Nijo-jo would have withstood almost any onslaught. As for attacks more subtle, the artistry at the Ninomaru wasn’t restricted to paintings on the walls and doors—ninja beware, as the “nightingale” floors in the Ninomaru palace are designed to squeak like birds should an intruder try to enter by stealth.
Opening Times Daily 8.45 a.m.–5 p.m. (last entry 4 p.m.). Getting There From Kyoto Station you can get City Bus #9, #50 or #101 to Nijo-jo-mae bus stop. The same bus stop can also be reached from Karasuma Station by City Bus #12 or #101. Contact www.city.kyoto.jp/bunshi/nijojo/english Admission Fee ¥600. While in the area Combine Niji-jo with the other sites featured in the tour of central Kyoto on page 33, including Kyoto Imperial Palace Park, Nishikikoji food market, and the stores along Shijo-dori and in the Kawaramachi area.
5 Fushimi Inari Shrine
Kyoto at its mesmerizing best
Eye catching, enchanting, iconic—there are many ways to describe Fushimi Inari Taisha (shrine) in southern Kyoto. You could add “good exercise” to the list, too, if you decide to walk around the whole shrine.
Dating to the early 700s, Fushimi Inari Shrine is best known for its 10,000 vermilion torii gateways, which cover four kilometers (two and a half miles) of winding pathways that lead up and around a wooded mountain punctuated by small shrines and small fox statues, all combining to create an atmosphere that is at turns mystical, at others eerie, but always begging to be explored.
The grand scale of Fushimi Inari Shrine reflects its importance. It’s the head shrine of some 40,000 other Inari shrines across Japan, all dedicated to one of Shinto’s principal deities, Inari Okami, the god of rice, sake, prosperity, industry, fertility and numerous other things. Inari has certainly collected an impressive portfolio over the centuries. He or she has also collected numerous guises—Inari has been depicted as male and female, old and young, as a bodhisattva, and even as a fox. It’s the latter that often causes some confusion as the stone foxes scattered about Fushimi Inari Shrine are frequently called Inari, when in this case they are actually supposed to be just foxes (kitsune) acting as Inari’s messengers.
If you were to come in early January, the shrine would be packed with people doing the traditional hatsu-mode—the first visit of the year to a shrine to offer prayers for good fortune for the year ahead. In fact, on any visit here, you will see a fairly steady flow of business people and others hoping for a little fortune from Inari. Whenever you visit, there’s a good chance you won’t find anywhere else in Kyoto to be quite as mesmerizing.
Opening Times Daily from dawn to dusk. Getting There About a 5-minute walk from Inari Station on the JR Nara Line or 10 minutes from Fushimi-Inari Station on the Keihan Line. For a day out in southern Kyoto that includes Fushimi Inari Shrine and other sights, see Chapter 2, page 44. Contact http://inari.jp Admission Fee Free. While in the area Do Fushimi Inari Shrine as a day out in southern Kyoto that also includes the gardens of Tofukuji Temple and the green tea and Byodo-in Temple in Uji (page 46).
6 The Gion District
Kyoto’s famed geisha and entertainment district
Gion isn’t the only place in Kyoto where you will find geisha, but it is the most famous. The backstreets here, lined with wooden machiya townhouses that serve as high-end restaurants and exclusive teahouses—lowly-lit lanterns hanging out front of an evening—provide the perfect backdrop for the white-faced geisha and their ornately decorated kimono as they flit between appointments.
Some of the geisha you see in Gion will be apprentices known as maiko, while some will be full geisha (referred to in Kyoto as geiko), who would have been through at least five years of training, not just in how to dress and behave like a geisha, but in traditional pastimes such as flower arranging, the tea ceremony, and performing arts. The question is: can you tell the difference? One way is to look at the belt. A maiko’s kimono belt (called an obi) will drop down at the back to almost touch the floor, while a geiko will have her obi neatly folded like a square on her back. The maiko might also have accessories in her hair, where a geisha won’t, and while a geisha will always wear flat zori sandals, you might also see a maiko in platformed footwear.
If you want to spot some geiko or maiko, be in Gion around 5.30pm to 6pm, when many are on their way to their evening appointments. Then follow some simple rules if you are going to try photographing them—don’t block their path to get your shot (from behind or the side is ok), don’t try and pose with them, don’t stalk (some busloads of visitors do!) and don’t photograph them if they are walking with a client.
Getting There From Kyoto Station, buses #100 and #206 run to the Gion bus stop. The area can also be accessed by Gion Shijo Station on the Keihan Line and (a slightly longer walk) Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Line. To explore Gion as part of a half-day out, see Chapter 2, page 30. While in the area You’d need some heavy connections and deep pockets to get into many of Gion’s restaurants and teahouses, but not everything is pricey or off limits. Try Gion Tokuya (gion-tokyuya.jp) for green tea and sweets in traditional surrounds. Or, look at the geisha shows on page 66, if you are happy to drop a couple of hundred dollars on what will be an unforgettable night out.
7 Arashiyama’s Bamboo Grove
A glimpse of Kyoto’s sublime natural beauty
As Kyoto’s attractions go, the bamboo grove in Arashiyama has to be one of the most beguilling. It’s certainly one of the most photographed. Running between two of the Arashiyama area’s other main attractions, Tenryu-ji and the Okochi-sanso Villa, strolling through the narrow walkways of the bamboo grove is simply enchanting. The light, often filtered a soft green through the towering bamboo’s canopy, produces an otherworldly feel that seems to send visitors into a photographic trance. You can almost guarantee you will see someone lying on their back, camera to the sky, trying (usually in vain) to get a prime, people-free angle of the bamboo stalks as they gently sway in the breeze.
Then there’s the sound. The eerie creaking noises the bamboo makes adds to the surreal sense of the place, so much so that the Ministry of the Environment has included the bamboo forest on its oddly-named “100 Soundscapes of Japan” list (one of countless, sometimes seemingly pointless “100…of Japan” lists that the Japanese government and other organizations are quite fond of issuing). You just have to make sure you don’t get stuck between high-school touring groups or you won’t hear anything but chatter.
One thing to note before visiting is that the bamboo forest won’t take much more than 30 minutes (maybe much less), so don’t plan on heading out to Arashiyama just for it. Do it as part of a longer walk around Arashiyama (see page 40 for that). Like many other popular sights in Kyoto, try to get there early, too, as that will give you the best chance of not sharing the bamboo with busloads of tour groups.
Opening Times Dawn to dusk daily. Getting There About a ten-minute walk from Saga Arashiyama Station on the JR Sagano Line or Keifuku Arashiyama Station on the Randen Line. Admission Fee Free. While in the area Follow the half-day tour on page 40 to
