Kansai International Airport 1 hr 46
Gion (22 min) Geisha district featuring high-end shops & restaurants, a Zen garden & women in colorful kimonos. Maruyama Park (22 min) Popular green space with an outdoor music hall, bronze statues & colorful, seasonal cherry blossoms. Kyoto Imperial Palace (11 min) Palace complex & former Imperial family residence reconstructed in 1855, with gardens & gates. Ryōan-ji (7 min) On the scenic grounds of this 15th-century temple is a famous Zen rock garden & a yudofu restaurant. Kiyomizu-dera (26 min) Iconic Buddhist temple on Mount Otowa known for the scenic views afforded from its sizable veranda. Shimogamo-Jinja (12 min) Legendary 2,000-year-old shrine & excavation site set in a tranquil, riverside forest. Nishiki Market (18 min) 400-year-old iconic market studded with stalls offering all manner of Japanese edibles. Higashiyama Jisho-ji (21 min) This 15th-century Zen temple features picturesque gardens & a sand mound shaped like Mount Fuji. Fushimi Inari Taisha (32 min) Mountainside Shinto shrine dating from 711 A.D. featuring a path with hundreds of traditional gates. Yasaka Shrine (23 min) This Shinto shrine was erected in 656 A.D. & is home to one of the most famous festivals in Japan. Kinkaku-ji (9 min) Historic, tranquil temple with a gold-leaf facade set amid landscaped gardens & a reflecting pond. Heian Shrine (19 min) Classic Shinto shrine complex built in 1895, with a giant gate & museums of modern & municipal art. Tenryuji Temple (21 min) This 1300s Zen temple at the foot of mountains features teahouses & serene, expansive gardens. Nijō Castle (11 min) Built in 1603, this cyprus-wood castle with extensive gardens was a home for the shogun Ieyasu. Arashiyama (22 min) Winding, lush venue showcasing a host of monkeys plus a scenic bamboo forest & water vistas. |