurais, castles, pagodas and kimonos are more commonly sighted here, much like Xitang or Pingyao, its Chinese equivalent.

It is so easy to reminisce about the old Japan in Kyoto by walking around Gion, and imagining yourself transported into the Tokugawa period when Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world. Kyoto prides itself as a traditionalist city where the ancient Japanese culture is cultivated and celebrated. Around this city, you'd see young women proudly wearing their elegant kimonos, daintily clip-clopping around the old town and ignoring the trendy Western fashions worn by their city slicker cousins. You'd even see big sumo wrestlers sporting their traditional hairstyle and wearing yukatas on their way to the gym. They're not wearing these costumes just for tourists, but for their own aspirations in assuming the quintessential Japanese identity. In fact, Kyoto is the place to see the fabled geisha girls, the ultra-feminine traditional entertainers whose enamouring practice dates back from earlier times. To see them walking against the backdrop of cramped traditional wooden houses or next to a Shinto shrine, is magical, to say the least. This vision is something I rarely saw in fast-paced Tokyo, and my visit to Kyoto is one that I cherished most about Japan. In the old heart of Kyoto, everything appears so genteel wrapped in fine manners.

Temples and shrines abound in Kyoto. Most Western tourists confuse Buddhist temples from Shinto shrines. Buddhism was imported from China through Korea and they follow the examples lead by the Buddha. The rituals performed by His devotees inside the temples are similar to those I saw in X'ian, Singapore, Rangoon, or Seoul. Inside Buddhist temples, one would normally see a large statue of Buddha inside a hallowed chamber assuming various meditative positions. Shintoism on the other hand, is a home grown religion in Japan which is more animistic that believes in the integration of man with nature. Like mosques, there are no statues inside a Shinto shrine. Yet both religions have a penchant for asking the Gods to grant wishes, through rituals, prayers and gifts. Even in cut-throat consumerist modern Japan, the spiritual realm is not entirely forgotten, in fact they have combined Buddhism and Shintoism rituals to suit their spiritual needs, like sushi inside a bento!

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Nijo Castle Shinto Shrine

Traditional Kyoto

Kyoto was spared by the Americans from bombardment during WW2 because it would be a pity to leave such a beautiful and historic city into ruins. It is for this reason that Kyoto has all of its historic heritage buildings remaining intact. The neighbourhoods with the traditional wooden houses along narrow lanes are still kept in pristine condition. Most importantly, the Nijo Castle and the ancient Shinto shrines like the Kennin-ji Shrine are original. Kyoto is Japan's spiritual heartland and these Shinto shrines have a special connection with the Japanese people. Kyoto was established around the 8th century because the spiritual founders wanted to flee from the encroaching Buddhist influence flowing in from China such as calligraphy, architecture, religion and daily customs (use of chopsticks). The patriots wanted to retain the quintessential Shinto beliefs that is unique in Japan, so they built Shinto monasteries and shrines in this once remote inland village, formerly called Uda. Being the centre for Shintoism in Japan, the nationalistic shoguns therefore renamed it Kyoto, which means "capital city", and made the Shinto enclave as the capital of Japan for many centuries. The Shogunate ruled from Nijo Castle and the loyal samurais guarded Japan with great ferocity maintaining the archipelago isolated from foreign influence. It was only in 1868 during the Meiji period, when the capital was moved to Tokyo through the influence of well-connected warlords.

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Ryozen Kanon Buddhist Temple

Modern Kyoto

Cross the JR line from Gion across the Kamogawa River and you'll find yourself in a thoroughly modern city. Not as frantically busy as Tokyo,, Kyoto does have a lot of shops especially the expensive variety. Their Metro system is also very extensive transporting large amount of people across the city, from a quiet forest Zen park to the mad rush of the Kyoto Central Business district. Although new Kyoto is not as insane as Shinjuku or Shibuya in Tokyo, but as you walk around Shijo-dori street you can see that this city is an important player in the modern Japanese economy. If you look out from a high rise buildings, you will see a sea of multi-storey buildings spread across the territory. The old and the new Japan co-exist in Kyoto. This is a must-visit place in Japan because it tells the story of this proud and interesting land.