Japan is a beautiful country with many notable towns and cities to visit. If the hustle and bustle of the busy Tokyo isn’t for you, find out more about one of the most popular tourist locations in Japan: Kyoto. This list encompasses five potential places to visit in Kyoto.
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Kinkaku-ji (the golden pavilion):
A Zen temple formally known as Rokuonji, as it was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Rokuonji. Overlooking a large pond, the top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf, and each floor has a different architectural style. Beautiful, isn’t it?
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Kyoto International Manga Museum:
From 2006 the three floors and basement of the Kyoto International Manga Museum have been lined with shelves of manga. A small section of books is dedicated to foreign and translated manga, however most are in Japanese. A must-visit for any anime and manga fan.
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Fushimi Inari-Taisha:
The most important shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto God of rice. It is most famous for its thousands of vermillion torii gates (shown below), a trail that leads into the forest of Mount Inari.
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Kyo-Ryori Restaurants:
Foodies visiting Japan could not miss trying the Kyoto cuisine, said to be the pinnacle of sophistication and visual beauty. A large emphasis is placed on natural beauty and the seasons, with different cuisines representing the New Year, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
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Ryoan-ji:
This temple is the site of Japan’s most famous rock garden, which consists of a plot of pebbles and 15 rocks laid out on patches of moss. A strange attraction of the site is the quirk that from any vantage point at least one rock is hidden from the viewer!
Know anyone lucky enough to be living in, working, or visiting Kyoto? Find out how you can keep in touch with cheap phone calls to Japan!