Kyoto is the Japanese city with more vestiges of the past, was not bombed in the Second World War, because apparently responsible for organizing such bombings had spent his honeymoon there and fell in love with its charms and decided not to destroy it.
That's why we have hundreds of corners of Kyoto with special charm, that evoke us to the time of the geishas and the samurai warriors.
Gion 祇園 or 祇をん
Gion is a neighborhood of Kyoto, located in front of the Yasaka Shrine and is world famous for being the area of the geishas and also known for the Gion Matsuri, a traditional festival that takes its name from the neighborhood.
With a bit of luck and especially in the middle of the afternoon we can have the chance to meet some authentic geisha or maiko, walking through its streets.
Gion
Yasaka Shrine 八坂神社
Yasaka Shrine or also known as Gion Shrine is a Sintoist sanctuary located in the Gion neighborhood of Kyoto. The sanctuary is composed of different buildings.
The Yasaka Shrine is famous for its summer festival, the Gion Matsuri, which is held every July, it is the most famous festival in the whole country.
A stage full of wrestlers (paper lantern) is one of the most interesting attractions when night falls. In the cherry flowering season, it is also very crowded.
Yasaka Shrine
Ginkaku-ji 銀閣寺
Ginkaku-ji or Temple of the Silver Pavilion since it was intended to cover it with silver, but it was never made, it is a Buddhist temple. In addition to the building, the temple has moss-covered gardens, a mini bamboo forest and an impressive dry-sand garden. Without a doubt the gardens, together with the ponds and the surroundings, make them an essential visit.
A circular path takes us through all these gardens and returns us to the same point after having circled around the main building.
Ginkaku-ji
Shimogamo Shrine 下鴨神社
Shimogamo Shrine is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan and is one of the seventeen historical monuments of ancient Kyoto designated by Unesco World Heritage Site, is located at the junction of the Takano and Kamo rivers and is surrounded by a forest with trees of up to 600 years, according to the tradition is the forest where the lies come to light, if you lie while you cross it, you can never leave it.
Shimogamo Shrine
Nishiki Market 錦市場
The market of Nishiki is a market in the center of Kyoto, it is famous for being the place where you can get many of the most famous foods and products of Kyoto, this market offers only quality products. An excellent place to go shopping.
There are several restaurants, but the best thing is to peck the products that are in the stores and that for a small fee, you can go sipping, throughout the visit.
Obviously there are also home accessories stores and especially cooking and a curiosity is that it has its own temple at one end.
If we want to see a typical market in Japan, this is the ideal place.
Nishiki Market
