The real reason people go to Kyoto is its history. It was the capital of
Japan for much of its history, and even in the Edo period, the powerless
Emperor lived there and the Shogun had to come visit him frequently for
ceremonial duties. Kyoto was not that damaged in WWII, and is packed
with shrines and temples.
We went there in high season it turns out, due to the changing colours of
the leaves. This was just beginning but still quite spectacular. But we
had to leave on the weekend because one could not get a hotel room.
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Toji temple, with its 5 storey Pagoda
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Gate at Yasaka shrine
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Roof of temple at Yasaka
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In Niju Castle, all the floods chirp like birds as you walk on them. Enough to drive you nuts. This is deliberate, as all the boards are mounted on small metal spikes to squeak. Stopped intruders from getting in.
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Gardens at Nijo Castle. Quite beautiful
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I've forgotten!
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Chion-in temple. The old lady has put some incense in the brazier.
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Interior at Chion-In
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Interior of another temple at Chion-in
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Children return from their visit to the golden temple, through red trees.
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Main room at Shoren-in temple, overlooking the lovely garden. One of the nicer old Japanese buildings, with standard sliding doors and Tatami-mat floors
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Another room in Shoren-in, with paintings on the panels
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The golden pavilion. This is a reconstruction. A distraught monk burned it down in 1950, but it's still pretty good.
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Kinkaku-ji, the golden pavilion
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The garden at Shoren-in
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The bamboo forest at Shoren-in
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The gates of Chion-in
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Red maple and the Kinkaku-ji
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A crane, a popular symbol, on a spire
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Last view of the golden pavilion
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A temple we didn't visit on the temple walk, but it made a good photo.
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Guard wall around the imperial palace
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Main gate in the palace. The Emperor stopped using it when he got a car
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The imperial residence, seen through the gate
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Gardens at the Imperial Palace of Kyoto
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The temples of Kiyomizu-dera, an a hill above the city
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More
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The pagoda of Kiyomizu-dera at sunset
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The beautiful trees of Kiyomizu-dera
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The long hall at Sanjusangen-do, which contains 1,0001 statues of the thousand handed Kanon. Quite something, but they don't allow pictures
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Downward view of the gate to Chion-in
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The garden at Shoren-in
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Sunset at Kiyomizu-dera. The camera battery failed -- I bought another on the way back.
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