Kyoto became the capital of Japan in the 8th century, and remained the capital for over 1000 years. With many temples and historic sights, I took 3 days to explore a few of the highlights. Being only 30 minutes away by express train and 15 minutes by Shinkansen, Kyoto is a great day trip option from Osaka.
Tenryu-ji : This temple is located in the western part of Kyoto, a bit out of the way from the other attractions. Situated on a train line in Arashiyama and followed by a short walk, only the skies could stop me from today's itinerary.
There is an admission charge for the garden out back. The rocks have been beautifully-manicured into various shapes. A lot of the trees were bare as it was mid-winter. Imagine what they'd be like in the fall.
It appears Kyoto receives a fair bit of precipitation. There were algae and moss everywhere.
Myoshin-ji : Heading back east after an early lunch, this is a huge area of about 40 various temple buildings. Myoshin-ji is the headquarters of a Buddhist sub-sect, and date from the 14th century. It didn't seem like a popular tourist spot. Many of the buildings were deserted.
Ninna-ji : Many temples charge admission to visit inside the temple's grounds and gardens. The charges were not too excessive, usually up to 500 yen, but they do add up as there are lots of great temples to visit. For this one, I opted to see the free areas only, and save the money for a much more famous attraction further down the street.
The streets generally comprise of lowrises with traditional tiled roofs.
Kinkakuji : Many tour books about Kyoto feature the golden temple. Luckily, the morning clouds have disappeared and the golden glow looks the best under a blue sky.
The fame comes at a price - there were huge crowds around the small lakefront for the postcard snapshot.
Sunlight, trees, moss, and algae make an interesting photogenic mix.
[I]The full set is on my website : http://www.globalphotos.org/kyoto.htm
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