How would you like to visit an Inn where feudal lords from the Edo period visited all the time? The Nijo Jinya Inn used to be a meeting place for Feudal lords and is usually decked up with security so that no attempts on assassination can be plot against them. Even the Inn is built in such a way that it is filled with secret doors, secret alley ways and hidden escape routes in case of an attack. The inn is build like a fortress.

Tours for this place are held only in Japanese unfortunately, so if you don’t understand Japanese, bring a Japanese friend with you. It is advisable to make appointments for this place in advance by calling 075-841-0972. Tour takes about an hour long. Admission fee is 1000yen.

Go to this link to find out more about how to get to Nijo Jinya.

This is the best aquarium in Japan, which showcase aquatic life from the pacific rim. What’s impressive if that every sea creature is organized and displayed according to its habitat and species, the Osaka Aquarium is definitely a place to visit if you are in Osaka for a little knowledge boost about sea life from the Pacific Ocean. Entry fee is 2000 Yen for every person and the tour starts on the 8th floor, which you will then spiral down, aquarium to aquarium of aquatic life from different regions. One of the aquarium’s attraction is the whale shark, one of the largest vegetarian mammals of the sea.

Check out this video clip of the Osaka Aquarium:

Chion’in Temple (知恩院) in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan is the headquarters of the Jodo Shu (Pure Land Sect) founded by Honen (1133-1212), who proclaimed that sentient beings are reborn in Amida Buddha’s Western Paradise (Pure Land) by reciting the nembutsu, Amida Buddha’s name.

The vast compounds of Chion-in include the site where Honen settled to disseminate his teachings and the site where he died.

Chionin temple is filled with serenity amidst the beautiful architecture left by history. The beauty of it is that most of its original structures are still standing. This is definitely a place to visit. Check out the large temple bell engraved with sutras and prayers.

How to get there?

Chionin is located immediately north of Maruyama Park and Yasaka Shrine. The closest subway station is Higashiyama Station on the Tozai Line.

Sometimes, videos speak louder than words.

This is Ginkakuji temple (or Silver Pavilion in English). It’s not exactly plated with silver but during winter, you can imagine that you are in a silver wonderland. The pavilion was built by a shogun named Ashikaga Yoshimasa as a his retirement villa. After his death, the pavilion was converted in a zen temple. This beautiful Zen temple that should not be missed in any case if you are ever dropping by Kyoto.

How to get there?
Ginkakuji can be accessed by direct bus number 5, 17 or 100 from Kyoto Station. Alternatively, you can reach Ginkakuji by foot along the Path of Philosophy from Nanzenji.

For orientation around Kyoto, click here.

Yasaka Shrine (八坂神社, Yasaka-jinja?) holds the biggest matsuri in Japan every year called the Gion Matsuri. Yasaka Shrine, once called Gion Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in the Gion District of Kyoto, Japan. Situated at the east end of Shijō-dōri (Fourth Avenue), it was built originally in 656. The shrine includes several buildings, including gates, a main hall and a stage.

In 869 the mikoshi (portable shrines) of Gion Shrine were paraded through the streets of Kyoto to ward off an epidemic that had hit the city. This was the beginning of the Gion Matsuri, an annual festival which has become world famous.

Today, in addition to hosting the Gion Matsuri, Yasaka Shrine welcomes thousands of people every New Year, for traditional Japanese New Year rituals and celebrations. In April, the crowds pass through the temple on their way to Maruyama Park, a popular hanami (cherry blossom viewing) site. Lanterns decorate the stage with the names of festival sponsors.

How do you get to Yasaka Shrine?

Yasaka Shrine can be reached by bus from Kyoto Station in about 20 minutes. Take number 100 and 206 and get off at Gion bus stop. The closest train stations are Shijo Station on the Keihan Line and Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Line.

Alternatively, the 20+ minute walk from Kiyomizudera through the narrow lanes of the Higashiyama (”Eastern Mountain”) district to Yasaka Shrine is highly recommended.

Japan Guide

At a glance, Pontochō looks like a place you often see in television of how old Japan is portrayed with its narrow streets and paper lanterns hanging outside of every entrance of houses, shops and ryokans.

Pontochō (先斗町) is a district in Kyoto, Japan known for geisha and home to many geisha houses and traditional tea houses. Like Gion, Pontochō is famous for the preservation of forms of traditional architecture and entertainment.

The name Pontochō is said to be a portmanteau of the English word “point” or the Portuguese word “ponto” (also meaning point) and the Japanese word meaning town, street, or road. The district crest is a stylized water plover or chidori.

Pontochō centres around one long, narrow, cobbled alley running from Shijo-dōri to Sanjo-dōri, one block west of the Kamo River (Kamogawa). This is also the traditional location of the start of kabuki, and a statue of Okuni still stands on the opposite side of the river.

Geisha have existed in Pontochō since at least the 1500s, as have prostitution and other forms of entertainment. Today the area, lit by traditional lanterns at night, contains a mix of very expensive restaurants—often featuring outdoor riverside dining on wooden patios—geisha houses and tea houses, brothels, bars, and cheap eateries.

The area is also home to the Pontochō Kaburenjō Theatre at the Sanjo-dōri end of the street. This theatre functions as a practice hall for geisha and twice a year since the 1870s Kyoto geisha perform the Kamogawa Odori—Kamogawa river dancing, a combination of traditional dance, kabuki-like theatre, singing and the playing of traditional instruments—there, offering a rare chance for ordinary people to see performances by real geisha.

How to get to Pontocho?
The closest bus stop to Pontocho is Shijo Kawaramachi, which is served by ten bus lines, including lines 17 and 205 from Kyoto Station. The closest train stations are Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Line and Shijo Station on the Keihan Line.

Kyōto Gosho (京都御所, Kyōto Gosho), or Kyoto Palace, was the Imperial Palace of Japan during the Edo Period. Today the grounds are open to the public, and the Imperial Household Agency hosts public tours of the buildings several times a day. English tours are held twice a week.

Kyōto Gosho is the latest of the Imperial palaces built at or near its site in the north-eastern part of the old capital on Heiankyo after the abandonment of the larger original Heian Palace (大内裏, daidairi) that was located to the west of the current palace during the Heian Period. The Palace lost much of its function at the time of the Meiji Restoration, when the capital was moved to Tokyo in 1869. However, the Taisho and Showa Emperors still had their coronation ceremonies at Kyōto Gosho.

This is one of Japan’s historical sites that marries structure, nature and history together. It will definitely make a picture perfect postcard. Don’t forget to visit the Kyoto Imperial Garden on the palace grounds where varieties of cherry blossom trees and other floras grow. A beautiful pond completes the imperial garden as well.

How to get there?
You can reach the Kyoto Imperial Palace via Kyoto Station by the Karasuma Subway Line.

While the world advances into a modernize civilization and women’s rights, time seems to slow down when you are in Gion’s geisha district.

Tō-ji (東寺, Tō-ji?) is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect in Kyoto, Japan. Its name means East Temple, and it once had a partner, Saiji (West Temple). They stood alongside the Rashomon, the gate to the Heian capital. It is formally known as Kyō-ō-gokoku-ji (教王護国寺, Kyō-ō-gokoku-ji?) which indicates that it previously functioned as a temple providing protection for the nation. Tō-ji is located in Minami-ku near the intersection of Ōmiya Street and Kujō Street, southwest of Kyoto Station.

Although often associated with the famous priest Kōbō Daishi (Kūkai), Tō-ji was established in 796 A.D., two years after the capital moved to Heian-kyō. Kūkai was put in charge of Tō-ji in 823 A.D. by order of Emperor Saga. Its principal image is of Yakushi Nyorai, the healing Buddha.

The pagoda of Tō-ji stands 57 m high, and is the tallest wooden tower in Japan. It dates from the Edo period, when it was rebuilt by order of the third Tokugawa Shogun, Iemitsu. The pagoda has been, and continues to be, a symbol of Kyoto. Entrance into the pagoda itself is permitted only a few days a year.

The buildings at Tō-ji house a variety of ancient Buddhist sculpture. The grounds feature a garden and pond, in which turtles and koi swim. The grounds also house an academically rigorous private school, Rakunan, from which many students are sent to elite universities.

Recognizing the historical and spiritual significance of Tō-ji, UNESCO designated it, along with several other treasures in Kyoto Prefecture, as part of the “Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto” World Heritage Site.

On the 21st of each month, a lively flea market that boasts of wares from far and old is held around the Tō-ji. It’s packed with people every month and the wares you can expect are clothes, sculptures, tablewares, decoration items, food and plants.

How to get there?
Tō-ji is located on the south of Kyoto Station, which is a 10=15 minutes walk away.

The Kansai region (関西地方, Kansai-chihō?) of Japan, also known as the Kinki region (近畿地方, Kinki-chihō?), lies in the Southern-Central region of Japan’s main island, Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Mie, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga.

The Kinki Plain, containing the cities of Osaka and Kyoto forms the core of the region. From there, the Kansai area streches west along the Seto Inland Sea towards Himeji and Kobe and east encompassing Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest freshwater lake. The region is bordered in the north by the Sea of Japan and at the Kii Peninsula meets the Pacific Ocean in the south. Four of Japan’s national parks lie within its borders, in whole or in part. The area also contains six of the seven top prefectures in terms of national treasures. Other geographical highlights include Amanohashidate in Kyoto Prefecture and Awaji Island in Hyogo.

The Kansai region is often compared (yet more often contrasted) with the Kantō region, which lies to its east and is comprised primarily of Tokyo and the surrounding area. Whereas the Kanto region is symbolic of standardization throughout Japan (from government to economics to language), the Kansai region displays many more idiosyncrasies: the culture in Kyoto, the mercantilism of Osaka, the history of Nara, or the cosmopolitanism of Kobe, and could be said to represent the focus of counterculture in Japan. This East-West rivalry has deep historical roots, particularly from the Edo period. Having a samurai population of less than 1%, the culture of the merchant city of Osaka stood in sharp contrast to that of Edo, the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate.

Many characteristic traits of Kansai people descend from Osaka merchant culture. As Catherine Maxwell, an editor for the newsletter Omusubi, writes: “Kansai residents are seen as being pragmatic, entrepreneurial, down-to-earth and possessing a strong sense of humour. Kanto people on the other hand are perceived as more sophisticated, reserved and formal, in keeping with Tokyo’s history and modern status as the nation’s capital and largest metropolis.”[3][4]

Popular regional foods include takoyaki, okonomiyaki and kitsune udon. Hyogo Prefecture is well known for its beef and other dairy products (see Kobe beef). Sake is another specialty of the region, the areas of Nada and Fushimi producing 45% of all the sake in Japan.[5] As opposed to food from Eastern Japan, food in the Kansai area tends to be sweeter, and foods such as nattō tend to be less popular.

The dialects (弁, -ben) of the people of the Kansai region have their own variations of pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar which are unique to the region. Kansai-ben is a term referring to the group of dialects spoken in the Kansai area, but is often treated as a dialect in its own right. Kansai-ben is especially strong in cities such as Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe.

The terms Kansai (関西), Kinki (近畿) and Kinai (畿内) have a very deep history, dating back almost as far as the nation of Japan itself. As a part of the Ritsuryō reforms of the 6th century, the Gokishichidō system established the provinces of Yamato, Yamashiro, Kawachi, Settsu and Izumi. Kinai and Kinki, both roughly meaning “the neighbourhood of the capital”, referred to these provinces. In common usage, Kinai now refers to the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto (Keihanshin) area, the center of the Kansai region.

Kansai (literally “west of the border”) in its original usage refers to the land west of the Ousaka Checkpoint (逢坂の関), the border between Yamashiro Province and Ōmi Province (present-day Kyoto and Shiga prefectures). During the Kamakura period, this border was redefined to include Ōmi and Iga Provinces.It is not until the Edo period that Kansai came to acquire its current form.(see Kamigata) Like all regions of Japan, the Kansai region is not an administrative unit, but rather a cultural and historical one.

To read more about Kansai region….

I have reached the end of Kinki/Kansai region. I will be moving to Chugoku next! :)

As for now, visit these links to Kansai on information about travelling, where to go and what to do.

Kansai/Kinki 1
Kansai Kinki 2