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◆Myoshin-ji Temple
A big Zen Buddhist temple in the western suburb of Kyoto. It was built where the detached palace of Emperor Hanazono used to be. It has as many as 3500 branch temples in Japan. Inside the precinct, there’re 38 of them with only 3 of them, Taizo-in, Daishin-in and Keishun-in, always open to the public. The precinct looks like a posh town in the 17th Century or the 18th Century with continuing gorgeous white earthen walls.  There’s a sub temple where “zazen” class is held in English every morning.

◆Ninna-ji Temple
An old Buddhist temple founded at the end of the the 9th Century. In the precinct, Emperor Uda built a palace called “Omuro” and lived there, after he became a Buddhist monk, being the incumbent emperor.  So this temple used to be called “Omuro Palace.”  The head priest often came from the Imperial family.  Now there’s a palace-like building where Omuro Palace used to be.  It’s famous for “Omuro Zakura,” a cherry which blooms late, and it will be crowded around the blooming season.

◆Fuku-oji Shrine
It is the Shinto shrine giving protection to Nin-na-ji Buddhist temple.  It enshrines Hanshi Empress, the mother of Emperor Uda. There used to be a different Shinto shrine which was burnt down in the Oh-nin War in the 15th Century, and during the reign of Tokugawa Iemitsu(at the first half of the 17th Century) , it was rebuilt, enshrining Hanshi Empress, whose burial ground was close-by.  The name, meaning good luck, comes from the fact that she successfully gave birth to many children.

◆Kozan-ji Temple
An old Buddhist temple in Togano-oh, a distant suburb of Kyoto. From the main building called “Sekisui-en,” you can enjoy the view which might make you feel as if you’re deep in the mountains.  The temple, originating from the 8th Century, was reenergized in 1206 by Myo-eh, an excellent monk.  He was donated a building by Emperor Go-toba.  It has “Cho-ju Jimbutsu Giga,” superb and witty picture scrolls called “the first comic of Japan”, and has the first tea garden in Japan as Ei-sai, a monk who brought tea seeds from China for the first time in Japan, gave them to Myo-eh.  It’s crowded with visitors in the autumnal foliage season.

◆Saimyo-ji Temple
An old Buddhist temple in Makino-oh, a distant suburb of Kyoto. You cross a bridge over a river with pure water and go into the serene and beautiful precinct worth visiting. It’s crowded with visitors in the autumnal foliage season.

◆Rokkaku-do Hal
A small Buddhist temple just in the center of Kyoto City (It has a “belly button stone” in the precinct!).  A legend has it that it was built by Prince Shotoku, a renowned figure around 600 AD. The name meaning hexagon comes from the fact that the main building is hexagonal viewed from the top. It was burnt down as many as 16 times from the early 12th Century to the middle 19th Century according to the records.  The present building was built in 1877.  It’s home to Ikenobo, the flower arrangement school founded by the monks of this temple.

◆Nishiki Market
If you need a break from temple hopping, Nishiki Market is a great place to visit. Located in the center of the town, Nishikikoji-dori, 400 meters long, is a street lined with around 130 shops selling Kyoto's specialties, such as Kyoto vegetables, dried and pickled foods, fish, and more. That's why it is called "the kitchen of Kyoto". The variety of foods on display is staggering and the frequent cries of Irashaimase (Welcome!) are heart-warming.

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