Throughout Japan one of the most popular tourist destinations is a shrine. A lot of shrines are amazing works of architecture and art reflecting the vibrant culture of the country. One of the most popular places to visit shrines is Kyoto. It has over 400 beautiful shrines and temples, and I’m going to tell you about some of the shrines I visited.
Important note before I start, Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples on this list are still active religious sites and it is important to be respectful to the deity, the structure and the worshippers there. Also, this is not a ranking and these are in chronological order that I visited them.
For my first shrine visit, let me take you to one of the coolest parts of Kyoto. Gion is a very popular Geisha Districts in the country and is known for its narrow winding alleyways and rows of tightly packed houses. It is quintessential place to visit in Kyoto. To begin exploring we took a cab to a shrine at the top of a hill, Kiyamizu-Dera, it is perched on top of a hill overlooking most of Kyoto with its campus filled with wooden structures and short pagodas.
The place lights up brilliantly during the sun set and I would really recommend going just before closing. This allows you to explore the shrine of course and the area around this. Exploring Gion is also a must do especially the Ninnenzaka and Sannen-Zaka Slopes are among the most picturesque places in Kyoto. As the sky darkened the crowd pushed off from Kiyamizu Dera and we went with them heading down the pedestrian roads. The shops were incredibly ornate, wooden and just looked traditional. The roads here are known as the Ninnenzaka Slopes which are an easy downhill stroll and while as we left, they were quite crowded with tourists, but as the evening progressed the crowds thinned out.
This winding hill path has clearly been there for centuries, the first place of interest it led to, was the Yasaka Pagoda. This 5-storey pagoda is a must see, especially at sunrise/set in the backdrop of a amber sky. As the sun set it was a sight to see, though I must state that the amount of hype and saturation boost in some Google Image results slightly oversells.
A short walk away is the Yasaka Shrine. Situated within a park the Yasaka Shrine is a very active shrine and had quite a few devotees and tourists in it possibly because of the Obon week. They had built a wooden frame dragon which it turned out would be burned soon for Obon celebrations.
The area of Gion is really nice to visit at night especially with the more upscale restaurants and shopping that really takes off as the sun sets and the temperatures go down.
Another highlight shrine in Kyoto is Fushimi Inari, and it is best to visit this one in the early morning before the crowds arrive. The place features a large shrine devoted to Inari, the Shinto god of rice and a 1000-torri gate walkway up a nearby hill. The torii-gate walkway features in many famous pictures and for this reason we went into this expecting a trip highlight, and it delivered.
The gates are these huge vibrant orange frames with little black bases. The entire place is incredibly cool and historic, and the air is crisp in the early morning. As the sun rose and it got hotter, the gates provided a bit of tunnel effect giving us a breeze to help us through the climb. Yes, the climb, it had a clear path pointed out by the gates of varying sizes. There were parts where the gates with smaller and low and close together and in some parts the gates were towering high above us and spaced out.
Though hiking enthusiasts may go to the very top I would recommend going halfway up to a viewpoint of Kyoto city and then coming back. On the way back you will notice Japanese Kanji written in black on the other sides of the gates; these are the names of corporate or individual donors that contribute for the upkeep of the site. Again, this place gets uber-crowded in the day so go in the early morning. You can go at night but there are foxes around so be careful.
Before pushing off we swung by the main shrine which is an intricate tall structure with while walls and a red frame that stands out perfectly from the expansive forest behind it. We also checked out the shrine of the cranes. There is a legend that after making 100 cranes and hanging them at a shrine a student will get good marks. I am hard at work making these for all future exams
Another place to visit in Kyoto early in the morning before the crowd stacks up is the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. The Grove is a tranquil area featuring bamboo stalks that stretch almost endlessly to the sky. Of course, as the day progresses the tranquillity disappears as the number of people rises. The Grove is not as large as we expected covering only 20-ish metres in the stretch we covered.
The grove also has some shrines such as Tenryu-ji but we didn’t visit them as we were too early and they don’t open in the morning. Check them out if you have time, for us this was our last day in Kyoto, and we were mostly there for the bamboo groves. Also nearby there is a bridge known as the Togetsukyo Bridge, it’s supposed to be a dreamy wooden bridge, but the heat made it a little difficult to appreciate. It is probably better to visits a lot of these more outdoorsy shrines in the spring or winter.
Now let me talk about a slightly less visited shrine which we loved, Omi Jingu. This shrine was built for Emperor Tenji, the same emperor as the creator of Meiji Jingu in Tokyo. Omi Jingu is a little out of the way as it is placed inside a forest area, and google directions were not very clear on the final bit of the walk from the station. There are also quite a few stairs to the top leading to a Torii gate. The main shrine area is beautifully constructed and quite towering. It is wooden in the same way as Meiji Jingu. So even though it a generally less crowded place you get the same vibe and get to appreciate the intricate woodwork but with less crowd
While it is a nice shrine the main attraction for me was the watch museum on campus. They had a fascinating collection of watches some of which were massive and on display out in the open. Rolex has donated a dragon themed “Fire Clock” which ran by fire slowly melting strings causing metal balls to drop into the bowl. Around it was some sun dials. Then there is one of the most complex clocks I have ever seen, a water clock by Omega. There is also an indoor clock museum featuring a lot of vintage wristwatches and pocket watches as well as those worn by emperor of the past. My personal favourite was the ‘rolling ball clock’ and I’m trying to make one myself (if successful I will write about it).
Apart from this I visited some of the other shrines in Kyoto as well but the above-mentioned shrines are my favourites. I also went to Uji which is a really picturesque place with some shrines, but we weren’t really fans due because we made the mistake of visiting in the pounding heat in the middle of the day.
In summation, of the shrines and places I visited in and around Kyoto, I highly recommend the Kiyomizu-Dera and Yasaka Shrine as well as the area of Gion, Fushimi Inari, Arishyama Bamboo Forest and Omi Jingu.
The shrines I visited are mostly in the southern area of Kyoto but to the north resides one of the most elaborate shrines in the country. On the edge of a lake, nestled in a forest, covered in gold leaf is Kinkaku-ji. While in summer it’s not the most fun as it is far too hot, but it looks beautiful in spring and fall. It has three storeys each one in a different architectural style, and the top two shrouded in pure gold.
Also, since it was summer we couldn’t visit the philosopher’s path and the nearby silver pavilion (not made of silver) as while they are beautiful it was simply too hot. Also, Philosophers path is more of a cherry blossom delight. From what I have seen these are gorgeous places and must-sees not far from Gion. You can do these in the daytime before heading to Gion to end the day (not in summer though, you might burn).
Tips –
- If travelling mostly to explore shrines go in the spring for cherry blossoms or autumn for fall colours. This will really add to the experience as many shrines feature foliage that will look amazing with colours.
- Visit places early in the morning to avoid large crowds you should definitely does this for Arishyama, in Fushimi Inari you can click pictures from the outside of the gates so you can deal with the crowd a little better.
- Try out the Kyoto Station food scene and stay close to it for easy access to transport.
- If you want, you can rent kimonos for the day, my parents actually tried for an afternoon, and it was fun though rather warm.
- It is convenient to use cabs to escape the heat and get to places faster if you are 3+ people it is quite economical.
- Again, be respectful to the shrines, people and deities, these are living cultures, and it is important to respect them.
