This being our second trip to Kyoto, we planned to cover some popular attractions that we had left out in our previous visit. As we only spent one day in Kyoto last time, there were still plenty of places left to see! In the last visit we managed to pack in the Gion district 祇園, the temple Kiyomizu-dera 清水寺, and the shrine Fushimi Inari-Taisha 伏見稻荷大社. Though normally we do not like to rush in our sight-seeing trips, this day had to be an exception, as the bountiful historical sites in Kyoto could easily fill several days of visits.
Our rather ambitious plan for the day included visits to Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle) 二条城, the popular Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) 金閣寺, Ryoan-ji (Temple of the Dragon at Peace) 龍安寺, and finally Ginkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) 銀閣寺 located off Philosopher's Path 哲学の道. A good way to go round Kyoto seeing these places is by bus. For this, the one-day bus ticket, which can be bought from the Tourist Information centre at Kyoto Station, comes in handy.
Starting from the bus terminal in front of Kyoto Station, our first stop was Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle) 二条城, originally built in the 17th century in the era of the Tokugawa shogunate.
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| East Gate, Main entrance to Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle) 二条城 |
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| A finely ornamented gate at Nijo Castle. |
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| Garden of Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle) 二条城 |
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| Garden of Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle) 二条城 |
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| Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle) 二条城 |
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| Garden of Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle) 二条城 |
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| Entrance to Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) 金閣寺 |
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| Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) 金閣寺 |
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| Ryoan-ji (Temple of the Dragon at Peace) 龍安寺 |
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| Ryoan-ji 龍安寺 |
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| Pond in Ryoan-ji 龍安寺 |
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| Ryoan-ji (Temple of the Dragon at Peace) 龍安寺 |
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| Kare-sansui ('Dry Landscape' or Rock Garden) 枯山水 at Ryoan-ji |
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| Ryoan-ji 龍安寺 |
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| Ryoan-ji 龍安寺 |
As it was well into the afternoon by the time we left Ryoan-ji, we stepped up our pace and took a bus towards the east, to near the north end of the famous Philosopher's Path.
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| North end of Philosopher's Path |
The historical
Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) 銀閣寺 is located off the Philosopher's Path.
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| Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) 銀閣寺 |
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| Kare-sansui (Rock Garden) 枯山水 at Ginkaku-ji 銀閣寺 |
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| Ginkaku-ji 銀閣寺 |
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| Ginkaku-ji 銀閣寺 |
After the brief detour seeing the Ginkaku-ji, we continued on the Philosopher's Path. As this was not in the right season, we could only imagine the lines of cherry blossoms blooming along the path.
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| Philosopher's Path 哲学の道 |
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| Philosopher's Path 哲学の道 |
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| Philosopher's Path 哲学の道 |
It was close to dusk by the time we reached the south end of the Philosopher's Path. Some locals gave us directions to a bus stop where we took a bus back to Kyoto Station.
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| Kyoto Tower at night, by Kyoto Station |
Kyoto Station itself is actually worth a visit. The LED-illuminated staircase at the station shows the modern side of the city, in contrast to its many well-preserved historic sites.
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| Illuminated staircase at Kyoto Station |
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