in 1987.
Kinkaku-ji’s rise from the ashes was crowned in 1994 when the temple was deservedly granted World Heritage status along with 16 other sites in Kyoto. The fire-loving monk didn’t enjoy a similarly happy end. As Kinkaku-ji burned around him, he botched an attempt to commit suicide and was sentenced to seven years in jail. He died of tuberculosis in 1956 shortly after his early release for medical reasons.
Opening Times Daily from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. Getting There From Kyoto Station take bus number 101 or 205 to the Kinkaku-ji Michi bus stop or take bus number 59 or 12 to the Kinkaku-ji Mae bus stop. Contact Kinkaku-ji Temple: shokoku-ji.jp Admission Fee ¥400
10 Kyoto’s Kiyomizu Temple
Refined beauty in perfect harmony with its surroundings
Few places in Kyoto are as pretty or better illustrate the deeply entwined relationship between Japanese culture and nature than Kiyomizu Temple. By day, the temple’s main hall, the Hondo, is set against a rich natural backdrop that changes with each season: pink hues of cherry blossom in spring, lush greens in summer, earthy reds and yellows in autumn, and the occasional white tint on naked branches in winter. By night, when many of the temple’s buildings are illuminated and lanterns accent the shop-lined Chawan-zaka slope that leads visitors up toward the complex, Kiyomizu’s three-storied pagoda bathes the area in a soft orange glow. Whenever you visit, it’s captivatingly beautiful.
Built on a rock face that overlooks a small valley, the Hondo is Kiyomizu’s star attraction, its protruding wooden veranda one of the classic images of Kyoto. It used to be said that anyone who leapt from the overhanging veranda and survived the 13-meter (43-foot) fall unscathed would have his or her dreams answered; those who died would be rewarded by sainthood. No doubt seen as a win–win situation by some, jumping became such a problem during the Edo era that in 1872 the government outlawed the act.
A far nicer tradition awaits beyond the Hondo, at Jishu Jinja, a shrine partially dedicated to a deity of love and a good marriage. In front of the shrine are two “love stones” set 6 meters (20 feet) apart. It is said that if you can walk between the two stones with your eyes closed, you will one day find true love (some interpretations say you may already have found it). Stray from the path, however, and the romantic news is not so good–but at least you’ll have the glorious sight of Kiyomizu to console you.
The grounds of the temple lead to a fountain, Otowa-no-taki, that allows visitors a taste of its special therapuetic spring waters. Long-handled dippers allow one to catch a ladle full. The grounds go downhill from here, into a forested area and eventually to Kyoto’s largest cemetery, Toribeno, with 90,000 graves. The living and departed citizens still maintain a spectacular view of the ancient city.
Opening Times Main hall is open daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Getting There Head to either the Kiyomizu-michi or Gojo-zaka bus stop served by buses 100, 202, 206 or 207 from Kyoto Station. Contact Kiyomizu Temple: kiyomizudera.or.jp Admission Fee Main hall ¥300.
11 Horyu-ji Temple, Nara
The world’s oldest wooden building, founded in 607
To choose just one of Nara’s many ancient temples for special attention is a hard task. One could opt for Todai-ji Temple (todaiji.or.jp), a World Heritage Site that houses a 15-meter (49-foot)-high bronze statue of Buddha in one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. Or there is Kofuku-ji Temple (kohfukuji.com) and its 600-year-old five-story pagoda, the original of which was moved here from Kyoto, 35 km (19 miles) to the north, in the 8th century.
But in the city that many Japanese consider the birthplace of Japanese civilization, indeed a city that was the country’s pre-Kyoto capital from 710 to 784, the standout has to be the grand temple complex of Horyu-ji. Boasting the nation’s oldest five-story pagoda, which remarkably was dismantled in World War II to protect it against Allied air raids and then reassembled with the same materials after the war, Horyu-ji is also home to the equally important Kon-do (Golden Hall), a building believed to have been built around 670, making it the world’s oldest extant wooden building.
Horyu-ji was founded in 607, just 50 years after Buddhism first came to Japan, and its scale and splendor serve as a testament to how quickly and deeply the then recently imported religion rooted itself in Japan under the patronage of Prince Shotoku (574–622), the man who founded Horyu-ji. It was Horyu-ji that Shotoku used as a base from which to spread Buddhism across the country, and some of the earliest relics from that period of growth (some of Japanese Buddhism’s most precious items) are still kept at Horyu-ji’s Kon-do today.
These items include the original Medicine Buddha that Shotoku supposedly built Horyu-ji to hold and a bronze image of Buddha dated to 623. Yet the most revered of Horyu-ji’s images is elsewhere, in the 8th-century Yumedono building in the complex’s eastern precinct. This is the 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 Open daily from 8 a.m. to 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. Buses run half hourly between Nara Station and Horyu-ji. Contact Horyu-ji Temple: horyuji.or.jp Admission Fee Horyu-ji ¥1,500; Kofuku-ji ¥300.
12 Himeji Castle
The archetypal “White Heron” samurai fortress
Of the 142 castles dotted around Japan, none can quite match the majestic Himeji-jo, 50 kilometers (28 miles) west of Kobe. Just ask Hollywood. The distinctive white plaster façade and gray kawara roof tiles of Himeji-jo’s five-story main tower (the Tenshukaku) and its three smaller donjons have provided a quintessentially Japanese backdrop for The Last Samurai and the Sean Connery-era Bond film You Only Live Twice.
Originally built in the mid-14th century, then restored and added to on several occasions over the following three centuries, this imposing collection of keeps and turrets has been likened to a heron spreading its wings, earning the castle the nickname Hakuro-jo (White Heron Castle). But it’s a heron both cunning and virtually impossible to breach. Originally, the castle had three moats, 84 gates and a maze of narrow, zigzagging passages designed to disorient attackers while defending forces could fire upon them through the safety of 1,000 “loophole” firing windows.
As one might expect of a structure that dominates Himeji’s skyline, the castle is a focal point for many of the city’s main annual events. The Himeji Castle Cherry Blossom Viewing Fair and Princess Senhime Peony Festival in spring, the Himeji Castle Festival in summer, and the Moon Viewing Fair and Himeji All Japan Ceramics Market in autumn are all held on its grounds.
Alongside Himeji-jo’s moats you will find the splendid Koko-en Gardens,
