If you want to feel the spirit of Japan, be sure to visit the temples and museums of Kyoto, the city that is the ancient capital of the country. Having a tour of this beautiful city will give you a lot of good impressions.
As we didn't have much time to explore the city (1 full day we had problems with accommodation, 1 day we spent in Kobe), therefore we couldn't see much in Kyoto. Here are the photos that i took while being in Kyoto.
Ryōan-ji temple is famous with its rock garden. There are 15 stones of different sizes, composed in 5 groups. According to which, there are only 14 of stones are visible from any angles. The 15th are always outside of vision field. It is traditionally said that only through attaining enlightenment would one be able to view the fifteenth boulder. ;)
But actually we could find an angle where all 15 stones are visible :D lol So maybe it's just a trick for attracting tourists. Entrance fee is 500 yen for adults.
Fushimi Inari-taisha was our last destination. It's located on a mountain, also named Inari, that span 4 km and takes 2 hours to walk up. The orange gates (torii) is donated by japanese businessmen, and the first gate was build in 711 A.D. and they are seen as an entrance to a sacred shrine. These shrines located at Fushimi Inari is to honor the god of rice (inari), and walking throughout these gates you can also see foxes, that are messengers for Inari. It can take up to 3 hours from bottom, until the top and back to the bottom part.
And in the evening we walked along the central street of Kyoto (don't remember the name).
As we didn't have much time to explore the city (1 full day we had problems with accommodation, 1 day we spent in Kobe), therefore we couldn't see much in Kyoto. Here are the photos that i took while being in Kyoto.
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| Kobe. View from Kobe Art Center |
Ryōan-ji temple is famous with its rock garden. There are 15 stones of different sizes, composed in 5 groups. According to which, there are only 14 of stones are visible from any angles. The 15th are always outside of vision field. It is traditionally said that only through attaining enlightenment would one be able to view the fifteenth boulder. ;)
But actually we could find an angle where all 15 stones are visible :D lol So maybe it's just a trick for attracting tourists. Entrance fee is 500 yen for adults.
Fushimi Inari-taisha was our last destination. It's located on a mountain, also named Inari, that span 4 km and takes 2 hours to walk up. The orange gates (torii) is donated by japanese businessmen, and the first gate was build in 711 A.D. and they are seen as an entrance to a sacred shrine. These shrines located at Fushimi Inari is to honor the god of rice (inari), and walking throughout these gates you can also see foxes, that are messengers for Inari. It can take up to 3 hours from bottom, until the top and back to the bottom part.
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| For the case if you want to donate a torii :) |
Walking in Gion district - Eventually it was build to satisfy the needs of visitors and travelers to the shrine. Nowadays it's well known as a famous geisha district.
