Imperial capital of Japan
Although only 45 mins away from Kyoto by train, Nara (奈良市) is often overlooked by time-pressed travellers but, as Japan’s first permanent capital with over 1300 years of history, it’s worth the short diversion. After a chilly trip to Kyoto back in March I spent half a day exploring it on foot. Read more
When writing about places of natural beauty it’s always tempting to overuse every adjective in the book, so I’ll try and hold back the gushing prose when describing Sagano Bamboo Forest in Arashiyama (嵐山), on the western outskirts of Kyoto. Read more
Of all the temples and shrines I’ve visited in Kyoto, my favourite has to be the little-known Kōtō-in (高桐院), a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji (大徳寺). I discovered it purely by chance four years ago on my first trip to Kyoto and decided to pay a return visit. Read more
Unlike the brightly decorated temples found in China, most in Japan are fairly sedate, preferring natural wood finishes over ornate red, green and gold motifs. Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺) in Kyoto, otherwise know as the Golden Pavilion, is an exception with the majority of its exterior covered in gold leaf. Read more
Something you’re bound to see plenty of in Kyoto are zen gardens, otherwise known as “dry landscape” gardens (枯山水 karesansui). One of the finest examples can be found at Ryōan-ji (龍安寺) located in the northwest of the city which is thought to have been built in the 15th century. Read more
After a chilly walk along the Philosophers Path in the morning, I headed south to Gion and the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto – Kennin-ji (建仁寺). Dating back to 1202, its grandeur is not immediately apparent but step inside and you’ll enter another world. Read more
After walking along the Path of Philosophy in the morning I took a bus to what turned out to be my favourite part of Kyoto that I visited during my trip. Daitoku-ji (大徳寺) is a temple complex which contains more than twenty sub-temples and some of the finest examples of Zen architecture and design in Japan, including gardens and tea ceremony rooms. Read more
In the morning of my final day in Kyoto I headed back to Northern Higashiyama to follow the Philosopher’s Walk (哲学の道), a pedestrian path that follows a cherry-tree-lined canal between Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji, passing a number of temples and shrines along the way. As it was early I virtually had the place to myself and was about as idyllic as you can imagine. Read more
I’ve been lucky enough to stay at some very nice hotels over the past couple of years but in Japan I was on a tight budget and determined to try something a little different. Originally created for businessmen who worked too late to catch the last train home, capsule hotels (カプセルホテル) have developed as an economical alternative to normal hotels in a country where space comes at a premium. Read more