Northwest Kyoto

Northwest Kyoto contains two of Kyoto’s most important temples: Kinkaku-ji, also known as the Golden Pavilion, and Ryōan-ji, home of Japan’s most famous Zen garden. Other noteworthy sights include the enclosed world of Myōshin-ji and the atmospheric Kitano Tenman-gū Shintō shrine. Further afield are the mountaintop temples of Takao.