November 5th, 2005 | The lowdown by Jeff Watson

Take the City in One Day

Take the bus. If there is any advice I can give for visiting Kyoto, it's take the bus; it's cheap ($5 for a day pass) and all the different bus lines will take you on time to all the different things you will want to see. The cities too big to walk, taxis aren't cheap.

Kyoto's beauty is lush; nestled amidst bounding moutains where creeks and rivers flow down through temples, palaces, and to the city streets, the city is a deposit of equanimity on earth. Don't miss it if you're going to Japan.

Some say that that seeing one temple or palace in Northeast Asia is seeing them all, but I think that would be a tad insular and inappropriate, equivalent to saying that St. Peter's Basillica is like the Roman Catholic Church at Brazil's in South Dildo, Newfoundland. There are differences, big and small, and coming to Kiyomizudera on the east side of Kyoto, it was obvious this is a temple on a grand scale.

Founded in 780, Kiyomizudera is set in the hillsides which offers a nice view over the city from a network of terraces ingeniously built, seeing as they were built over a millenia ago, into the mountainside. Below the temple there is natural spring water rolling down the side of the mountain that you may taste, I had some and felt no after-affects, no good fortune, no diarrhea.

Behind the main hall is a shrine dedicated to the god of love. There are two stones placed inconspicuously amidst all the people about fifteen yards apart and if you are able to walk from one to the other with your eyes closed is suppose to bring some luck in love. It was a popular thing to try, I think mostly because it was the only thing that was free in the shrine.

It's immense and the view of the city is enough for the price of admission, Kiyomizudera is worth seeing.

Next we made our way to Nijo Castle. Built as the home for Shoguns by Tokugawa leyasu, the founder of the Edo Shogunate, it is a study in defense. From the moat within a moat to the floors that squeak like nightingales and the long winding halls and passages, it seems this was a man of power in precarious times living as large as he could. The many rooms in the palace are seperated by doors decorated with the original artwork from the 17th century when it was built. The delicate condition of the artwork makes it forbidden to take pictures inside. Up to you whether you abide, but they are serious about this.

Lastly, we headed north up the slope to a place that still seems an unreal, even ethereal place. The Golden Pavillion is in the Northwest of the city and is not hard to get to by bus. Up the path and through the gates, sharded in wooded green and vegetation emerges the golden iridescence of what use to be an old Shogun's retirement home and is now a shariden, the home of sacred relics of the Buddha. It seems impossible, even unconscionable to think, but don't be fooled, it is what it seems, it is gold, or pressed gold leaf, rather, but gold nonetheless and it is beautiful to see. Abiding by proper fung swai principals, it is nestled before a pond and a mountain is situated in behind giving a natural feeling of security and tranquility. It is hard to remember that there is a city somewhere beyond in this quiet place; remote, even quixotical, it is a thing to behold, catch it if you can.

Beyond these three attractions there are a myriad of others in Kyoto, but if you're short on time, taking in these three would be prudent.