Main Attractions

Kyoto Imperial Palace
Japan’s imperial family lived in the Kyoto palace from 1331 until 1868 (when they moved to Tokyo), and today visitors can view the furnishings and delicate decorations on guided one-hour tours of the city’s Imperial Palace. It is necessary to reserve a tour in advance by calling at the Imperial Household Agency office in the Kyoto Imperial Park, which surrounds the palace. To join a tour you need to produce your passport.

Transport: Karasuma Subway line from Kyoto Station to Marutamachi or Imadegawa Station;

Opening time: Daily tours, except Sundays. Closed for official functions and from 28 December to 4 January;

Admission: Free

To-ji
To-ji, with the tallest pagoda in Japan, was the temple founded in 794 as guardian of the then young capital city’s welfare. Today it stands about 10 minutes walk to the south of Kyoto Station, drawing curious tourists to admire in particular its five-storey pagoda, which was rebuilt in the mid-17th century. During the span of centuries a treasure trove of statuary, calligraphy and paintings has been collected at the temple, now housed in the various historic buildings making up the temple complex. The statues include a six-metre-tall Senju Kannon (thousand-arm Buddhist Goddess of Mercy) carved in 877.

Address: 1 Kujo-cho, Minami-ku;

Telephone: (0)75 672 6603;

Opening time: Daily 9am to 4.30pm (20 March to 25 May, and 20 September to 25 November)

Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji)
One of Kyoto’s most popular attractions is to the north of the city. The Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji) is a three-storey pavilion covered in gold leaf, glittering in the waters of a calm pond. Kinkakuji was built in 1397 as a retirement home for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who lived there in luxury until he died in 1408, after which the building was converted into a Zen temple. In 1950 a mad monk burnt the pavilion down, and it was not rebuilt until 1955. Today it is covered in gold leaf five times thicker than the original coating, and presents an awesome sight. A short walk from the pavilion is Ryoanji, Japan’s most famous Zen rock garden, laid out in the 15th century. A veranda overlooks the garden in which 15 rocks are set among raked white pebbles.

Telephone: (075) 461 0013;

Website: www.shokoku-ji.or.jp;

Transport: Bus 101 or 205 from Kyota Station or subway;

Opening time: Daily 9am to 5pm;

Admission: ¥400

Sanjusangendo Hall
The temple of Rengeoin in eastern Kyoto is better known by its popular name of Sanjusangendo Hall, and houses an amazing sight. Inside the longest wooden building in Japan stand row upon row of life-sized statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, carved from Japanese cypress in the 12th and 13th centuries. There are 1,001 statues altogether. The statues surround the large, central figure of a seated Kannon, carved in 1254 in the Kamakura Period.

Telephone: (075) 525 0033;

Transport: From Kyoto Station a 20-minute walk or bus 100, 206 or 208;

Opening time: Daily 8am to 5pm (April to mid-November); 9am to 4pm the rest of the year

Gion
Most visitors to Japan are fascinated with the traditional Geisha: white-faced kimono-clad women specially trained to entertain and spoil men in a soothing setting. Kyoto boasts one of the most famous Geisha districts in the country, a neighbourhood of plain wooden buildings to the east of the Kamo River known as Gion. There were once thousands of Geisha and maiko (apprentice Geisha) performing their genteel tasks in this area. Today the number has dwindled to a few hundred, but visitors who stroll the Hanami-koji street at sunset, past teahouses and restaurants, will probably catch a glimpse of one or two en route to the geisha houses in their clattering wooden shoes. The geisha houses themselves are strictly off-limits to anyone not properly introduced and invited, but from behind the paper screens you will hear the strains of music and laughter. While geisha-spotting in the Gion district, take in the Yasaka Shrine with its many paper lanterns, and the Minamiza Kabuki Theatre.

Transport: Train to Keihan Shijo station, or bus 100 or 206 from Kyoto Station

Kiyomizudera
The ‘Pure water temple’, Kiyomizudera, is one of Japan’s most celebrated temples, founded in 780 and associated with Nara Buddhism, the oldest sect in Japan. The temple’s main feature is the lovely view afforded of the wooded hills of eastern Kyoto from its terrace. Below the terrace is the spring from which the temple got its name; visitors can sample the water, which is said to have healing powers. Nearby is an interesting three-storey pagoda, and the Otawa Falls. The approach to the temple along Kiyomizu-michi or Gojo-zaka is steep and narrow, the streets lined with stores specialising in local sweets, pottery and the inevitable souvenirs. Behind the temple is the Shinto Jishu Shrine, dedicated to the god of love.

Telephone: (075) 551 1234;

Transport: 15-minute bus ride (100 or 206) from Kyoto Station to Kiyomizu-michi or Gojo-zaka stop;

Opening time: Daily 6am to 6pm