kyoto

 

Kyoto is a beautiful city with a rich cultural heritage and many interesting sights to see.

MyMap of Kyoto 

Day 4: Morning: Arashiyama: Map 

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove Walking Tour - Inside Kyoto

Arashiyama

Arashiyama is the second-most important sightseeing district in Kyoto. It’s filled with temples and shrines, but the star attraction is the famed Arashiyama Bamboo Grove.

Arashiyama Area Description:

Arashiyama is in the far west of Kyoto, tucked along the base of the Arashiyama Mountains (meaning “Storm Mountains”). It’s a fair distance from the center of Kyoto: whether you go by train, bus, bicycle or taxi, you’re generally looking at about a 30-minute trip. Still, it’s worth it for the number of great sights here.

Things To Do And See In Arashiyama

• Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
  The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is one of Kyoto’s top sights and for good reason: standing amid these soaring stalks of bamboo is like being in another world
• Kameyama-koen Park
  Escape the crowds and (if you’re lucky) mingle with the monkeys at Arashiyama’s lovely hilltop park, Kameyama-koen Park
• Okochi-Sanso Villa
  Okochi-Sanso Villa is one of the top sights in Kyoto. It rivals any of the city’s imperial properties, and you don’t need reservations to enter
• Nison-in Temple
  Nison-in Temple is a lovely Tendai sect Buddhist temple that is best known for its lovely maple- and cherry-lined arcade leading to the main halls
• Rakushisha Poet’s Hut
  This quaint hermit’s cottage was once the home of one of haiku master Matsuo Basho’s disciples. It’s a good palate cleanser between the area temples
• Jojako-ji Temple
  Jojakko-ji Temple is a quaint temple on the main Arashiyama tourist route that offers a chance to escape the crowds that plague the rest of the area
• Gio-ji Temple
  Tiny Gio-ji Temple is one of the most scenic spots in Arashiyama. The thatched-roof main hall overlooking a moss-covered grotto is a magical sight
• Adashino-Nembutsu-ji Temple
  A touching temple at the top of the Arashiyama sightseeing district, you’ll find 8000 Buddhist statues here placed in memory of those who died without kin
• Arashiyama Boat Rental
  One of the best ways to explore the Arashiyama area is by renting a boat and rowing around the lovely lower Hozu-gawa area, especially when the cherry blossoms are out
• Katsura Rikyu Imperial Villa
  Katsura Rikyu Imperial Villa is regarded as the pinnacle of Japanese architecture and garden design
• Tenzan-no-yu Onsen
  Tenzan-no-yu Onsen is a huge bath and spa complex on the west side of Kyoto. It’s one of the few onsen in Kyoto and it’s well worth the trek across town to relax here
• Tenryu-ji Temple
  Tenryu-ji Temple is the headline attraction in Arashiyama, a sprawling Zen temple with one of the finest gardens in Kyoto and wonderful mountain views.
• Next visist the otherworldly path the Bamboo grove, north of the Tenryu-ji Temple

optional: Next to the station is the red-brick building of Saga Torokko Station, from where you can take the Sagano Scenic Railway. This romantic train passes a gorge offering a lovely view along the Hozu River.

https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/arashiyama-bamboo-forest

Fushimi-Inari Hike - Inside Kyoto

• For lunch, head to Nishiki Market, which is a famous food market in Kyoto. You can sample various local delicacies and enjoy the atmosphere of the market.
• After lunch, visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine, which is famous for its thousands of torii gates that lead up to the top of Mount Inari. The hike can take a couple of hours, but the views are worth it.

Afternoon:

• visit Kinkaku-ji temple, also known as the Golden Pavilion. It's one of the most famous landmarks in Kyoto and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Next, head to the Ryoan-ji temple, famous for its rock garden. The garden is said to be a masterpiece of Japanese Zen landscaping and is definitely worth a visit.

• For dinner, head to Pontocho Alley, a traditional street lined with restaurants and bars. You can try local specialties such as kaiseki (a traditional multi-course meal) or sushi.
• After dinner, head to Gion, a historic district known for its geisha culture. You can wander the streets and look for geisha and maiko (apprentice geisha) walking to their appointments.

12:30pm: Taxi to Kinkaku-ji Temple
There really isn’t a good way by public transport, so from Arashiyama, take a taxi over to Kinkaku-ji Temple, the famed “Golden Pavilion” in Northwest Kyoto. A taxi from Arashiyama to Kinkaku-ji will cost around Y2,000.

• For lunch, try some traditional Kyoto-style cuisine at a local restaurant in the Higashiyama district.
• After lunch, visit the Nijo Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was built in the early 17th century. The castle is famous for its beautiful gardens and paintings.

Time permosts do philosopher's walk

• Pontocho Alley for dinner

Evening:

• For dinner, try some of the local specialty dishes such as katsu (deep-fried pork cutlet) or yudofu (tofu hot pot). You can find many restaurants that serve these dishes in the downtown area.
• 
  
• After dinner, head to the Gion Corner, where you can watch traditional Japanese performances such as tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and traditional music and dance.

https://www.gankofood.co.jp/en/shop/detail/ya-nijyoen/

The History Of Fushimi Inari Shrine

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=13KRn0EIUPclSIym4RviciiiCQ7g&ll=35.03189256543302%2C135.74383029999998&z=11

Fushimi-Inari Hike - Inside Kyoto

Kyoto-Himeji 

https://www.sightseeingjapanpodcast.com/podcast/100-the-city-of-kyoto 

 Takasegawa Nijoen restaurant and Garden   Photo-album 

A Brief History of Takase-gawa Nijo-en garden

Takase-gawa Nijo-en garden (literally, Takase-gawa means the Takase river, Nijo the second street, and en a garden) was built by Ryoui Suminokura (1554-1614), a billionaire merchant in Kyoto in the early Edo period. He made his fortune by trading goods between Japan and Vietnam. Although the Tokugawa Shogun ate government took a closed-door policy toward the outside world, in those days, Suminokura had an exclusive right to do business as a government-licensed trader.

In 1600, with his amassed fortune, he started to build the Takase river, a man- made canal branching off from the Kamogawa River. The Takase river was built to be used to transport goods by boat between Kyoto and Osaka. After completing this ambitious project, he had his second home and its garden built on this site. The water used for the garden was and still is taken from the Takase river.

After Suminokura died in 1614, the house and garden fell into the hands of several prominent people. The most important among them was Aritomo Yamagata (1838-1922), who not only became prime minister twice under the Meiji Government, but who also was a founder of the Japanese Imperial Army.

As a garden lover, he purchased Nijo-en and commissioned Jihei Ogawa VII (1860-1933) to build a new garden named the second Murinan. (The first Murinan was located in Yamagata' s native town in Yamaguchi Prefecture.) Ogawa is one of the most respected gardeners in the history of Japanese gardens. (He is also often referred to as Ueji after the name of the gardening company he and his descendants own.) Later Yamagata had Ogawa build another garden near Nanzenji temple, which is called the third Murinan, and it has become one of the most popular and well-known gardens in Kyoto today.

Takase-gawa Nijo-en is currently used as a Japanese restaurant, which is run by a restaurant chain called Ganko. Toemon Sano (1928-present) is now responsible for taking care of the garden. He is a renowned gardener for his artistic skill of tending cherry blossom trees in and around Kyoto.

The garden is now open to the public at no charge and a complimentary guide is available upon request.

Places to be covered :

• East: Fushimi Inari Taisha — Tofukuji — Kiyomizu-dera — Hokanji (Yasaka Pagoda) — Kenninji — Keage Incline — Nanzenji — Philosopher’s Path — Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion)

• West (Arashiyama): Kimono Forest at Arashiyama Station — Togetsukyo Bridge — Arashiyama Monkey Park — Tenryuji — Bamboo Grove — Okochi Sanso Villa — Gioji Temple

• Central: Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) — Nijo Castle — Kyoto Imperial Palace

• Other Attractions: Kyoto International Manga Museum — Learn traditional skills — Kyoto Aquarium — Geisha (Miyako Odori) — Kyoto National Museum

•  Nachi falls

• https://www.flashpackingjapan.com/wakayama-travel/nachi-falls-japan/#nachi-falls-itinerary