Northwest Kyoto
The most atmospheric Shintō shrine in northwest Kyoto, Kitano Tenman-gū is also the site of Tenjin-San Market, one of Kyoto’s most popular flea markets…
Must-see attractions in Kyoto
Northwest Kyoto
Myōshin-ji is a separate world within Kyoto, a walled-off complex of temples and subtemples that invites lazy strolling. The subtemple of Taizō-in here…
Imperial Palace & Around
The Sentō Gosho is the second imperial property located within the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park (the other one is the Imperial Palace itself). The…
Northwest Kyoto
Kōryū-ji, one of the oldest temples in Japan, was founded in 622 to honour Prince Shōtoku, who was an enthusiastic promoter of Buddhism. It’s notable…
Northwest Kyoto
This mountaintop temple sits at the summit of a long flight of stairs that stretches from the Kiyotaki-gawa to the temple’s main gate. The Kondō (Gold…
Kyoto
The largest of Fushimi’s sake breweries is Gekkeikan, the world’s leading producer of sake. Although most of the sake is now made in a modern facility in…
Imperial Palace & Around
The Kyoto Imperial Palace, known as the Gosho in Japanese, is a walled complex that sits in the middle of the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park. While no longer…
Northern Higashiyama
A highlight of the far northern Higashiyama area, Shisen-dō (House of Poet-Hermits) was built in 1641 by Ishikawa Jōzan, a scholar of Chinese classics and…
Imperial Palace & Around
This shrine, dating from the 8th century, is a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is nestled in the fork of the Kamo-gawa and Takano-gawa, and is approached…
Kyoto Station & South Kyoto
This superb museum is spread over three floors showcasing 53 trains, from vintage steam locomotives in the outside Roundhouse Shed to commuter trains and…
Kyoto International Manga Museum
Downtown Kyoto
Located in an old elementary school building, this museum is the perfect introduction to the art of manga (Japanese comics). It has 300,000 manga in its…
Southern Higashiyama
This interesting little Shintō shrine on the edge of Gion contains one of the most peculiar objects we've encountered anywhere in Japan: the enkiri…
Northwest Kyoto
This pleasant temple complex is certainly a good counterpoint to the crowded and more famous temples nearby. Originally containing more than 60 structures…
Downtown Kyoto
There are few streets in Asia that rival this narrow pedestrian-only walkway for atmosphere. Not much to look at by day, the street comes alive at night,…
Arashiyama & Sagano
This tiny temple near the north end of the main Arashiyama sightseeing route is one of Kyoto's hidden gems. Its main attraction is the lush moss garden…
Northwest Kyoto
Hidden amid a grove of towering cedar trees, this temple is famous for the chuju giga scroll in its collection. It's an ink-brush depiction of frolicking…
Northern Higashiyama
Perhaps the best part of Nanzen-ji is overlooked by most visitors: Nanzen-ji Oku-no-in, a small shrine hidden in a forested hollow behind the main…
Southern Higashiyama
The Kyoto National Museum is the city's premier art museum and plays host to the highest-level exhibitions in the city. It was founded in 1895 as an…
Northern Higashiyama
It might be best known for its autumn maple leaves, but this small temple is well worth a visit any time of the year. It has two stunning gardens – the…
Southern Higashiyama
Just downhill from and slightly to the north of Kiyomizu-dera, you will find one of Kyoto’s loveliest restored neighbourhoods, the Ninen-zaka–Sannen-zaka…
Fureai-Kan Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts
Northern Higashiyama
Fureai-Kan has excellent exhibits of traditional Kyoto arts and crafts, including woodblock prints, lacquerware, bamboo goods and gold-leaf work, with…
Imperial Palace & Around
Hidden in a residential area in the Nishijin district, this fine museum is dedicated to the art of Raku pottery, a technique involving hand building and…
Arashiyama & Sagano
Just upstream from Tōgetsu-kyō and behind Tenryū-ji, this park is a nice place to escape the crowds of Arashiyama. It’s laced with trails, one of which…
Southern Higashiyama
This small memorial hall is one of Kyoto’s most commonly overlooked little gems. The hall was the home and workshop of one of Japan’s most famous potters,…
Imperial Palace & Around
A subtemple of Daitoku-ji, Zuihō-in enshrines the 16th-century Christian daimyō (domain lord) Ōtomo Sōrin. In the early 1960s, a landscape architect named…
Northern Higashiyama
Okazaki-kōen is an expanse of parks and canals that lies between Niōmon-dōri and Heian-jingū. Two of Kyoto’s significant museums can be found here – the…
Southern Higashiyama
Founded in 1202 by the monk Eisai, Kennin-ji is the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto. It is an island of peace and calm on the border of the boisterous Gion…
Imperial Palace & Around
The Kyoto Botanical Gardens occupy 24 hectares and feature over 12,000 plants, flowers and trees. It is pleasant to stroll through the rose, cherry and…
Imperial Palace & Around
If you are lucky enough to be in Kyoto during autumn, one of the seasons this subtemple of Daitoku-ji is opened to the public, you should make an effort…
Imperial Palace & Around
Around 2km north of the Botanical Gardens is Kamigamo-jinja, one of Japan’s oldest shrines, which predates the founding of Kyoto. Established in 679, it…
Kyoto Station & South Kyoto
About five minutes’ walk east of Higashi Hongan-ji, this garden is a peaceful green island in a vast expanse of concrete. While it’s not on par with many…
Northwest Kyoto
About five minutes' walk upstream from the base of the steps that lead to Jingo-ji, this is a fine little temple worth stopping at. The approach over a…
Northern Higashiyama
This museum is renowned for its Japanese ceramics and paintings. There is an outstanding permanent collection, which includes many pottery pieces by Kawai…
Imperial Palace & Around
Ryōgen-in is a fine subtemple in the Daitoku-ji complex. It has two pleasing gardens, one moss and one kare-sansui. The kare-sansui has an interesting…
Imperial Palace & Around
The two small Zen gardens in this subtemple of Daitoku-ji are elegant examples of 17th-century kare-sansui style. Here the trees, rocks and sand are said…
Northwest Kyoto
This subtemple is in the southwestern corner of the grounds of Myōshin-ji. The kare-sansui (dry landscape) depicting a waterfall and islands is well worth…
Arashiyama & Sagano
This temple is perched on top of a mossy knoll and is famed for its brilliant maple trees, which turn a lovely crimson red in November, and its thatched…
Northern Higashiyama
Just southwest of the main precincts of Nanzen-ji, this fine subtemple has a wonderful garden designed by Kobori Enshū, known as the Crane and Tortoise…
Arashiyama & Sagano
This is a popular spot with maple-leaf watchers. Originally built in the 9th century by Emperor Saga, the temple houses two important Kamakura-era Buddha…
Northern Higashiyama
A subtemple of Nanzen-ji, Tenju-an is located on the south side of San-mon, the main gate of Nanzen-ji. Constructed in 1337, Tenju-an has a splendid…
