Fushimi Inari-taisha Temple is famous for its thousands of torii gates; the custom to donate a torii started to spread in the Edo period (1603 – 1868) to get a wish to become true or to thank for a wish that became true
Rock gardens are designed to embody nirvana; this garden is at Kanchi-in Hall which houses Japan's largest and most well-preserved collection of esoteric Buddhist writings
Kyoto has 1600+ temples and most of the complexes have similarly designed buildings; not all of the temples had good signage in English so I don't know the purpose of this unique building at Ninnaji Temple
There were plenty of rules at Arashiyama Monkey Park like don't stare at the monkeys, don't crouch, don't take close-up photos, etc. but the monkeys generally ignored the tourists which was wonderful
Kyoto's sister cities include Boston, Cologne, Prague, Florence, Kiev, Zagreb and Guadalajara; 1 of the 3 great festivals of Japan occurs here every July culminating in a massive parade July 17
My visit wasn't during sumo wrestling season so I was spared that; buses are a great way to get around Kyoto with an all day pass costing only $6
Completed in 1236, Tofukuji Temple is one of the five great Zen temples of Kyoto; the temple features a large number of Japanese maple trees and is most crowded during the autumn season when people flock to see the autumn foliage
Photos of Tofukuji Temple in autumn are amazing with the colorful maple leaves; Kyoto was considered by the US as a target for the atomic bomb but ultimately escaped destruction during World War II
Shosei-en is the detached garden of Higashi Honganji Temple, and has been the property of the temple since 1641 when the ruling Shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, granted the temple the land; the garden is only a 10 minute walk from Kyoto Station
Inside the 120 meter long Sanjusangen-do (built in 1266) is a collection of 1001 statues of the Buddhist deity, Kannon; the statues at this UNESCO World Heritage Site were all made in the 12th and 13th centuries
Founder's Hall Gate of Higashi Honganji Temple; summers in Kyoto are hot and humid with winters being relatively cold with occasional snowfall
Kyoto Station had everything you could imagine and was always super crowded; luckily, our hotel was right across the street so wherever we went in the city it was easy to get back again
The Kyoyochi Pond at Ryoanji Temple was built in the 12th century; this UNESCO World Heritage Site was one of my favorites and it wasn't nearly as crowded as some of the others
The internationally famous Zen garden at Ryoanji Temple is compromised of 15 rocks and gravel (created around 1500); I liked these peaceful, no maintenance gardens because there is nothing to kill and you can travel for months and not worry about it!
The Kyozo building at Ninnaji Temple was used to store Buddhist scriptures; most of the temples had an admission charge of between $5 and $10 so I figured my temple expenses in Kyoto easily exceeded $100
The giant Nio-man Gate is at the entrance to Ninnaji Temple; this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of 17 (I managed to visit 12 of them)
The Kamigano Shrine is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan and is one of the seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which have been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site
The shrine in the Goeida of the Nishi Kongwanji; convenience stores are everywhere in Japan so Coke Zero is never far away
The main building at UNESCO World Heritage Site Nishi Hongwanji; entering any of the Buddhist or Shinto buildings required removing your shoes
Much of the Nijo-jo Castle complex was being restored; this view of the UNESCO World Heritage Site is from the base of the keep tower
It was amazing how quickly you could escape the city; we took the subway and walked to this overlook where the water in the river was so clear that we could see the bottom
We were told that the baby monkeys were only 2 weeks old; they were very wobbly and couldn't really walk but the moms kept the kids nearby
There was some consideration by the United States of targeting Kyoto with an atomic bomb at the end of World War II because, as an intellectual center of Japan, it had a population large enough to possibly persuade the emperor to surrender
The understated beauty of the buildings (like here at Ginkakuji) often hides interesting details; each Japanese cypress wooden shingle is about 30 cm long with only 3 cm showing and they are fixed with bamboo nails
The Zen garden at Ginkakuji Temple represents waves with Mt. Fuji in the background; this UNESCO temple lies at the end of the popular Philosopher's Path
The rental of traditional kimonos by Japanese females was quite popular; they would then take tons of photos at the temples and shrines
Zenrinji Temple had one of the rare painted religious buildings in Kyoto; few people smoke here and there are large areas where you can't even smoke on the public streets
Amida-do Hall at Eikando Zenrinji Temple (1497); we had fantastic weather for our 3 days in Kyoto which was appreciated since there was a ton of walking required to see the city
Kyoto has about 1.5 million people, about the same number as in 1980; I would definitely recommend including Kyoto on any trip to Japan
For over a thousand years, Kyoto was the former Imperial capital of Japan; in 1868, the capital was moved to Tokyo but much of Kyoto's treasured past has been preserved
The Sanmon Gate at Nanzenji Temple contains stairs to an elevated viewing area which was the setting for a famous scene in a 1778 Kabuki play inspired by the story of the criminal Ishikawa Goemon who is said to have spoken of the beauty of the view
Not a single nail was used in the buildings of Kiyomizu-dera Shrine; in 2007, Kiyomizu-dera was one of 21 finalists for the New Seven Wonders of the World
Kiyomizu-dera Shrine was more tourist-friendly than most Japanese temples since they were open from 6am-6pm while others were 9am-5pm;the highlight of Kiyomizu-dera Temple is the 42.6-foot-high veranda overlooking cherry and maple trees
View of downtown Kyoto from Kiyomizu-dera Shrine; part of the fun of visiting Kiyomizu-dera is the approach to the temple along the steep and busy lanes of the atmospheric Higashiyama District
This featured blog entry was written by VagabondCowboy from the blog The frugal travels of a vagabond.
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