top 6 attractions for cruise passengers
Fushimi Inari Shrine ( 伏見稲荷大社)
Fushimi Inari Shrine is one of the most important Shinto shrines in Japan, famous for its vermilion torii gates that line the trails behind its main structure. Inari Shrine lies on the grounds of 233-meter Mount Inari, which stands in a wooded forest.
There are many shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto deity of rice, but Fushimi Inari is the most important. Many fox statues can be found on the shrine grounds because foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers. A shrine dedicated to the goddess Fushimi Inari dates back to 794, long before Kyoto became the capital.
Ninen-zaka Slope & Sanneizaka (二年坂 & 三年坂)
Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka Slopes are iconic streets of Kyoto City that represent the good old days of Japan. You can't help taking pictures of this nostalgic and dreamy location once you arrive.
Originally constructed in 808, the stone-paved slope leads to Kiyomizudera Temple (below). Streets and surrounding buildings surrounding the slope have been preserved as Important Preservation Districts. In fact, many worshippers carry their wishes up this slope on their way to Kiyomizudera Temple.
Kiyomizu-dera Temple ( 清水寺 )
Known as the "Pure Water Temple", Kiyomizudera is one of the most celebrated temples in Japan. Founded in 780 on the site of the Otowa Waterfall in the wooded hills east of Kyoto, it was named after the fall's pure waters. Kiyomizudera is best known for its wooden stage, which protrudes 13 meters from the hillside above its main hall. From the stage, you can see the cherry and maple trees below erupting in a sea of color in spring and fall, as well as the city of Kyoto in the background.
Kinkakuji Temple, the Golden Pavilion (金阁寺)
The Kinkakuji Temple in northern Kyoto is best known for its gold-leafed top two floors. It is an impressive structure built overlooking a large pond. It was once the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate, ruling from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. After his death in 1408, the villa became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect. It was Kinkakuji that inspired Ashikaga Yoshimasa to build the similarly named Silver Pavilion on the other side of the city a few decades later.
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (岚山竹林)
A world-famous forest of swaying bamboo boughs, located at the foot of the "Storm Mountains" in Kyoto, is the perfect place to relax while in the country. You can stroll along endless paths lined with towering bamboo. It has been described as peaceful, dreamlike, and other-worldly. This forest's rustling bamboo has been named one of the "100 Soundscapes of Japan" by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.
Heian Shrine (平安神宫)
"Heian Shrine" is a shrine created to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the Heian capital relocation in 1895. The bright shrine hall with red and green as the main color reproduces the main hall and court courtyard of Heian-kyo at a size of five-eighths. The shrine consists of 4 gardens, and the "Shenyuan" with a swimming pool of about 30,000㎡ is worth seeing. Red weeping cherry blossoms in spring, beautiful purple swallows and irises in early summer, red leaves in autumn, and snowy scenery in winter, etc.
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