What an impressive place on Earth is Kyoto , the old capital of Japan…Beautiful for so many things that we could see on that day.

Kyoto actually was the capital of Japan in 794 -1868 and home to the Imperial Japanese Court.

Kyoto is one of the most important religious hubs in Japan with its 1500 temples and shrines and their beautiful gardens, out of which 16 became UNESCO World Heritage Sites by today .

Over the centuries Kyoto was destroyed several times by wars and fires .

In WW II Kyoto was on the list for the targeted cities for the atom bomb attacks as Hiroshima and Nagasaki but later on dropped from this list due to its unique beauty and priceless history .

In 1868 the capital was moved to Tokyo.

I can’t imagine how beautiful it is in spring when the Sakura season starts – it should look magical.

 

One of our stops is the Kiyomizu-dera consisting of several Buddhist temples, pagodas and a nice entrance gate which are built in 798 – unfortunately a part of it is under renovation so that we cannot enjoy the full view but can imagine how impressing it is without all the restoration around.

The Kiyomizu-dera is one of the most significant UNESCO heritage sites to see in Kyoto. It is named after the waterfall on which it is built upon.

 

 

Another beautiful site is the Kinkaku-ji ,  also called the Golden Pavillon, which is a Zen temple that appears like a dream at the back of the entrance of its garden…golden and somehow unreal  and where its appearance is reflected beautifully in the mirror pond. When you exit the garden, if you look around , you will recognize people offering Macha tea  – with some thin golden leaves inside.

 

 

Moreover we visit the Fushimi Inari , the 1000 toriis , the red T-shaped doors, leading us to the top…the doors are getting smaller the higher you hike…a way of 4 km that you can walk for about 2 hours.

We walk up for half an hour and return as time is tight and we want to see also the other historical sites in Kyoto. Weather again is sunny and so friendly .The colors around are so bright – the red toriis in this huge green forest.

 

 

 Gion – the ancient part of Kyoto where the Geishas are  living . Today there are many beautiful shops, tea houses in the Gion area – so many things to look around.

We join a tea ceremony and learn about the deep history and philosophy of preparing and serving tea.

Our maid is joining  the tea ceremonial education since 10 years and is told by her master that she is just at the beginning of her studies.

The tea ceremony is transmitted from generation to generation by the tea masters.