Jidai Matsuri Festival
by husain
Held on the 22nd of October every year, the `Jidai Matsuri Festival', or `the festival of ages' is one of the three big festivals in Kyoto and a big tourist attraction in the city. The highlight is a procession of people dressed in costumes representing people from various historical periods.
the procession begins at the Imperial palace...
One of the things that some of the locals were talking about was that the young participants in the procession sometimes didnt take it seriously enough, and would often be wearing sneakers for footwear, with the traditional dresses. The elders were commenting that it reflected on todays values amongst the youth...
Hozugawa Kudari. The boattrip...
by asantetravel
Hozugawa Kudari. The boattrip is about an hour ride out of Kyoto and a little pricy at 3900\ but if it’s spring or fall, you’ll get some great views and pics. Go with friends b/c there aren’t as many rapids as the brochure implies so you’ll need the distraction!
Cruising with taxis
by Restless-in-kl
If you're a party of 4, sometimes it's more economical to travel in a taxi/cab around Kyoto city rather than taking the bus. There are many taxis in Kyoto but they all charge differently. To find out how much the starting rate is, look for the price stickers located on the left back passenger window.
The cheapest ones start at Yen570 (US$4.73). Avoid the black ones which start at Yen640 (US$5.32).
Tsukemono - Japanese pickles
by j-san
Again, all over Kyoto and especially around the Kiyomizu-dera area, you can sample Tsukemono (Japanese Pickles). These can be anything, from Daikon (Japanese radish) to eggplant or even ginger. An acquired taste, it took me about 2years of living here to like Tsukemono - and a lot of it I still don't! My favorite is Gobo (burdock).
Higashi Hongan-ji Temple
by A2002
Founded by the first Tokugawa shogun in 1602, the present buildings date from 1895. This temple, which was created independent of Nishi-Honganji Temple by order of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1602, consists of a number of huge wooden buildings, one of which is among the largest in the world. It is of special importance as for religious matters: Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha (its real name), is the mother temple and headquarters of more than 10,500 temples and churches with 12,000,000 believers in Japan and in countries located throughout the world. The Temple was first established some 700 years ago at Otani Hombyo, the mausoleum of Shinran Shonin, the founder of Jodo Shinshu. Because of persecutions and civil wars in Japan, the Temple was forced to move from place to place in the Kansai area, but with the grant of land in Kyoto from Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1591, the Temple was permanently established at its present site and through the years many structures, which today are National Treasures and Important Cultural Assets, were added to make the complex that is seen today.
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Pathway to Daigoji Temple
Kodaiji's Zen Garden
Closing up for sunset
The Kyoto National Museum
