Photo Tour of Kyoto

Kyoto is most famous for its temples, such as the Golden Pavilion you see on the right. Historically the reason for this is that Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over 1000 years. By this I mean that the emperor lived in Kyoto for that long, but the administrative center of government was moved to Tokyo (then "Edo") long before that. Anyways, that is the reason for the large number of temples in this area.
	Along with the religion come many rituals. At Kiyomizu temple you can find holy water, and in general at the entrances to all temples there is water for you to wash your hands with.
Another scene that the westerner may notice is the bamboo. Many of the temples have a small bamboo forest somewhere around their perimeter.
	As you wander around the city you will find countless shops catering to tourists, among others. One ceramics shop I liked sold "Tanuki" statues. These are the Japanese racoon that you'll find at the entrance to bars all around Japan.
With the changing of the year people flock to Kyoto and there's a truly festive atmosphere. Before midnight people eat "Toshi-koshi-soba", Soba noodles that herald in the changing of the year. At midnight the shrines ring their main bell around 100 times, the lines to watch the ringing are so long it takes around half an hour to reach the bell, almost like Disneyland!

For more information on Kyoto check the links on my Kyoto and Nara page.

Last modified: December 12, 1998