Kyoto’s Hidden Gems
28.03.2024
16 °C
It’s spring holiday season in many countries and half the world’s population has descended on Japan in the hope of seeing the cherry blossoms. But the cool wet weather has put a dampener both on the blooms and the tourists, and Kyoto’s most iconic indoor venues have turned into sardine cans. We’ve seen all the ‘biggies’ on previous visits, so this time we veered off the tourist map with our friend and guide, Yoshie, to visit the Shokoku-ji shrine dating from 1605… 
This is the enormous belltower where the bell rings in the new year…
The ubiquitousness of cellphone cameras has led many venues to give up on trying to stop visitors from taking snaps, but it seems that Japan is simply doubling down on their “No Photos” signs. For example: anyone caught photographing the dragon on the ceiling of the Shokoku-ji shrine will have their camera seized and will be ejected from the site. This is the dragon…
This enormous dragon is the Mona Lisa of Japanese art whose eyes follow you around the temple and, it is claimed, can extinguish fire by breathing water on it. Another shrine where no photos are allowed is Sanjusangen-do where there are over a thousand statues of the Buddhist deity Kannon that were made in the 12th and 13th century. The garden is particularly pretty even in the rain…
While photographs are taboo in all the temples and shrines, we had no such problem at our next stop, the Museum of Art of Design. All manner of craftsmanship was on display, but this decorative temple piece epitomises the incredible artistry of today’s artisans… 
With sightseeing over for the day, Yoshie and Haru treated us to a traditional Japanese dinner at the railway station…
However, before you start thinking that we were slumming it in the equivalent of a British Rail greasy spoon, you should take a look at the fabulous food…
Kyoto’s impressive Central Rail Station houses a sumptuous 5-star hotel with exceptional restaurants, together with a department store the equivalent of London’s Harrods. The station is a tourist attraction in itself, and we were lucky enough to be there to see the world’s most luxurious train, the Mizukaze…The Twilight Express…
Only 34 passengers can ride this ten-coach train at a time and, with prices starting at just under $8,000 Cdn a night for a couple in the backpacker section, and $15,000 a night for the upper crust, you might think it would be a snip to get tickets. But before you smash open your piggy bank you should know that tickets can only be purchased in person in Japan and the demand is so great that passengers are chosen by lottery – now that’s exclusive… 
We were all given flags as consolation prizes so that we could wave to the lucky ducks, and then we boarded our train to Kanazawa thinking we should start buying lottery tickets. And then, as we pulled out of Kyoto, the clouds finally cleared for a view of one of Kyoto’s most recognisable buildings: the Kyoto Tower…
This 130-metre-high tower would be dwarfed by Dubai’s 829 metre Burj Khalifa that we visited last year, but it is still an imposing sight.
Phew, you still have your camera!!!!
by Helen