From Tokyo to Kyoto: First time Journey through Japan - Part 3 (Kyoto)

After spending half a week in Tokyo exploring the modern side of Japan, I journeyed down on the Shinkansen to the cultural side of Japan: Kyoto. It's a bit hard to describe the beauty and "aesthetic" of a city like Kyoto. Having played games that are inspired by views and places in Kyoto, it was such a fun experience to see the city in person. The historic sites of Kyoto are famous for a reason: they are absolutely breathtaking. Rather than explaining each location I visited, I'll give you my top three places to visit when going to Kyoto.

First, I would highly recommend visiting Kiyomizu-dera. One of the most famous Buddhist temples in Japan. Known for its amazing architecture and vast view of the city, this was one of my favorite temples that we visited. Getting off at the bottom of the hill, there definitely is a little bit of walking that you have to do. Along the way, there are cute shops selling trinkets of all sorts and food. I enjoyed the walk up to the temple despite it being quite crowded. The aromas and architecture are definitely things to take in.

Once I reached the top, I realized how beautiful the city of Kyoto was. Being able to see it all from up above was truly amazing. One thing I noticed as well was the number of students on field trips to the temple. I remember fondly of the fieldtrips I went to back home. They definitely were not as cool as visiting Kiyomizu-dera though. The buildings itself are enough to create a tourist attraction but there are so many paths to walk on with small little Japanese gardens around.

Overall, the experience of visiting Kiyomizu-dera was fantastic. The vibe of everybody around, the marvel of architecture that it is, and the views of the city are all aspects that make this place such an amazing attraction.

The Second place I would recommend to visit is the Nanzen-ji Temple. A lot less crowded than the other places I went to, I found it to be one of the most breathtaking. Spanning over quite a large area, there are multiple massive buildings for worship. Another feature of Nanzen-ji is the aqueducts that run through it. To my surprise, the aqueducts were still in operation with a lot of water flowing through it.

The main reason why I recommend visiting this temple is how peaceful it made me feel. Although a bit cheesy, the silence, the wooden architecture, the vegetation, and flowing water all gave me this sense of a Zen feeling. This temple is pretty easy to walk and offers many different things to look at. If you have the time and physical capability, I'd definitely recommend going inside the Nanzen-ji Sanmon Gate as it offers an amazing view.

The third place I'd recommend visiting is either Fushimi Inari Taisha (10,000 gates) or Heian-jingū Shrine. This really depends on how much you want to hike. Both astounding places to visit, if you have the time and physical capability, I'd recommend visiting both. If not, I'll highlight the pros and cons of both.

I'll begin with my experience at Fushimi Inari Taisha. Exiting off the train at Inari station, it was a very quick walk to the main shrine. There is plenty to see here and experience if you don't want to hike up. However, the main reason why you would want to come here would be to see the thousands of red tori gates that line a pathway up the mountain. It truly is something I've never seen anywhere else or replicated in a similar manner. The views at the top are amazing and you won't be dissapointed by the journey up either. However, be warned that the hike is pretty long and there is quite a bit of altitude change. Nonetheless, I'd still recommend visiting even if you don't want to hike to the top. Many people only go through the first path of gates, but I would definitely hike to the top again because of the lack of crowd.

Pros - 10000 shrine path, amazing views, cultural site

Cons - Time required, possibly strenuous hike

Next, if you decide to visit any other shrine, I would recommend Heian-jingū Shrine. Boasting a massive garden and open shrine area, this is definitely the place to go. Personally, after I visited Nanzen-ji, I walked over to Heian-Jingu as it is only around a 15 minute walk. Before even entering the shrine, I noticed the massive red Tori gate. A true marvel that such a big gate could be built in 1895, I snapped a couple pictures and continued through the park to the shrine.

Once inside the shrine, there is a massive building for worship. When I visited, there was a ceremony occuring which was really interesting to observe. However, the main attraction of this shrine is the Japanse style garden on the outskirts. The traditional Japanese garden is extremely aesthetic and melds nature with architecture. I really enjoyed the view of the vegetation such as the cherry blossoms and bonsai. This was definitely one of the coolest and interesting gardens I've visited.

pros - easily walkable, cultural/historical site, beautiful gardens

cons - entry fee to garden, may be closed due to weather, etc.

Overall, I enjoyed Kyoto thouroughly and I recommend everybody to visit if the opportunity is there. The cultural sites, marvels of architecture, peaceful aesthetics, food, and sublime weather are reasons why I would come back.

Do remember that these are merely three recommendations of places to visit coming from a tourists' point of view. Through my lens as a tourist, I'm sure I missed fantastic spots to visit and I hope to explore more of Kyoto and Japan as a whole in the future.

Honorable mentions: Bamboo Path, Romantic Train, Golden Pavilion