Traveling Info

二条城, Nijō-jō? is a flatland castle located in Kyoto, Japan. The castle consists of two concentric rings of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. The surface area of the castle is 275,000 square meters, of which 8000 square meters is occupied by buildings. Click here for Nijo Castle Plan How to get there Nijo Castle is most easily accessed from Nijojo-mae Station on the Tozai Subway Line. From Kyoto Station, take the Karasuma Subway Line to Karasuma Oike Station and transfer to the Tozai Line. The whole trip from Kyoto Station takes about 15-20 minutes. Click here for Nijo Castle Map Hours and Admission Admission: 600 Yen Hours: 8:45 to 17:00 (admission until 16:00). Closed on Tuesdays (Wednesday if Tuesday falls on a national holiday) during January, July, August and December. Closed from December 26 to January 4. History In 1601, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, ordered all the feudal...

Click here for Imperial Place Location Map The Kyoto Imperial Palace (京都御所, Kyōto Gosho?) is an imperial palace of Japan, though the Emperor of Japan is not in residence. The Emperor has resided at the Tokyo Imperial Palace since 1869 (Meiji Restoration) and ordered the preservation of the Kyoto Imperial Palace in 1877. Today the grounds are open to the public, and the Imperial Household Agency hosts public tours of the buildings several times a day. The Kyōto Imperial Palace is the latest of the imperial palaces built at or near its site in the north-eastern part of the old capital on Heiankyo after the abandonment of the larger original Heian Palace (大内裏, daidairi?) that was located to the west of the current palace during the Heian Period. The Palace lost much of its function at the time of the Meiji Restoration, when the capital functions was moved to Tokyo in 1869. However, the Taisho and Showa Emperors still had their coronation ceremonies at Kyōto Gosho. How to get there Kyoto I...

Saihō-ji (西芳寺, Saihō-ji?) is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple located in Matsuo, Nishikyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple, which is famed for its moss garden, is commonly referred to as "Koke-dera" (苔寺, "Koke-dera"?), meaning "moss temple", and is also known as "Kōinzan Saihō-ji" (洪隠山西芳寺, "Kōinzan Saihō-ji"?). The temple, primarily constructed to honor Amitabha, was first founded by Gyōki, and was later restored by Musō Soseki. In 1994, Saihō-ji was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto" History According to temple legend, Saihō-ji was constructed during the Nara Period by Gyōki, on the location of one of Prince Shōtoku's former retreats. The temple first operated as a Hossō temple dedicated to Amitabha, and was known as "Saihō-ji" (西方寺, "Saihō-ji"?), a homophone of the current name. The name was selected because Amitabha is the primary buddha of West...

The Katsura Imperial Villa (桂離宮, Katsura Rikyū?), or Katsura Detached Palace, is a villa with associated gardens and outbuildings in the western suburbs of Kyoto, Japan (in Nishikyo-ku, separate from the Kyoto Imperial Palace). It is one of Japan's most important large-scale cultural treasures. Its gardens are a masterpiece of Japanese gardening, and the buildings are even more important, one of the greatest achievements of Japanese architecture. The palace includes a shoin (building), tea houses, and a strolling garden. It provides an invaluable window into the villas of princes of the Edo period. The palace formerly belonged to the princes of the Hachijo-no-miya (八条宮) family. The Imperial Household Agency administers it, and accepts visitors by appointment. History The Katsura district of Kyoto has long been favored for villas, and in the Heian period, Fujiwara no Michinaga had a villa there. The members of the Heian court found it an elegant location for viewing the moon. Prince...

Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, Ryōan-ji? The Temple of the Peaceful Dragon) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. Belonging to the Myoshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism, the temple is one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site of the temple was originally a Fujiwara family estate. It eventually came into the hands of the Hosokawa clan branch of the Fujiwaras. Hosokawa Katsumoto inherited the residence, and lived here before the Ōnin War. Katsumoto willed the war-ravaged property to be converted into a Zen sect temple complex after his death. Later Hosokawa emperors are grouped together in what are today known as the "Seven Imperial Tombs" at Ryoan-ji. The burial places of these emperors -- Uda, Kazan, Ichijō, Go-Suzaku, Go-Reizei, Go-Sanjō, and Horikawa -- would have been comparatively humble in the period after their deaths. These tombs reached their present state as a result of the 19th cent...

Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺, Kinkaku-ji? Golden Pavilion Temple) is the informal name of Rokuon-ji (鹿苑寺, Deer Garden Temple) in Kyoto, Japan. It was originally built in 1397 to serve as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, as part of his estate then known as Kitayama. It was his son who converted the building into a Zen temple of the Rinzai school. The temple was burned down twice during the Ōnin War. The Golden Pavilion, or Kinkaku, is a three-story building on the grounds of the temple. The top two stories of the pavilion are covered with pure gold leaf. The pavilion functions as a shariden, housing relics of the Buddha (Buddha's Ashes). The building is often linked or contrasted with Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion Temple, which is also located in Kyoto. The Golden Pavilion is set in a magnificent Japanese strolling garden (kaiyū-shiki). The pond in front of it is called Kyōko-chi (Mirror Pond). There are many islands and stones on the pond that represent the Buddhist creation...

Sanjūsangendō (三十三間堂, Sanjūsangendō?) is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama District of Kyoto, Japan. Officially known as "Rengeō-in" (蓮華王院), or Hall of the Lotus King, Sanjusangendo belongs to and is run by the Myoho-in temple, a part of the Tendai school of Buddhism. The temple name literally means Hall with thirty three spaces between columns, describing the architecture of the long main hall of the temple. How to get there Sanjusangendo is a 15-20 minute walk or a short bus ride (lines 100, 206 or 208) from Kyoto Station. Click here for map Hours and admission Hours: Apr-mid-Nov: daily 8-5; mid-Nov-Mar: daily 9-4 Cost: ¥600 History Taira no Kiyomori completed the temple under order of Emperor Go-Shirakawa in 1164. The temple complex suffered a fire in 1249 and only the main hall was rebuilt in 1266. In January, the temple has an event known as the Rite of the Willow (柳枝のお加持), where worshippers are touched on the head with a sacred willow branch to cure and prevent headaches...

Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺, Kiyomizu-dera?) is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Kyoto. Its full name is Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera (音羽山清水寺, Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera?). The temple is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) UNESCO World Heritage site. Not one nail is used in the whole temple. How to get there Kiyomizudera can be reached from Kyoto Station in about 15 minutes by bus. Take bus number 100 or 206 and get off at Kiyomizu-michi or Gojo-zaka, from where it is a 10-15 minute uphill walk to the temple. Click here for map Admission and Hours Admission: 300 Yen Open: Daily 6:00 to 18:00 (regular hours) Origin and history The temple dates back to 798, and its present buildings were constructed in 1633. It takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means clear water. The main hall has a veranda, supported by tall pillars, that juts out over the hillside and offers impressive views of the city. The popular expres...