Kyoto travel pictures

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A visit to historical Kyoto

The one must visit city in Japan is Kyoto because of its ancient importance. Together with Tokyo it is the most visited city in Japan. The historical character of Kyoto is well preserved and the whole area of Higashiyama is filled with old temples and houses. This area is built on a hill, so it takes some effort to walk around, but it is well worth it. One of its main sights is the Kiyomizu temple which has large grounds and a proper pagoda. From there on you can walk to other temples such as Kodaji temple, Yasaka shrine and the Chion-in temple.

Another impressive temple is the Heian shrine. Basically there are too many temples to list them all. The best way to see them in the city center is just to walk around and go temple hopping. There are several temples further out of the city center of which two are worth seeing. The first one is Kinkaju-ji which is the golden temple. This place has become the key landmark of Kyoto and its surrounding Japanese garden with a pond which reflects its colors makes this temple the prettiest of all. The other temple is the Fusjimi Inari shrine. What makes this place special are the many torii gates which are built over the paths that lead to the temple and onto the hill behind it. At some point you will have seen too many temples, but there are other places in Kyoto to see such as the Old Imperial palace and Ni-Jo castle. The imperial palace has limited opening hours so check ahead if you really want to see this.

Apart from all of its buildings there are some bits of nature to see in Kyoto. Two of them are the Philosophers path and the Bamboo trail. The Philosophers path should ideally be visited during cherry blossom season as it will be brightly colored and do most justice to its famous character. Unfortunately this lasts only for a short period of time, but during the rest of the year you still get a fair impression of how picturesque it must have looked like when it was in full color The Bamboo trail is a paved path through a bamboo forest. Especially when the wind makes the bamboo sway a little bit and the sun is shining from above between the trees this place becomes slightly mythical.

Once a year in July a large festival is being held in Kyoto which attracts many visitors and expect the city to be crowded. For day trips out of Kyoto consider the cities of Nara and Osaka, but these are rather large and probably an overnight stay there would give you more time to explore these places.

Kyoto travel photo gallery

Japanese bridge with green scenery.	Stairs leading to a Buddhist temple.	Gate of a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama.	The Japan photo gallery includes travel pictures of Kamakura, Kyoto, Mount Fuji, Nagoya, Nara, Osaka and Tokyo.
Buddhist temple.	Decorated wooden gate of a Buddhist temple.	Graveyard in Higashiyama Ku.
Traditional wooden temple.	Wooden gate of a temple.	Purification temple at a Buddhist temple.
Otani mausoleum on the hill of Higashiyama, Kyoto.	Gate of the Kiyomizudera temple.	Stairs leading to the Kiyomizudera temple.
Statue at the Kiyomizudera temple.	Kiyomizudera temple pagoda.	Buddhist gate at the Kiyomizudera temple.
Kiyomizudera temple.	Small wooden structure at the Kiyomizudera temple.	Front view of the Kiyomizudera temple.
Old streets in Higashiyama.	Higashiyama.	The roofs of wooden buildings in Higashiyama.
Yasaka pagoda.	Gate of a Buddhist temple.	Yasaka pagoda.
Wooden houses in ancient Higashiyama.	Higashiyama.	Ryozen kannon.
Japanese temple.	Small wooden Buddhist temple.	Pagoda rising above the roofs of Higashiyama.
Shoren in.	The Buddhist temple Shoren In.	Buddhist temple.
Shoren In.	Buddhist temple.	Garden of Shoren In.
Japanese bridge in Maruyama park.	Sanmon gate of the Chionin temple.	Sanmon gate.
Purification fountain of Chionin temple.	Chionin temple.	Chionin temple.
Torii gate of the Heian shrine.	Canal near Okazaki park.	Kyoto municipal museum of art.
Main gate of the Heian shrine.	Barrels for the rice wine at the Heian shrine.	Heian shrine.
Courtyard of the Heian shrine.	One of the buildings of the Heian shrine.	Entrance gate of the Heian shrine.
Heian shrine.	Wooden structure of the Heian shrine.	Torii gate of the Yoshida shrine.
Yoshida shrine.	Buddhist cards.	Yoshida shrine.
Philosopher's path.	The mythical Philosopher's path.	Water and trees along the Philosopher's path.
Gate of Honen In.	Honen In temple.	Steps of the Honen In temple.
Old Imperial palace.	Gate of the Old Imperial Palace.	Outer walls of the Old Imperial Palace.
Palace gate.	Palace in Kyoto Gyoen.	Main gate of Ni-jo castle.
Outer wall and building off Ni-jo castle.	Large street.	Busy street in downtown.
The river Kamo Gawa.	Tenryuji Buddhist temple.	Red torii gate.
Osaka central station.	Sun shining through the Bamboo forest.	Bamboo trail.
The Bamboo trail.	Classic view of the Bamboo trail.	Large torii gate on the path leading to Fusjimi Inari.
Fusjimi Inari temple.	Double row of torii gates.	Two rows of torii gates at the Fusjimi Inari temple.
Inside a row of torii gate at Fusjimi Inari.	Long row of red colored torii gates.	Temple of Fusjimi Inari.
Kinkaju-ji.	The golden temple.	Kinkaju-ji, the golden temple in Osaka.