Hello Kitty Pilgrimage (Kyoto)

Nestled among the mountains in Western Honshu, Kyoto has a reputation worldwide as Japan's most beautiful city. However, many tourists may be surprised by how much work it takes to see the beautiful side. Most visitors' first impression will be the urban sprawl of central Kyoto, around the ultra-modern glass-and-steel train station, which is itself an example of a city steeped in tradition colliding with the modern world.

Nonetheless, the persistent tourist will soon discover Kyoto's hidden beauty in the temples and parks which ring the city center, and find that the city has much more than immediately meets the eye. Kyoto was the capital of Japan and the residence of the Emperor from 794 until the Meiji Restoration of 1868, when the capital was moved to Tokyo. During its millennium at the center of Japanese power, culture, tradition and religion, Kyoto accumulated an unparalleled collection of palaces, temples and shrines built for the privileged classes.

Kyoto offers an incredible number of attractions for tourists, and visitors will probably need to plan an itinerary in advance in order to visit as many as possible.

The five-story pagoda, Japan's tallest, illuminated at night is one of Kyoto's most enduring images. Founded along with the city in AD 794, Toji is a treasure trove of tantric Buddhism and associated with Kobo Daishi, the founder of the mystical Shingon sect. The admission fee allows you access to the various halls holding numerous esoteric Buddhist statues. This large temple also hosts a vast flea market on the 21st of each month and a smaller antiques fair on the first Sunday of every month.

Kokedera ("Moss Temple") features four and a half acres of garden with 22 types of moss under dark trees. The garden was conceived to aid contemplation, an earthly rendition of paradise surrounding Buddha, and it is best seen in early summer, during the rainy season, as light shimmers on the mosses. The dry garden (kare sansui) here was perhaps the first of its kind in Japan. One of the two teahouses has been designated a national treasure. Up to 1977, the temple and garden were open freely to the public, but, due to the large number of visitors, special permission has to be arranged.

A large walled complex of Zen temples, and sub-temples originating in the fourteenth century, which have undergone extensive restoration and rebuilding over time. Daitokuji is famed for the aesthetic beauty of its gardens and four of them are open to the pubic. Daisen-in contains two contemplative rock gardens. Ryogen-in holds a miniature Zen garden, supposedly the smallest in Japan. Kotoin is noted for its moss garden and Zuihoin for its natural simplicity. Two excellent vegetarian restaurants are located within the compound, as well as sub-temples offering meditation sessions.

Centrally located in the historic Nishiki covered shopping street, Aritsugu has been in operation for over 400 years and sells traditional Japanese kitchen knives and utensils. Like Japanese swords, Japanese knives are famed for their sharpness and precise craftsmanship. Aritsugu has over 300 varieties plus a legion of other hand-made kitchen and cooking utensils. On purchase your name will be inscribed on the wooden handle of the knife so be careful whom you lend it to. Prices are high, but then so is the quality.

Long connected with Kyoto's Geisha community centered in nearby Gion, bustling, colorful, downtown Yasaka Jinja lies at the very heart of much of Kyoto's festive tradition. At New Year's, literally millions of people come to take a flame from the Shrine's sacred fire home. This is then used to cook the first meal of the coming year, thus ensuring future good health. In early April close-by Maruyama Park is full of tipsy merrymakers carousing under the pink cherry-blossoms. Life is short. Enjoy. Yasaka Shrine is also central to the preparations and festivities connected with the annual Gion Festival.

Located within the spacious Imperial Palace Park in the heart of the city, the Imperial Palace (Gosho) now consists of some rather gray 19th century structures. They can be visited by booking a tour (in English) with the Imperial Household Agency in the northeast corner of the park. In the Shishi-den visitors can see where the Emperors were enthroned. A further tour (in Japanese) can be arranged to the gardens and pavilions of the Sento Gosho in the south east of the park. Admission free.

Another famed Kyoto landmark, Fushimi Inari is an eccentric and exhilarating sight. Literally thousands of bright orange torii (sacred Shinto gates) line the hillsides creating spectacular, bright tunnels. Established in AD 711, Fushimi Inari is the headquarters of the shrines dedicated to the fox deity inari who was believed to intercede for good harvests. Now modern-day businesses sponsor the building and upkeep of the large wooden torii to ensure continued business success, and they are not cheap. Admission free and it is a good hike to the top.

This opulent, nine-story department store, located right in the center of the town, has all the features one would expect of a top-notch emporium. As one enters from the street, the elegant jewelry departments, including Tiffany's, attract the shopper. The store has a very good range of men's, women's and children's wear, the tie department having a particularly wide range. On the sixth floor, the art gallery is well worth a look for traditional ikebana(Japanese flower arranging) or Western art exhibitions.

Situated a little way out of the city, this delightful Tendai temple was founded in 784 by Saicho (who also established Enryakuji on Mount Hiei). It is justly famous for its beautiful mossy gardens and halls, which attract a host of visitors year round to see the hydrangeas (a distinctive blue shade) and cherry blossoms. They also flock to view the fiery red maples in the autumn. Important cultural properties are in the shinden, rebuilt in 1926. These include a Kannon, an Amida and the Fudo Myo (engulfed in flames), believed to have been carved by Genshin, author of Essentials of Salvation, which he completed in 984. Genshin was responsible for the center of the shinden, the Ojo Gokuraku-in, dating back to 985 (but rebuilt in 1143). It contains images of lacquered cedar, which are also important cultural properties. Call ahead for hours.

Ryoanji is the world's most famous Zen stone garden and dates from the fifteenth century. Fifteen rocks are arranged in five groups within a walled rectangle of raked white gravel, perhaps representing the ocean or infinity. Color is provided by patches of green moss and the whole design is meant for meditative contemplation and to facilitate a silent conversation with oneself. To best appreciate Ryoanji's serene beauty arrive early. The temple grounds also include a large lake-garden.

Kinkakuji is probably Kyoto's most famous and certainly most photographed temple garden. The three-story Chinese Zen-influenced Golden Pavilion has delicately curving roofs and the walls and eaves of the second and third stories are covered with fine gold leaf. On a clear day the villa is reflected in the mirror pond which lies in front of the building. The present structure, dating back to 1955, is a copy of the original built in 1397 by shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It was razed to the ground in 1950 by an infatuated young monk, providing the theme for Yukio Mishima's novel Kinkakuji. Arrive early to avoid the crowds.

Ginkakuji, the Silver Pavilion, was constructed as a retreat by shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa in 1489 after the destruction of much of Kyoto in the Onin Civil War of 1467. Its rather somber feel contrasts with the dazzling Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion, on which it was modeled. The story goes that Yoshimasa ran short of funds to coat the building with silver so that it could reflect the moonlight. Now a Zen temple, the elegant grounds contain a tranquil pond, a stone garden with raised cones, again to reflect moonlight, and a moss garden all designed by master gardener, Soami.

Fascinating Nijo Castle, like the shoguns mausoleums at Nikko, is an ostentatious display of wealth and power in contrast with the austerity often shown in the buildings of the Imperial nobility. Built as the power base of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1606, and rebuilt after fire in 1788, the huge walls, moats and towers exude military might. Inside, the Kano School of artists depicted tigers and leopards whose ferocity and power were chosen to symbolize Tokugawa strength. As you walk through the castle, note the wooden "nightingale floors" that squeak merrily, not as an aesthetic pleasure, but to serve as an alarm against night intruders.