Blogs from Kyoto, Japan, Asia

18/1 Kyoto Kyoto - Higashiyama District Usually the virtual tours from the Far East are very early here in the U.K. e.g. 2 am but last night I was awake so joined the tour at midnight with Kentaro to enjoy the Higashiyama District of Kyoto. What a delightful young man who was born and raised as a country boy in Fukushima who told us that his English was not taught to him at school but during a long trip he made hitchhiking through Canada & USA. The Higashiyama District along the lower slopes of Kyoto’s eastern mountains is one of the city's best preserved historic districts. It was 9am on Sunday morning and very few people were about so it was a lovely meander through the narrow lanes with the wooden buildings and traditional merchant shops. ... read more

Which country has the most Michelin-starred restaurants? The Michelin guide was founded in 1900 by brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin as a way to encourage drivers to take more road trips. It included maps and recommendations on where to sleep, fuel up, and eat. The hope was that it would encourage people to put more wear on their cars and thus buy more tires from their company. Today, restaurants covet Michelin stars. Even a single star is a tremendous honor as it denotes a quality restaurant. Excellent restaurants are awarded two stars, and the crème de la crème receive three-stars. Despite France's reputation for fine food and it being the home of the Michelin guide, France's 600 odd starred restaurants only put it in second place. The most Michelin star restaurants can actually be found in ... read more

You can’t arrive at the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove too early. Set your alarm and get there at sunrise and not a moment later; it’s totally worth it. The light is magical and you’ll have the grove almost to yourself for a few moments, before tourists join you to visit what is one of Kyoto’s top sights. You’ll take lots of pictures but it’s difficult, if not impossible, to capture on film the surreal atmosphere on standing beneath the swaying stalks of bamboo. Try not to be too disappointed. There’s one path through the grove, which leads slowly uphill from outside the north gate of Tenryū-ji to just below Ōkōchi Sansō. After this you’ll definitely want to make a visit to Tenry-ji Temple, right next to the grove, and ideally have lunch at Shigetsu. Note that you ... read more

Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto's famed 'Golden Pavilion', is one of Japan's best-known sights. The main hall, covered in brilliant gold leaf, shining above its reflecting pond is spectacular. Arrive on a weekday as soon as it opens and still expect to be rubbing shoulders with tour groups. The original building dates from 1397 and was a retirement villa for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. His son converted it into a Zen Buddhist temple. In 1950 a young monk consummated his obsession with the temple by burning it to the ground. In 1955 a full reconstruction was completed that followed the original design, but the gold-foil covering was extended to the lower floors. The gold employed was intended to mitigate and purify any pollution or negative thoughts and feelings towards death. Each floor represents a different style of architecture. Although it ... read more

Our day started early at Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, a Zen temple along Kyoto’s eastern mountains. The temple began in 1482 as a retirement villa for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, and after his death it was converted into a temple. The interior of the building is not open to the public but it is supposed to contain a statue of Kannon. The shogun's ambition to cover the elegant building with silver (if this was his intention – it’s also possible that the name arose because the moon light reflecting on the building's dark exterior gave it a silvery appearance) was never realized but it is still lovely to behold. In front of Ginkaku-ji is a dry sand garden with a large cone of white sand and ranked undulating sand which is supposed to be symbolic of a ... read more