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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.

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.

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.