Hall) that’s believed to have been built around 670 AD, thereby making it the world’s oldest wooden building. It almost came down to a game of Japan’s favorite decision maker, janken (rock, paper, scissors), but in the end, age won out.
Founded in 607 AD, 50 years after Buddhism first arrived in Japan, Horyu-ji Temple was a major base from which the recently imported religion Buddhism spread across Japan under the patronage of Horyu-ji’s founder Prince Shotoku (574–622AD). While the complex and its ancient structures are an obvious main attraction (with a scale and splendor that serve to highlight how quickly and deeply Buddhism established itself in Japan), Horyu-ji Temple is also known for its treasures. Some of Japanese Buddhism’s most precious relics are kept at Horyu-ji’s Kon-do today, including the original Medicine Buddha that Shotoku supposedly built Horyu-ji Temple to hold and a bronze image of Buddha dated to 623, while in the 8th-century Yumedono building in the complex’s eastern precinct is the jewel in Horyu-ji’s crown: a 178.8-cm (5-foot 10-inch-high) statue thought to be a life-size replica of Prince Shotoku, and which for centuries was kept hidden from all under a white cloth, only finally being uncovered in 1884.
Opening Times Daily 8 a.m.–4.30 p.m. Getting There Nara is 40 minutes from Kyoto on the Kintetsu-Kyoto Line’s Limited Express and can also be reached by JR Lines from Kyoto and Osaka. The JR Yamatoji Line runs from JR Nara Station to Horyuji Temple (12 mins). Contact www.horyuji.or.jp Admission Fee ¥1,500. While in the area Look at the full guide to Nara (page 48), which will also take you to places like Todai-ji Temple (mentioned above) as well as the historic Nara-machi area (page 50) and its old wooden buildings that now house a great selection of craft stores, cafes and restaurants.
CHAPTER 2
EXPLORING KYOTO & NARA
You could explore Japan’s two ancient capitals for years and still keep discovering new facets of the cities’ rich past and present with each visit. To encounter the most memorable and worthwhile of places and experiences in both, we’ve broken Kyoto, Nara and nearby areas into nine different (mostly) day-long excursions, starting with a day that takes in Ryoan-ji and Kinkaku-ji temples and finally a day trip or overnighter to Nara. In case you need a break from tradition, we’ve also included a whirlwind day trip to Japan’s second city, the always energetic Osaka.
1 Northwestern Kyoto 2 Southeastern Kyoto
3 Exploring Gion
4 Central Kyoto
5 Northeastern Kyoto
6 Arashiyama
7 Southern Kyoto
8 Exploring Nara
9 Day Trip to Osaka
Ginkaku-ji Temple
Arashiyama
Ryoan-ji Temple
Byodo-in Temple
Nishiki-koji food market
Kiyomizu Temple
Ryoan-ji Temple’s Zen rock garden
NORTHWESTERN KYOTO
World Heritage temples Ryoan-ji and Kinkaku-ji and traditional crafts
See pull-out map H7; P15
When Ryoan-ji temple in northwestern Kyoto opens its doors at 8 a.m., there’s a brief window of opportunity to have one of Kyoto’s most photographed sights almost to yourself. Before the bus tours descend, bringing groups of school children and tour parties following their flag-carrying guides, you can imagine what it would have been like centuries ago to sit on the wooden decking outside the temple’s small, main building and contemplate the meaning behind Ryoanji’s famed Zen rock garden. Theories abound about the placement of the rocks and the way the garden is raked (see page 10), but what is undisputed is how captivating the small (it’s only 30 by 10 meters/100 x 30 feet) patch of landscaping can be. If you get to Ryoan-ji early enough, just ten minutes of peace and quiet here is a great way to start a day exploring the main sights of north and northwest Kyoto.
You won’t need more than 30 to 45 minutes to check out the garden at Ryoanji and then stroll around its pond, so afterwards head on to Kinkaku-ji (page 9) and you might also miss the worst of the crowds there. To get there you can walk north-east for 20 minutes through fairly nondescript areas, hop into one of the taxis loitering outside of Ryoan-ji or catch buses #12 or #59 to Kinkaku-ji Michi bus stop. Even if you get there later in the day and end up sharing the gilded Kinkaku-ji with hundreds of others, it is still more than worth a visit. Built in the Muromachi Period (1337–1573—a halcyon age for garden design in Japan—this Zen temple is another attraction that, once there, doesn’t really need much more than 30 to 45 minutes, because the main event is simply to stand and stare at the magnificent gilded pavilion as it casts its shimmering reflection into the landscaped pond that stretches out before it. All year it is a stunning sight, whether dusted with snow or backed by lush summer greenery under blue skies.
Far less crowded is the Daitoku-ji temple complex (open dawn to dusk; free, but individual gardens charge a fee), which makes a good next stop on a day out in northwest Kyoto. Comprised of more than 20 temples, slowly strolling around Daitoku-ji offers a window into the calm world of Zen and in particular Zen landscaping and layout. The eponymous Daitoku-ji itself, which was founded in the 1300s (though the oldest buildings date to the 1500s) is a study of classic Zen planning, with a giant two-tier gateway (the Sanmon), a Buddha Hall (Butsuden), a sutra library (Kyozo), Abbot’s quarters (Hojo), and Dharma hall (Hatto). The gardens in some of the sub-temples, however, are the highlight of Daitoku-ji. Set in a bamboo grove, the mossy garden at Koto-in temple (¥400; at 9 a.m.–4.30 p.m.) is especially pretty when accented by autumn colors and it has a lovely tatami mat area that opens up to a wooden veranda from which to take it all in. Likewise the karesansui (dry landscaped garden) at Daisen-in (¥400; at least 9 a.m.–4.30 p.m) captivates with a cryptic raked layout like that at Ryoan-ji, while other sub-temples like Ryogen-in (¥350; 9 a.m.–4.30 p.m.) and Obai-in (open only in spring and fall; ¥600) manage to combine bamboo grove, ancient mossy paths and dry landscaping to striking effect. Time and admission fees make visiting all of them a no-no for most people, so if there is time for just one, I’d opt for Koto-in or Obai-in.
Kinkaku-ji
