Jon Seddon's Photos - Japan - Kyoto

New Year is the main winter holiday in Japan so I headed north for some sight-seeing. I took the Shinkansen bullet-train to Kyoto first. Kyoto has been the capital of Japan several times and has loads of cultural attractions.

View Kyoto on a map.

One of the smaller buildings at the Higashi Hongan-ji temple. The main building is currently surrounded by scaffolding while being renovated and so I didn't get to see it. A gate at the Higashi Hongan-ji temple - everything is very big here! One of the outer buildings at the Nishi Hongan-ji temple. One of the gates at the Nishi Hongan-ji temple. Unfortunately the main building was also again being refurbished and so I couldn't look at that. Pretty flags outside the Nishi Hongan-ji temple - headquarters of the Jodo Shin-shu school of Buddhism. A modern tea house in the Shosei-en Garden - a peaceful place in the centre of Kyoto. Be careful though - the Lonely Planet guide said that it was a great place for a picnic, but when I turned up with a feast of Japanese food there were signs in English and a large security guard saying no food! A pretty little bridge in the Shosei-en Garden. One of the buildings in the Ebisu-jinja temple. I was waiting just outside this temple as 2006 became 2007 with a couple of American students and thousands of Japanese who were waiting to be the first into the temples in the new year. The 74 tonne bell at the Chion-in temple, which was cast in 1633. Kyoto from the hill above Chion-in. As well as having the temples and culture, Kyoto is also a modern industrial town. One of the many impressive buildings at the Heian-jingu shrine. This is only a two-thirds size replica of the original. Many people were visiting as part of their New Year celebrations. Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Temple. Originally a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, but converted to a temple by his son. A traditional tea house in a garden in the Imperial Palace grounds.

© Copyright Jon Seddon (jseddon@zepler.net) 2004 - 2013