Kyoto Japan - a fascinating walking tour of this beautful city.

We took the train from Kanazawa to Kyoto and planned afew days to see this beautiful city. I had last visited Kyoto in 1972 and wanted to see how much it has changed !

Kyoto can be divided into six sightseeing districts, each of which is covered by a walking tour:

• ·      Northern Higashiyama (Ginkaku-ji, Path of Philosophy etc)
• ·       Southeast Kyoto (Fushimi-Inari, Tofuku-ji etc)
• ·       Southern Higashiyama (Chion-in, Kiyomizu etc)
• ·       Gion (Geisha district etc)
• ·       Arashiyama/west side (Bamboo Forest, Kinkaku-ji etc)
• ·       Northern Higashiyama Temples
• ·       Northern Mountains (Kurama, Kibune etc)

Here are a few notes on each tour to help you decide which you prefer:

·       Kyoto Walk 1: Northern Higashiyama Highlights and Secrets Enjoy some quieter temples and shrines. It’s a contemplative stroll. About 15 minutes travel time from downtown.

·       Kyoto Walk 2: Tofuku-ji Temple to Fushimi-Inari Taisha Shrine Great for active people who want to combine an easy hike, some beautiful gardens and the wonders of Fushimi-Inari without most of the crowds. This is good with kids. About 20 minutes from downtown.

·       Kyoto Walk 3: Classic Southern Higashiyama An excellent choice for your first time in the city and a good orientation tour. Temples ranging from small and quiet to soaring and popular and go to the famous Kiyomizu-dera. Minimal travel time from downtown.

·       Kyoto Walk 4: Gion Evening Walk For those who want to learn about geisha and enjoy the magic of Gion by night. Short but sweet. Minimal travel time from downtown.

·       Kyoto Walk 5: Arashiyama With the Bamboo Forest, Okochi-Sano and Tenryu-ji temple, this is sure to please both adults and children. About 30 minutes from downtown.

·       Kyoto Walk 6: Northern Higashiyama Temples  A tour of quiet and rarely visited temples in northern Higashiyama. About 15 minutes travel time from downtown.

·       Kyoto Walk 7: Kurama to Kibune  If you want to escape the city and do a beautiful hike with a bit of culture along the route, this is a great choice. About 50 minutes from downtown.

Our guide Mr Ted had selected an excellent walk which covered:

1.     Higashiyama - Traditions / culture area in Kyoto.

2.     Introduce mysterious Gion (geisha.Maiko) district

3.     Walk hidden gems, Popular access street to world heritage temple and Kiyomizu temple.

4.     Gion Shirakawa.

5.     Yasaka Shirine.

6.     Ishibe Koji.

7.     NInen-zaka, Sannen-zaka street.

8.     Kiyomizu temple.

9.     Tour end around Kiyomizu temple area.

 

Kyoto features a rectangular street system. Unlike the streets in other Japanese cities, most of central Kyoto's streets are named. The main streets running from east to west are numbered in ascending order from north to south, and are about 500 meters apart from each other, with several smaller streets in between. For example, Shijo means "4th Avenue" and Nijo means "2nd Avenue".

 

Kyoto's city center with the highest concentration of dining, shopping and entertainment opportunities, is located around the junction of Shijo-dori (4th Avenue) and Kawaramachi-dori (Kawaramachi Street). JR Kyoto Station is located south of the city center at the height of Hachijo-dori (8th Avenue).

 

The most prominent north-south street is Karasuma-dori (Karasuma Street), which runs from Kyoto Station via the city center to Kyoto Imperial Palace. Another north-south axis is Kamo River, about one kilometer east of Karasuma-dori

I had chosen a hotel right in the centre – across from the famous Fushimi Inari shrine. I like to save time commuting by staying centrally. We saw the shrine before our tour with Mr Ted. Just a few metres from the hotel was this amazing shop selling samurai armour and swords. It was a delight to just stroll around the shop. It was interesting that the shop manager was a foreigner!! Check out the detailing of the armour

Japanese shrines and temples are revered places. There is a strict protocol followed in the premises. Japanese, I think, by and large are religious and they have small idiosyncrasies which interested me. You will find a few stalls selling good luck charms for all sorts of occasions. Also in most places, you see a large stand with paper slips fluttering in rows. These are fortune slips put there by worshippers who offer a few words of prayer.

Most shrines which we saw cover a large area. Some are in hilly places. Fushimi Inari is huge. See the map. I quote some data on the shrine - “With seemingly endless arcades of vermilion shrine gates called “TORI” spread across a thickly wooded mountain, this vast shrine complex is a world unto its own. It is, quite simply, one of the most impressive and memorable sights in Kyoto” .

Inside the premises, there are many large buildings, the purpose of which we could not understand as everything was in Japanese. Each structure was immaculately kept, freshly painted and dust free.

 

“ The entire complex, consisting of five shrines, sprawls across the wooded slopes of Inari-san. A pathway wanders 4 km up the mountain and is lined with dozens of atmospheric sub-shrines.

 

“Fushimi Inari was dedicated to the gods of rice and sake by the Hata family in the 8th century. As the role of agriculture diminished, deities were enrolled to ensure prosperity in business. Nowadays, the shrine is one of Japan’s most popular, and is the head shrine for some 40,000 Inari shrines scattered the length and breadth of the country.

“As you explore the shrine, you will come across hundreds of stone foxes. The fox is considered the messenger of Inari, the god of cereals, and the stone foxes, too, are often referred to as Inari. The key often seen in the fox’s mouth is for the rice granary. On an incidental note, the Japanese traditionally see the fox as a sacred, somewhat mysterious figure capable of ‘possessing’ humans – the favoured point of entry is under the fingernails.

“The walk around the upper precincts of the shrine is a pleasant day hike. It also makes for a very eerie stroll in the late afternoon and early evening, when the various graveyards and miniature shrines along the path take on a mysterious air. It’s best to go with a friend at this time”. We were a family group – I had taken them and they continued the walk up the hill whilst I stayed below as I don’t like hilly walks. It is a really strange feeling to be standing under these Tori gates which just seem to go on and on. Maybe the colour, maybe the environment, but it was really peaceful and pleasant. 

With Mr Ted, we began in the Gion district walking towards the famous Three Monkey’s shrine or Yasaka Kōshin-dō located in the Higashiyama district near Kiyomizu-dera. On the way, we passed many geishas in beautiful kimonos and some had photographers in tow. 

Its one if those places with the three monkeys known for Sanzaru (see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil), representing the restraint of bad deeds and desires. The temple is dedicated to Kōshin-san, a form of the protective deity Shōmen Kongō, and is connected with the Kōshin faith and the three wise monkeys. Worshippers write wishes on the kukurizaru and hang them as talismans.

Kukurizaru Talismans: Famous for colorful, round fabric monkey charms with bound hands and feet, which symbolize self-control. Visitors write a wish on the charm and sacrifice one personal greed to help the wish come true

The streets are full of small interesting shops – a tile shop, a pottery class workshop,  incense stick stalls, perfumerie etc. 

The beautiful and famous Ishibei-koji lane is considered one of the most beautiful, historic, and traditional cobblestone streets in Kyoto. This narrow street is a peaceful place that offers a feel of old Japan (Edo/Meiji period), far from the modern world, Its crowded but regulated by the people themselves so you can get to your destination without any hassles

Mr Ted or Yoshihiro san, our guide, was a very fit, a highly educated person. Trained and worked in the USA, he came back to Japan and now in retirement (?) he is a very knowledgeable guide. He gave us an excellent walking tour of Kyoto. His cell number is  +818061682083, 

He is definitely recommended if you wish to see Kyoto. 

I came across this during our tour. 

It was exceedingly hot and luckily we found this spot where there were water sprays aimed downwards so visitors could cool themselves off for a bit before resuming their walk in the temple complex. 

I don’t recall how or why we landed up at the Adashino temple complex but it was a long walk getting there. Quite pretty.

 

We came across this garden with these bears and other animal statues.  

Finally, we reached the Bamboo forest. Whilst walking, we six had split up into two groups so we found ourselves in the bamboo forest area, which has a trail one needs to follow. Luckily we ended up at the end where both groups caught up in a café!

 

Near the end of the bamboo forest, there was a beautiful small pottery shop. I wish i could have bought some stuff. This is a sign in that shop.  

I will end this blog with our trip to Kinkaku-ji which features prominently everywhere in the city. We reached there to find a large crowd but it was well managed. There is the one way trail and it covers a large area of the complex. We could not go in to see the temple so it was love from a distance !! 

“ Kyoto's famed 'Golden Pavilion', Kinkaku-ji is one of Japan's best-known sights. The main hall, covered in brilliant gold leaf, shining above its reflecting pond is truly spectacular. Needless to say, due to its beauty, the temple can be packed any day of the year. It's best to go early in the day or just before closing, ideally on a weekday.

 “ The original building dates from 1397 and was a retirement villa for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. His son converted it into a temple. In 1950 a young monk consummated his obsession with the temple by burning it to the ground. The monk's story was fictionalised in Mishima Yukio's The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. In 1955 a full reconstruction was completed that followed the original design, but the gold-foil covering was extended to the lower floors” .

During our few days stay, we saw just a small part of ths beautiful city. It is definitely a city worth visiting again to see the parts we missed !

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