Kyoto Japan Temple
Kyoto Japan Temple
Kyoto Japan Temple
Kyoto is for Japanese the city that most clearly symbolises traditional Japan. If a place has that feeling of being from a past age, it is often referred to as a "little Kyoto". With the present population trends, that character should survive in this city. The population seems to have peaked at just less than 1.5 million people, although the number of households in the city is still increasing as the average family size continues to fall. As for most cities in Japan, the number of old people has increased dramatically at the expense of the younger population.
Kyoto, with its hundreds of temples and gardens, was the imperial capital between 794 and 1868, and remains the cultural centre of Japan. Its raked pebble gardens, sensuously contoured temple roofs and latter-day geishas fulfill the Japanese fantasy of every Western cliché hunter. With an astonishing 1600 Buddhist temples, 400 Shinto shrines, a trio of palaces, and dozens of gardens and museums, Kyoto is Japan's cultural treasure house. Perhaps more impressive, 17 of Kyoto's ancient structures and gardens have been declared Unesco World Heritage sites, making of it one of the world's most culturally rich cities.
Kyoto was fabulous. It isn't just its rich culture, but also its strong artistic and religious traditions. The city has many temples and shrines, most of which are still working temples/shrines. It isn't just about samurais, geishas and the Shinsengumi.
It is old-school in many ways yet remain quite cosmopolitan. Needless to say, its rich culture and heritage permeates from each and every architecture and customs. With its many grand religious architecture, visitors will find it hard to choose which ones to visit. I focused on a few main temples and shrines plus one castle, and then with time on my side, squeezed in a couple more smaller but just as richly rewarding ones
