Kyoto 2024 Fall

Fall is a good time to visit Kyoto and it all starts with the Haruka - train from KIX to Osaka and Kyoto.

Kyoto Station

Once you got out of the Kyoto Station, you will see the Kyoto Tower.

Nidec Kyoto Tower

Although Kyoto is an old city, the city planning is not. The main horizontal roads (jo) are named from 1 to 10 north to south. Kyoto Station is located on the 8th called Hachi-Jo. The vertical streets are called dori.

The 4th road called Shijo could be the most popular one. We will cover that soon. Before you go out of the station, you can find so many things here both underground and above ground including the Kyoto Ramen Koji which is a corridor of ramen noodle shops on the 10th floor of the station building.

Mitsubishi Bank on the Shijo

On the Shijo, from west to east are Omiya, Karasuma, Nishiki Market, and Yasaka Shrine.

Nishiki Market is an area where there are long corriders of stores full of Jpanaese specialities. This is the palce for international visitors to see and taste. Saw the signs saying don't eat while walking. Turn out there are sitting area on the 2nd floor of some stores!

清水寺 Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple located in eastern Kyoto, Japan. The temple is part of the historic monuments of ancient Kyoto UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the place you would come everytime you come to Kyoto. The scene is difference from season to season so you will not get bore.

清水寺

二寧坂 is in the neighborhood. Old streets and many tea houses and goodies.

靈山觀音 is also in the neighborhood.

There is a good view to take picture - 法觀寺

From here to Gion (祇園) is only a few blocks. That's Japanese traditional performace, a whole different area to cover.

伏見稻荷大社 (Fushimi Inari Taisha) is south east of Kyoto. It is colorful. You can hike up the mountain to see the city view from the distance.

The hiking trail is full of the 「torii」（鳥居). You can see the donators' names on the back of the torii.

東福寺 is right next to the Taisha. Right on our way to the bus stop back to the hotel.

Nijo Castle would be a good choice if you have been to Kyoto Gyoen National Garden. Both were palace at one time. So there are many similarities. Nijo is older and a bit smaller. Kyoto Gyoen (garden) is newer, bigger and more popular. When capital is later established in Tokyo, buildings here are removed and the place is reserved as a garden.

You would probably see similar scene in Kyoto Gyoen National Garden, for example the one below.

One might wonder why monks would decorate the sand like this. This is called Karesansui「枯山水」

Well, I guess they really have lots of time to kill.

哲学の道

On the way to 東山慈照寺 a.k.a 銀閣寺, it starts with the Philosopher's Path.

It is a beautiful walkway along the trench. Cherry trees all the way. One can imagine the scene when they blossom in the spring.

銀閣寺 is a must see spot in Kyoto. A good introduction can be found here. You can switch the language easily on that website. 500圓 entrance fee is worthwhile.

下鴨神社 is one of Kyoto's oldest temples, a good site to see the fallage. Although we were a few weeks earlier from the fallage, it is still a good place to visit. Saw two couples getting married are taking their photo shots with their traditional costume on.

金閣寺

Last site for today.

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (金閣寺) is a novel by Yukio Mishima (三岛由纪夫). Since so many people read that novel, I guess the novel makes the temple famous and a must-visit site ever since.

"池面搖盪的官能 是構築金格的力量來源 但力量一旦被賦予秩序 ... 已無法在往其中 向池上 故鄉逃遁而去" - 所謂美到了極致 就是毀滅嗎?