As the former capital of Japan, Kyoto is full of historical sites and UNESCO world heritages. I took the Shinkansen train from Tokyo, and after exactly 2 hours and 13 minutes, I arrived as scheduled in Kyoto.
Kyoto and its historical sites were definitely among my highlights in Japan.
Kyoto is famous for its old town, so walking around is strongly recommended. For all Starbucks lovers: It’s the first Starbucks in a traditional Japanese house called a machiya. But I also walked around and tested local sweets; it was worth it!
Samurai & Ninja Museum
On the day of my arrival, I accidentally saw that Kyoto has a “Samurai & Ninja” Museum. And, to be honest, I was not expecting much, but I was totally surprised. During a 90-minute tour, the guide described the story behind Samuarais and Ninjas. He did it in a very entertaining and engaging way. Besides, the story is also fascinating. So, if you ever have the chance, you should do something similar. After the tour, I had the opportunity to throw ninja stars and wear a Samurai uniform. All in all, it was a very entertaining 2-hours tour.
For one day, I took a tour called the Unesco Heritage Tour. During the 8-hour tour, all the essential ascent places of Kyoto were visited. Only the Emperor’s Palace was missing; since it was closed during my time, I could not see the palace’s inside.
Kiyomizudera Temple
The first stop was the Kiyomizudera Temple. The temple’s wooden stage is undoubtedly what the temple is most famous for, offering an outstanding panoramic view of Kyoto rising out of a sea of maples.
Bamboo Forest & Tenryuji Temple
Kyoto is very famous for its bamboo forest. Unfortunately, as it’s “for free,” you must handle hundreds of people walking the same way. It was almost impossible to walk around without getting stabbed or pushed by someone else. Nevertheless, it’s pretty nice…
Next to this forest is the Tenryuji temple, which has an entry. It is the head temple of the Tenryū-ji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. Nice temple a nice area, but not worth coming here just for that temple… The bamboo forest made the trip worth…
Kinkakuji Temple
Kinkaku-ji, officially named Rokuon-ji, is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the most famous buildings in Kyoto because of the Golden Pavilion in the middle of the park. The Golden Pavilion (金閣, Kinkaku) is a three-story building with two stories wholly covered with gold. 200kg gold have been used to create that precious building.
Sanju-san-gen-do
Actually, the Sanju-san-gen-do was impressive, but unfortunately, it was not allowed to take pictures. Sanju-san-gen-do is most famous for its massively long hondō (main hall) dating from 1266, and the collection of sculptures it houses, including 1001 standing Thousand-armed Kannon, 28 standing attendants, a statue of Fūjin, and a statue of Raijin. Please have a look here if you want to find out more.
Fushimi Inari Taisha Sembon Torii
The tour’s last stop was a collection of more than 1000 tori gates. As you also have no entrance fee, it’s quite crowded again. Walking through all the gates would take a whole day, and it might get less crowded. But during the tour, we only walked the first ones, and it took a lot of work to get a picture with fewer people in it…
All in all, Kyoto was amazing to see. After four days, I took the train to my next destination: Osaka.
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