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Old Posted Oct 25, 2012, 11:27 AM
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hkskyline's 2012 in KYOTO

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.



The full set is on my website : http://www.globalphotos.org/kyoto.htm
Also check out my Osaka thread : http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=201392

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  #2  
Old Posted Oct 25, 2012, 2:22 PM
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Kyoto was my favorite city in Japan.
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Old Posted Oct 25, 2012, 2:31 PM
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^and our least favorite. Much preferred Hiroshima and Nagoya.
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Old Posted Nov 9, 2012, 12:14 AM
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Kyoto Imperial Palace is a recent reconstruction from 1855. While the grounds are generally open to visitors, the palace itself is restricted and can only be accessed by tour. Having been disappointed with booking the tour in Tokyo before, I made sure I got a spot online well before my trip this time.



























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Old Posted Dec 9, 2012, 3:29 PM
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Dating from the 8th century, Kiyomizu-dera Temple now houses buildings from the 15th to 17th centuries. The temple is situated on a hill overlooking Kyoto, with nice skyline views. Unfortunately, since it is a major tourist must-see attraction, the crowds get quite bad past 10am.

















Part the admission gate, the temple site itself isn't particularly big, but sprawled across the hillside.























































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Old Posted Jan 7, 2013, 6:14 AM
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Leaving the temple, it's a downhill walk along a shopping street.























I believe these are actors hired by the tourism authority to give an authentic traditional feel to the neighbourhood. You can stop them for photographs as well.



























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Old Posted Jan 10, 2013, 9:02 PM
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R@ptor R@ptor is offline
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Looks great.

When did you visit Kyoto? I'm asking because the main sights were always overrun by tourists during my 2 visits there while in your photos they seem to be almost deserted.
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Old Posted Jan 11, 2013, 10:11 AM
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hkskyline hkskyline is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by R@ptor View Post
Looks great.

When did you visit Kyoto? I'm asking because the main sights were always overrun by tourists during my 2 visits there while in your photos they seem to be almost deserted.
I went during the Chinese New Year break last year in late January. Kinkakuji and Kiyomizu-dera were very busy with tour groups, but the other locations were quite deserted and pleasant to explore.
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  #9  
Old Posted Jan 23, 2013, 2:28 PM
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Located in the northern outskirts of Kyoto, the plan was to hike the hillside temples around Kurama and find the famous red-lamped staircase. To get there, it was an easy ride on this cute little train for about 30 minutes.















These trains weave through residential areas at street-level, passing by people's windows and patiently-waiting cars.





These staircases would lead to Kurama-dera Temple.

















Temples dot the hillsides. An easy way to ascend is to take the funicular. With wet and slippery pavements on the way up, it was worthwhile to make this small investment.



















The first part of the hike was nothing strenuous. There were a few staircases but the terrain was generally flat or slightly-sloping. Temples here and there would serve as a quick rest spot for a water break.



It snowed up here the night before? It wasn't so cold in Osaka the night before.























The latter part of the hike became far more challenging. The stone steps became less and less even and smooth. To make things worse, the previous day's precipitation had soaked the ground into a muddy composition with annoying puddles everywhere. But besides dirty shoes and pants, it was still a worthwhile hike.



















All done!

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Old Posted Jan 24, 2013, 10:33 PM
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Seems to have an overwhelming sense of serenity in contrast to Tokyo and Osaka to an extent... I like the inclusion of the geisha girls, real or not. It definitely adds mor character to the surrounding environment.
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Old Posted Jan 30, 2013, 2:56 PM
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Kifune Shrine honours the god of water, with an entrance staircase lined with beautiful red lamps.



























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Old Posted Feb 1, 2013, 2:55 PM
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Chion-in Temple houses the largest copper bell in Japan, which requires 17 people to ring it.











The nearby temples and shrines are also very green.









This giant orange gate leads the way to the Heian Jingu Shrine.



Heian Jingu Shrine

















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Old Posted Feb 18, 2013, 5:26 PM
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Welcome to Ginkakuji. Notice this neat pack of bamboo serving as a sewer cover - ingenious.

















A small hill rose behind the garden, with more moss-covered soil and neatly-manicured gardens.

















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  #14  
Old Posted Feb 19, 2013, 9:45 PM
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Great pics as usual. I'm not a huge fan of the ancient Pagoda style buildings personally; But I absolutely love the landscapes and water gardens. They are the best in the world, IMO. Love Japanese peace-scaping!
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