Kyoto and Nara Tuttle Travel Pack Guide + Map - Rob Goss Tuttle Travel Guide & Map

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Station on the Keihan Line. For a day out in southern Kyoto that includes Fushimi Inari Shrine and other sights, see Chapter 2, page 44. Contact http://inari.jp Admission Fee Free. While in the area Do Fushimi Inari Shrine as a day out in southern Kyoto that also includes the gardens of Tofukuji Temple and the green tea and Byodo-in Temple in Uji (page 46).

      6 The Gion District

      Kyoto’s famed geisha and entertainment district

      Gion isn’t the only place in Kyoto where you will find geisha, but it is the most famous. The backstreets here, lined with wooden machiya townhouses that serve as high-end restaurants and exclusive teahouses—lowly-lit lanterns hanging out front of an evening—provide the perfect backdrop for the white-faced geisha and their ornately decorated kimono as they flit between appointments.

      Some of the geisha you see in Gion will be apprentices known as maiko, while some will be full geisha (referred to in Kyoto as geiko), who would have been through at least five years of training, not just in how to dress and behave like a geisha, but in traditional pastimes such as flower arranging, the tea ceremony, and performing arts. The question is: can you tell the difference? One way is to look at the belt. A maiko’s kimono belt (called an obi) will drop down at the back to almost touch the floor, while a geiko will have her obi neatly folded like a square on her back. The maiko might also have accessories in her hair, where a geisha won’t, and while a geisha will always wear flat zori sandals, you might also see a maiko in platformed footwear.

      If you want to spot some geiko or maiko, be in Gion around 5.30pm to 6pm, when many are on their way to their evening appointments. Then follow some simple rules if you are going to try photographing them—don’t block their path to get your shot (from behind or the side is ok), don’t try and pose with them, don’t stalk (some busloads of visitors do!) and don’t photograph them if they are walking with a client.

      Getting There From Kyoto Station, buses #100 and #206 run to the Gion bus stop. The area can also be accessed by Gion Shijo Station on the Keihan Line and (a slightly longer walk) Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Line. To explore Gion as part of a half-day out, see Chapter 2, page 30. While in the area You’d need some heavy connections and deep pockets to get into many of Gion’s restaurants and teahouses, but not everything is pricey or off limits. Try Gion Tokuya (gion-tokyuya.jp) for green tea and sweets in traditional surrounds. Or, look at the geisha shows on page 66, if you are happy to drop a couple of hundred dollars on what will be an unforgettable night out.

      7 Arashiyama’s Bamboo Grove

      A glimpse of Kyoto’s sublime natural beauty

      As Kyoto’s attractions go, the bamboo grove in Arashiyama has to be one of the most beguilling. It’s certainly one of the most photographed. Running between two of the Arashiyama area’s other main attractions, Tenryu-ji and the Okochi-sanso Villa, strolling through the narrow walkways of the bamboo grove is simply enchanting. The light, often filtered a soft green through the towering bamboo’s canopy, produces an otherworldly feel that seems to send visitors into a photographic trance. You can almost guarantee you will see someone lying on their back, camera to the sky, trying (usually in vain) to get a prime, people-free angle of the bamboo stalks as they gently sway in the breeze.

      Then there’s the sound. The eerie creaking noises the bamboo makes adds to the surreal sense of the place, so much so that the Ministry of the Environment has included the bamboo forest on its oddly-named “100 Soundscapes of Japan” list (one of countless, sometimes seemingly pointless “100…of Japan” lists that the Japanese government and other organizations are quite fond of issuing). You just have to make sure you don’t get stuck between high-school touring groups or you won’t hear anything but chatter.

      One thing to note before visiting is that the bamboo forest won’t take much more than 30 minutes (maybe much less), so don’t plan on heading out to Arashiyama just for it. Do it as part of a longer walk around Arashiyama (see page 40 for that). Like many other popular sights in Kyoto, try to get there early, too, as that will give you the best chance of not sharing the bamboo with busloads of tour groups.

      Opening Times Dawn to dusk daily. Getting There About a ten-minute walk from Saga Arashiyama Station on the JR Sagano Line or Keifuku Arashiyama Station on the Randen Line. Admission Fee Free. While in the area Follow the half-day tour on page 40 to explore more of Arashiyama, which includes Tenryu-ji and the plush Okochi-sanso Villa, and also some nice stores and a footbath to finish at the station.

      8 Ginkaku-ji Temple

      The Silver(less) Pavilion

      Kinkaku-ji’s unadorned cousin, Ginkaku-ji, has got the natural look down pat. The Silver Pavilion, as it’s often known in English (Gin means silver), was supposedly going to be covered in silver leaf when it was built as a shogun’s retirement villa during the 1480s, but for reasons nobody can decide on today that never happened.

      It’s most likely that shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the man behind Ginkaku-ji’s construction (and the grandson of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who was responsible for the gilded Kinkaku-ji), simply ran out of money to fund the project, while others speculate that he never had any real intention of spending a fortune on all that silver. Whatever the reason, Ginkaku-ji, which became a Zen temple (officially called Jisho-ji) after Yoshimasa’s death, is fine just the way it is.

      Yoshimasa was said to have been a great patron of the arts, promoting such pursuits as poetry and the tea ceremony, which he pursued in his retirement at Ginkaku-ji, and the temple’s understated beauty is certainly more representative of Japanese artistic sensibilities than the brashness of Kinkaku-ji. The view over Ginkaku-ji from the small wooded hill within the temple’s grounds is worthy of a haiku. The grounds are lush with moss and trees that contrast with the simple raked sand garden, where the raised ripples in the white sand are said to be designed to reflect the moon’s rays. The pond positioned in front of Ginkaku-ji sometimes ripples in the breeze, too, as its catches reflections of the two-story thatched temple. It all combines to make Ginkaku-ji uniquely special.

      Opening Times Daily Mar.–Nov. 8.30 a.m.–5 p.m., Dec.–Feb. 9 a.m.–4.30 p.m. Getting There Take buses #5, #17 or #100 to the Ginkakuji-mae bus stop. Or look at Chapter 2, page 36, to see how Ginkaku-ji can be combined with a stroll along the nearby Philosopher’s Path. Contact www.shokoku-ji.jp Admission Fee ¥500. While in the area After Ginkaku-ji walk down the Philosopher’s Path as part of the day out detailed on page 36. The Philosopher’s Path has a few nice cafes and stores on and just off it including Yojiya, where you can sip tea on tatami accompanied by some lovely garden views (page 37).

      9 Nishiki-koji Food Market

      Kyoto’s oldest market is a sensory delight

      To stroll along the approximately 500-meter (1,640-foot) covered street that makes up Nishiki-koji food market is to journey through the colors, aromas and flavors of Kyoto’s culinary heritage. Running parallel to Shijo Street, one block to the north, the vibrant Nishiki-koji began life in 1616 as a fish market, but over the centuries its scope has broadened to encapsulate an incredible range of regional specialties and traditional traders.

      For visitors with a sweet tooth, you’ll find Swiss baumkauchen cake with a green tea flavored twist, colorful hard candies that look like ornate marbled glass, and traditional Japanese sweets such as dango (rice flour dumpling), warabi mochi (a thick, jelly-like sweet made with bracken starch) and manju (dough buns filled

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