Kyoto

Kyoto is another one of Japan's ancient capital cities, and probably the most significant. I took literally hundreds of photos there, which goes some way towards explaining why I've taken so long to look through them and put them up!

It's all very impressive so I'll put up a selection (with captions) below. The Japanese are very careful with their old monuments, but unfortunately most have been destroyed and reconstructed a number of times due to wars, fires and natural disasters. As a result these places look and feel pristine despite their ancient origins:

Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, is one of the most striking and recognisable sites

Most of the main Temples are surrounded by smaller buildings like this one



Tenryu-ji is a temple and garden complex at the foot of the hills on the outskirts of Kyoto

Tenryu-ji Garden





Otagi Nenbutsuji is further up the mountain, with a number of Shrines surrounded by stone figures all with different facial expressions



These gates mark the entrances to spiritual places - this one is in a preserved 19th Century village area

Yasaka Shrine is the focal point for many of Kyoto's festivals

Ginkaku-ji is also a top attraction with its sand sculpture garden

Kiyomizu-dera Temple is on top of a steep hill and enjoys beautiful views of the city (which is surprisingly big)

People queued for this cleansing ritual

This huge temple gate leads to the complex below

The mountains around west Kyoto host this monkey park, where tons of monkeys roam free; humans can only feed them from inside a cage.

We stayed in some incredible old traditional houses, complete with paper dividers/windows and central traditional gardens.

I actually can't hold this position for more than a few minutes, a true foreigner...