Kyoto Overview
- Overview
- Attractions
- Events
- Facts
- Kids
Kyoto was Japan's capital and the emperor's residence from 794
until the Meiji Restoration of 1868 when the capital was moved to Tokyo. It is
now the country's seventh largest city with a population of 2.6 million people.
Kyoto is still considered the center of Japanese culture and is a city of
revered temples and serene gardens most of which were built for emperors,
shoguns, geishas, and monks during the period of imperial power.
Over the
centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires, but due to its historic
value, the city was not chosen as a target of air raids during World War II.
Kyoto is in the Kansai region of Japan, located near Osaka and
Kobe. It is famous for its 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines. Kyoto
features the famous Ryoan-ji temple's zen garden and is the place where the
Kyoto protocol was developed. (In 1997, Kyoto hosted the international
conference that bears the city's name, which resulted in issuance of the
protocol on greenhouse gas emissions.)
Nestled
among mountains in Western Honshu, Kyoto has a reputation worldwide as Japan's
most beautiful city, boasting more World Heritage sites per square inch than any
other. However, most visitors' first impressions will be of the urban sprawl of
central Kyoto, around the ultra-modern glass-and-steel railway station.
Kyoto does not have an airport, but it has the Shinkansen (bullet
train) from Tokyo, which is only 2 hours and 14 minutes away. For connections to
nearby cities, you can also take the private Hankyu or Keihan lines to Osaka, or
the Kintetsu line to Nara.
Highlights
of Kyoto include Nijô Castle with its series of ornately-decorated reception
rooms within the Ninomaru complex and its "nightingale floors" : wooden
flooring which makes bird-like squeaking sounds when stepped on as a result of
nail placement in the floor joists. This was a warning system signaling an
intruder to the resident shogun’s guards. From the donjon of the inner castle,
you can get good views over the castle layout, and the rest of the city.
The
Imperial Park is a large, peaceful area in the centre of Kyoto, centered around
the Imperial Palace. The Palace itself is only open to visitors on pre-booked
guided tours. Ryôan-ji Temple is known for its Zen garden, which is considered
to be one of the most notable examples of the "dry-landscape" style. Surrounded
by low walls, an arrangement of fifteen rocks sits on a bed of white gravel and
is said to inspire contemplation.
The Temple
of the Golden Pavilion, formally known as Rokuonji is the most popular tourist
attraction in Kyoto. The pavilion was originally built as a retirement villa for
Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in the late 12th century, and converted into a temple
by his son. Rebuilt after a deliberate fire, it has been embellished with extra
layers of gold leaf and fairly blazes in the sunlight. Visitors follow a path
through the moss garden surrounding the pavilion.
The
history of Kyoto extends over 1200 years, and during this time various
traditional crafts have developed. Today, these traditional crafts continue to
be produced by hand and are being appreciated and passed on to the next
generation. Among these treasured crafts is the construction of the
Kyo-Ningyo, the Kyoto doll, Kiyomizu pottery, Tegaki Yuzen,
hand dyeing, and Kyo-shikki, Kyoto lacquerware.
Kyoto has earned a well deserved reputation as a truly vibrant
cityrecognized and appreciated, throughout Japan and the rest of the world.
