Kyoto Things to Do Tips by naruto

After Tokugawa Ieyasu's victory in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, he started the building of Nijo Castle as his residence in Kyoto. As the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, leader of a united Japan, Nijo Castle came to represent political and military might.

The castle is the site for many historic events in Japanese history, mostly involving Ieyasu. It was where Ieyasu met for talks with his arch-rival Hideyori Toyotomi, and where Ieyasu's descedant Tokugawa Yoshinobu announced his resolution to return his administrative power to the Imperial Household in 1867.

The castle grounds consists of the Honmaru (main compound) and the Ninomaru Palace seen in the picture on left. It also has a lovely pond on its ground.

Visit my Nijo Castle Travelogue

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Directions: From Kyoto Station take Bus 9, 50, 101 to Nijojo-mae stop. It's just right in front of the castle entrance.

Ryoan-ji is a famous temple in Kyoto because of its rock garden or "karesansui". Karesansui means dry landscape gardens.

Composed mainly of 15 rocks and white sand, it serves as a simple and subtle landscape in which many people has come to admire and to contemplate over.

It is said that the 15 stones are arrange in such a way that no matter which angle you are viewing the garden from , you can only see 14 stones. It is only when you attain spiritual enlightenment through Zen meditation, that you are able to see the 15th stone.

Besides the rock garden, Ryoan-ji has beautiful architecture and a "mirror-shaped" pond on its ground. A path leads around the pond for you to admire the various birds and waterfowls, as well as the sweeping trees along its banks.

Ryoan-ji (Temple of the Peaceful Dragon) is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Opening hours are 8am-5pm, and 8am-4:30pm during the winter.

Entrance fees:
500yen for adults and high school students
300yen for junior hight students and primary school kids.

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Phone: 075?|463?|2216
Address: Goryo-no-***a-cho, Ryoanji, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto-shi
Directions: Ryoan-ji is a 15-min walk west of Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion. Or take bus 59 to Ryoanji-mae stop.
Website: http://www.ryoanji.jp/ (in Japanese only)

This is a must-visit for any first-timers to Kyoto. Kinkakuji is noteworthy for its rather magnificent Kinkaku or Golden Pavilion in its golden splendor, and the pond on which it sits surrounds it in a very tranquil setting.

Kinkakuji's official name is actually Rokuonji. But the Golden Pavilion has given the temple the more popular name of Kinkaku-ji. It was constructed in the 12th century as a new residence for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu upon retirement. When he passed away, it was converted into a Zen temple.

The Golden Pavilion houses several sacred relics of the Buddha and is covered in real gold. The present building dates from 1955, because a fire, set by a crazy monk, destroyed the original building in 1950.

Kinkakuji is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

NOTE: You can't exactly get close enough to examine the gold on the architecture as it is cordoned off. But the Japanese being the way they are - detailed and covering all grounds - had created various points at which you will have a great photo-op with the pavilion in the background.

Visit my Kinkakuji & Ginkakuji Travelogue

Hours: 9am- 5pm. Open year round.

Entrance fees:
400 yen for general public
300 yen for primary and middle school students

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Directions: Bus 101 or 205 from Kyoto Station to Kinkakuji-michi stop. Or bus 59 or 12 at Kinkakuji-mae stop.
Website: http://www.shokoku-ji.or.jp/english/e_kinkakuji/index.html

Ginkakuji or Silver Pavilion is the more commonly known name for Jisho-ji. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site and established in 1482 by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the 8th Ashikaga Shogun and grandson to Ashikaga Yoshimitsu who built Kinkakuji - the Golden Pavilion.

While Kinkakuji was covered with gold leaf, Ginkakuji's was not covered in silver. The intention was there to do so by Yoshimasa, but he probably never got around to it. Despite the lack of pure silver covering, the architecture and well-kept grounds of Ginkakuji is extremely lovely. There are pathways that brings you deeper into the wooded areas surrounding the temple and finally up onto an observatory where you get a nice view of the temple with Kyoto city in the background.

In the picture on the left, you will see a white sand garden. This is the Ginshadan - Sea of Silver Sand. The mound in the middle is the Kogetsudai - Moon viewing Platform. The tale goes that the sea of silver sand is suppose to reflect the light of the moon, while one sits on the plaform to wait for the rising of the moon over the Higashiyama Mountains.

Ginkakuji was not initially intended to be a Zen temple, and was only converted to one after Yoshimasa's death in 1490.

Visit my Kinkakuji & Ginkakuji Travelogue

Entrance fee: 500yen
Hours: 8:30am-5pm, 9am-4:30pm (winter months)

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Phone: 075-771-5725
Address: 2 Ginkakuji-cho, Sakyou-ku, Kyoto 606-8402
Directions: From Tokyo Station, take Bus 100 to Ginkakuji-mae stop, or Bus 5 or 17 to Ginkakuji-michi stop. Or walk along the Philosopher's Walk from Nanzenji.
Other Contact: Fax: 075-771-5439

The Heian Jingu Shrine is a popular tourist photo-op and landmark in Kyoto, and was built in 1195 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto.

The shrine's brightly colored red roof is very majestic, and prominent from afar. A very high 24-meter tall Torii Gate marks the vicinity of the Heian Jingu Shrine, straddling the road leading up to the shrine.

Within its grounds is a beautiful garden behind the shrine with many weeping cherry trees. There is an entrance fee to the garden and because of this, not many people was able to have the opportunity to view the beauty of it. But less crowds is also a fortunate thing, no?

Also, near the Heian Jingu Shrine are many other tourist attractions like the Municipal Art Museum and the National Modern Art Museum, which are just now the street from it.

For hours and entrance fees (for garden only), please refer to the website listed below.

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Address: Nishi Tennocho, Okazaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, JAPAN
Directions: From JR Kyoto Station take City Bus 5 or 100 to "Kyoto Kaikan Bijitusu-kan Mae".
Stop will be announced in Japanese & English.
Website: http://www.heianjingu.or.jp/index_e.html

This temple is one of my favorite places to visit! :)

Kiyomizu Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, stands out because it is is built into a steep hillside and suspended on giant pillars. The amazing thing is that the pillars supported the main hall of the temple without having a single nail screwed and hammered in place. Many people visit the great temple because of its location and breathtaking scenery.

Kiyomizu Temple is dedicated to honoring the Juichimen Kannon (11-faced Goddess of Mercy). She is said to bring easy childbirth to expected mothers-to-be. While the original temple was built in 798 AD, the current structure dates back to 1633.

To get to Kiyomizu Temple, I had to climb the slope, Kiyomizu-zaka which leads up to it. Because the temple is such a popular attraction, that street can be very crowded and great for people watching. It is lined with shops selling goodies, confectionery and souvenirs - all very attractively packaged.
They have very special Hello Kitty Kyoto-themed goodies and dolls for those who are into collecting the feline.
(I got one of Hello Kitty dressed in a kimono for my niece :P)
Do leave some time to be able to browse and enjoy these shops.
There are also restaurants as well.

Before reaching the top and the main hall,
I passed by several shrines along the way which also deserves photo-ops.

There were some ceremony going on while I was there. A group of monks would go from hall to hall praying to the deities, and the people standing around watching, including myself, were kinda self-conscious about sneaking a photo because there were actually people part of the procession that were not praying, but were turned away from the deities in the halls and towards us, watching u with an eagle eye. Quite strange.

Entrance fee: ¥300.
Opening Hours: Daily 6am-6pm.

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Directions: Take bus 100, 202, 206 or 207 to Gojo-zaka or Kiyomizu-michi, then walk up the long slope to the top.

Jishu Jinja is a young Japanese woman's dream come true. Here, the matchmaking deity resides and the shrine bustles with students and young couples who come here wishing for good luck in love. There is also a Love Fortune-Telling Rock on the premises which is popular with the youngsters.

One just have to drop some coins in one of the booths, and their wish will come true and troubles go away.

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Directions: The Jishu Jinja is on the grounds of Kiyomizu Temple.
Website: http://www.jishujinja.or.jp/jishuHP/jishu/jishu.htm (Japanese only)

The streets leading up to Kiyomizu Temple are filled with very interesting and attractive shops seling anything from candies and confectionery, to souvenirs and intricate tableware. Besides the main street Kiyomizu-zaka that lead directly to the temple, take the time to stroll down Sannen-zaka and Ninnen-zaka which are perpendicular to it. These pedestrian streets consists of several stone pavements, lined on both sides with many old shops in turn-of-the-century buildings selling various traditional handicrafts and sweets.

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This place is AWE-some.

Sanjusangendo is one of two places that really left an impression on me in Kyoto.

The official name for the temple is Rengeo-in (Temple of the Lotus King), but it is popularly known as Sanjusangendo for its famous 1001 statues of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. The statues are housed in the main building which from the outside did not look like much except at 390 feet in length, extremely looonnnngggg.......

But wait til you get inside to view the statues.
One giant Kannon sits in the middle, flanked on each side by 500 slightly smaller statues, all of them in neat rows side by side. The smaller statues are as tall as a human.

When one enters the hall, you are struck by the silence even though there are sizable crowds inside admiring the statues. The sight must had been overwhelmingly awe-inspiring. It definitely was for me.

The front row of deities nearest to the visitors are identified individually by plagues naming them with info about them, e.g Wind God, Thunder God, etc. Very interesting history/religious lesson.

There is no photography allowed in the main hall, so the photo on the left is of one of many postcards I bought at their gift corner.

Sanjusangendo is not on the list of UNESCO World Heritage site, but it may be in the future. It is one of Kyoto's gems.

NOTE:
Sanjusangendo means the "Hall of 33 gen", 33 being an auspicious number in Buddhism. It is taught that the Goddess of Mercy will come to the aid of man in times of distress, incarnated as one of 33 different shapes on its mission of mercy.
(Gen is the length between two architectural pillars.)

Entrance Fee: 600 yen
Opening Hours: 8am-4:30pm (9am - 4:30pm in the winter months)

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Phone: 075-811-8101
Directions: From Kyoto Station, take Bus 100, 206 or 208 to Sanjusangendo-mae stop

I found this temple quite by accident, while wandering around the Maruyama Park area.

Chion-in Temple is a Jodo Shu temple, the second-largest sect of Buddhism, and quite dignified and magnificent. It consists of a number of buildings and even has national treasures within its walls - namely a portrait of Honen Shonin, founder of Jodo Shu.

Entrance to the temple is through a very grand 79 feet and 2 storey Sanmon. One of the oldest standing building is the Hondo (Main Hall) dating back from 1633.

One special feature of Chion-in Temple is the corridor leading from the Main Hall to the Assembly Hall. It is a uguisu-bari (nightingale floor), constructed in such a way that the wooden floor will "sing" (creak actually) at every footstep warning of intruders. (Nijo Castle also has this security feature).

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Directions: In vicinity of Yasaka Shrine in the Maruyama Park. Take Bus 206, 202 and 100 to the Gion stop outside Yasaka Shrine.