Kyoto Tower
The First and Last Landmark Greeting Visitors to Kyoto
Standing 131 meters tall in front of Kyoto Station, this candlestick-shaped tower has been a city...
Kyoto Railway Museum
Steam Locomotives in a 1914 Roundhouse, Near Kyoto Station
JR West's railway museum in Umekoji Park, with more than 50 real trains from steam locomotives to...
Sagano Bamboo Grove
Tall bamboo stalks forming a corridor in Arashiyama. Very Instagrammed. Go at dawn or it's a queu...
Saihoji (Kokedera)
The Moss Temple Requiring Advance Reservation
A World Heritage Zen temple blanketed in over 120 varieties of moss, creating an ethereal green l...
Sagano Scenic Railway
A Scenic Open-Air Train Ride Through the Hozukyo Gorge
A 25-minute open-air sightseeing train running along the Hozu River gorge between Saga and Kameok...
Ninna-ji
Imperial Palace Temple with Late-Blooming Cherry Blossoms
A World Heritage Site and former imperial palace temple, famed for its late-blooming Omuro cherry...
Keage Incline
Historic Railway Tracks Lined with Cherry Blossoms
An abandoned 582-meter railway incline from 1891, once used to transport boats between canal leve...
Menbakaichidai Fire Ramen
Kyoto's Legendary Fire Ramen Experience
A Kyoto ramen counter, open since 1984, where staff pour flaming green-onion oil over your bowl. ...
Eikan-do
The Temple of Autumn Leaves with a Looking-Back Buddha
A Higashiyama temple known as Momiji no Eikan-do for its roughly 3,000 maples, with an Amida Budd...
Daikaku-ji
An Imperial Temple with Japan's Oldest Artificial Lake
A former imperial palace turned Shingon temple, famous for Osawa Pond, Japan's oldest artificial ...
Kimono Forest
An Art Installation of 600 Illuminated Kimono Pillars
600 pillars wrapped in Kyo-Yuzen fabric at Randen Arashiyama Station. Glows at night. Free, open ...
Chion-in
Monumental Head Temple of Pure Land Buddhism
The head temple of Jodo (Pure Land) Buddhism, featuring Japan's largest temple gate at 24 meters ...
Heian Shrine
Meiji-Era Shrine with Large Torii and Strolling Garden
A striking Meiji-era shrine featuring one of Japan's largest vermilion torii gates and a celebrat...
Shimogamo Shrine
Ancient World Heritage Shrine in a Primeval Forest
One of Kyoto's oldest shrines (UNESCO World Heritage), located within the Tadasu no Mori primeval...
Kurama-dera
A Mountain Temple of Mystical Energy and Ancient Forests
A powerful mountain temple said to be where Yoshitsune trained as a child. The forested trail con...