Travel Guide

Places To See

Kyoto Concert Hall

The Kyoto Concert Hall holds regular performances of classical music and dance (traditional and contemporary). Check with the TIC for current schedules.

Rub-A-Dub

At the northern end of Kiyamachi-dōri, Rub-a-Dub is a funky little reggae bar with a shabby tropical look. It's a good place for a quiet drink on weekdays, but on Friday and Saturday nights you'll have no choice but to bop along with the crowd. Look for the stairs heading down to the basement beside the popular (and delightfully 'fragrant') Nagahama Rāmen shop.

Morita-Ya

This is Kyoto's most famous beef restaurant. It serves excellent sukiyaki and shabu-shabu in traditional tatami rooms, some overlooking the Kamo-gawa. The meat comes from the restaurant's own farm. Reservations are essential.

Ōzawa

Located on one of the most beautiful streets in Gion - Shirakawa-minami-dōri (also known as Shimbashi) - this charming little restaurant offers excellent tempura in refined Japanese surroundings. Unless you choose a private tatami room, you'll sit at the counter and watch as the chef prepares each piece of tempura individually right before your eyes.

Considering the location and the quality of the food, this place is great value.

Kyoto Imperial Palace Park

The Imperial Palace is surrounded by a spacious park with a welcome landscape of trees and open lawn - it's Kyoto's very own Central Park. It's perfect for picnics, strolls and just about any sport that doesn't require retrieving balls over walls. Best of all, it's free. Take some time to visit the pond at the park's southern end, with its gaping carp. The park is most beautiful in the plum- and cherry-blossom seasons (early March and early April, respectively).

The Shinsen-den (Ceremonial Hall) is an outstanding, single-storey structure thatched with a cypress-bark roof. Covered walkways connect it to the surrounding buildings. From outside you can see the takamikura (throne) where the emperor sat on formal occasions. It is covered with a silk canopy and on each side are stands to hold treasures such as swords, jewels and other imperial regalia. Just in front of the throne are two wooden koma-inu (mythological animals guarding Shintō shrines). The palace is full of other treasures, including priceless sliding screens adorned with Tosa school paintings. Though the hall initially was used as living quarters for the emperor, it was later set aside for ceremonial use only.

Twice-yearly, in spring and autumn, the palace grounds are chock-full when the inner sanctum is opened to the public for several days. Otherwise, it is necessary to visit as part of a guided tour. The tour guide will elaborate in English while you are led for about one hour past the Shishin-den, Ko Gosho (Small Palace), Tsune Gosho (Regular Palace) and Oike-niwa (Pond Garden). Regrettably, it is forbidden to enter any of these buildings.

It is bounded by Teramachi-dōri and Karasuma-dōri on the east and west, and by Imadegawa-dōri and Marutamachi-dōri on the north and south.

Sumiya Pleasure House

Shimabara, a district northwest of Kyoto Station, was Kyoto's original pleasure quarters. At its peak during the Edo period (1600-1867) the area flourished, with more than 20 enormous ageya - magnificent banquet halls where artists, writers and statesmen gathered in a 'floating world' ambience of conversation, art and fornication. Geisha were often sent from their okiya (living quarters) to entertain patrons at these restaurant-cum-brothels.

By the start of the Meiji period, however, such activities had drifted north to the Gion district and Shimabara had lost its prominence.

Though the traditional air of the district has dissipated, a few old structures remain. The tremendous Shimabara-no-Ōmon gate, which marked the passage into the quarter, still stands, as does the Sumiya Pleasure House, the last remaining ageya, which is now designated a National Cultural Asset. Built in 1641, this stately two-storey, 20-room structure allows a rare glimpse into Edo-era nirvana. With a delicate lattice-work exterior, Sumiya has a huge open kitchen and an extensive series of rooms (including one extravagantly decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay).

Special tours in Japanese (requiring advance reservations in Japanese, booked through Sumiya Pleasure House) allow access to the 2nd storey and are conducted daily. An English pamphlet is provided, but you might want to consider arranging a volunteer guide through the TIC.

Nanzen-ji Temple

The Nanzen-ji Temple is one of Kyoto's most pleasant temples, with expansive grounds and numerous sub-temples. It began as a retirement villa for Emperor Kameyama but was dedicated as a Zen temple on his death in 1291. Civil war in the 15th century destroyed most of it; the present buildings date from the 17th century.

The temple now operates as headquarters for the Rinzai school of Zen. At its entrance stands the massive San-mon. Steps lead up to the 2nd storey, which has a fine view over the city. Beyond the gate is the Hōjō, a hall with impressive screens painted with a vivid depiction of tigers. Within the precincts of the same building, the Leaping Tiger Garden is a classic Zen garden well worth a look. While you're in the Hōjō, you can enjoy a cup of tea while sitting on tatami mats and gazing at a small waterfall. Dotted around the grounds of Nanzen-ji are several sub-temples that are often skipped by the crowds and consequently are easier to enjoy.

Kyoto Imperial Palace

The Kyoto Imperial Palace is the heart of Kyoto, both spatially and metaphorically. It was built in 794 and has undergone numerous rebirths after destruction by fires. The present building, on a different site and smaller than the original, was constructed in 1855.

Ceremonies related to the enthronement of a new emperor and other state functions are still held here.

Nijō Jinya

Nijō Jinya is an interesting attraction, although it's not really geared to foreign visitors. This former merchant's home was built in the mid-1600s and served as an inn for provincial feudal lords visiting the capital. What appears to be an average Edo-period mansion, however, is no ordinary dwelling.

The house contains fire-resistant earthen walls and a warren of 24 rooms, and was ingeniously designed to protect the daimyō against possible surprise attacks.

Here you'll find hidden staircases, secret passageways and an array of counter-espionage devices. The main room's ceiling skylight is fitted with a trap door from where samurai could pounce on intruders, and sliding doors feature alternate panels of translucent paper to expose the shadows of eavesdroppers.

One-hour tours are conducted several times a day in Japanese and advance reservations must be made. Those who don't speak Japanese are asked to bring a Japanese-speaking guide. Located a few minutes' walk south of Nijō-jō castle.

Ing

This bar/izakaya on Kiyamachi is one of our favourite spots for a drink in Kyoto. It offers cheap bar snacks and drinks, good music and friendly staff. It's in the Royal building on the 2nd floor; you'll know you're getting close when you see all the hostesses out trawling for customers on the streets nearby.

Kane-yo

This is a good place to try unagi, that most sublime of Japanese dishes. You can sit downstairs with a nice view of the waterfall, or upstairs on the tatami. The kane-yo donburi (eel over rice; around 890) set is great value. Look for the barrels of live eels outside and the wooden façade.

Events

Kyoto's greatest living treasures are its raucous matsuri (festivals). The city hosts some 500 of these colourful events throughout the year, and almost any visit should provide the chance to catch at least one. Some of the more fascinating festivals include Hatsu Ebisu, 8 to 12 January, where a party is held for Ebisu the patron deity of merchants, and Godai Rikison Ninno-e, 23 February, at which participants lift two gigantic rice cakes: 150kg (330lbs) for men, 90kg (200lbs) for women. Gion Matsuri, 17 July, is perhaps the most renowned of all Japanese festivals, when over 200,000 people throng the Shijo-Karasuma area. Its climax is a Yamaboko-junko parade of over 30 floats accompanied by flutes, drums and gongs. During Daimon-ji Gozan Okuribi, 16 August, enormous fires are lit on five mountains in the form of Chinese characters or other shapes.

Pre-Departure Information

Electricity

100V

50Hz

Electrical Plugs

Japanese-style plug with two parallel flat blades

Weather Information

There's no question that the most appealing seasons in Kyoto are spring and autumn. Summers are too muggy; the surrounding mountains keep the air from moving around, making things stifled and sticky and producing ample rain. Winter is cold but not devastatingly so, and aesthetically speaking it's quite pretty. However, spring cherry blossoms and autumn amber leaves are just too good to miss.

History and Culture

Pre-20th Centure History

The Kyoto basin was first settled in the 7th century, and by 794 it had become Heian-kyō, the capital of Japan. Like Nara, a previous capital, the city was laid out according to traditional Chinese geomancy in a grid pattern modelled on the Chinese Tang dynasty capital, Chang'an (contemporary Xian).

The ensuing Heian period (literally 'Peace and Tranquility') lived up to its name. Over the next four centuries the city became Japan's cultural and commercial centre as well as its political hub. In this time, isolation from China allowed a native Japanese culture to emerge. Arts and literature flourished, spurred on by the development of a unique Japanese character set called hiragana, and the court reached the apogee of elegance.

However, while the city was to serve as home to the Japanese imperial family from 794 to 1868 (when the Meiji Restoration took the imperial family to the new capital, Tokyo), from the 9th century the imperial family was increasingly isolated from the mechanics of political power. In the provinces a new power was on the rise - the samurai or military class - with an armed force that defended the group's autonomy. Samurai families moved into Kyoto where they muscled in on the court, causing mayhem. This was the beginning of the Shogun feudal system, when a succession of military clans ruled the country until imperial power was restored in 1868.

Despite the decline of the court, Kyoto continued to prosper economically. The Ashikaga period was marked by flourishing arts and the construction of beautiful temples and gardens - many still standing today - but the rest of the country was slowy slipping into civil chaos. In 1467 a feudal argument ignited the most ferocious battle in Kyoto's history. The 90,000-strong Yamana army faced off against the 100,000 soldiers of the Hosokawa. The 10-year Onin war was fought mostly in the centre of Kyoto, destroying most of the city and scattering the population.

The war marked the start of the chaotic Warring States period until 1568, when power was seized by Oda Nobunaga, who used his military genius to consolidate power throughout central Japan. His program continued following his suicide and, by 1590, the whole country had fallen under the rule of 'Mr Monkey' - Hideyoshi. At the time of his death, Hideyoshi had completely rebuilt Kyoto and its population had swelled to 500,000. Soon after a rival government was set up at Edo, and the emperor's authority became nominal.

In Edo, the Tokugawa family virtually rebuilt society, imposing a strict hierarchical social structure and enforcing international seclusion. In Kyoto, a push to increase the power of the shogun led to a wave of antigovernment sentiment and a state of internal unrest. In 1868 the shogun resigned and Japan was again reunified, and began emerging from isolation. Over 1000 years, Kyoto had fought back from its considerable loss of power by using its strongest weapon - culture.

Modern History

By 1900 Kyoto was again pre-eminent in education, culture and the arts, as well as excelling in industry. The city boasted an electrical system, water system, transport network and hydroelectric power generation.

Fortunately, Kyoto was spared the aerial bombing that razed other Japanese urban centres in the closing months of WWII. The Kyoto Revival Plan was drafted in 1945, and by 1949 the city's university had already produced the first in a long line of Nobel Prize winners. By the late 1950s Japan's economic miracle had made Kyoto an international hub of business and culture. The city rode high on the back of technology and tourism through the 1970s and '80s. With the collapse of the Japanese stock market in 1989, Kyoto again suffered heavily, and recovery - though sure - has been gradual.

Recent History

Today, even though it has seen rapid industrialisation, Kyoto remains an important cultural and educational centre. It has some 20% of Japane's National Treasures and 15% of Japan's cultural properties. Even though the city centre looks remarkably like the centre of a dozen other large Japanese cities, a little exploration will turn up countless reminders of Kyoto's long history.