TOURS OF KYOTO of Japan Walk-Caster_E

KYOTO

Kyoto is special and a visit to Japan is hardly complete without spending some time in Japan’s ancient capitol. Indeed the visitor learns quickly that their allotted time in the old capitol is not going to be enough, no matter how long it is.

For most visitors, however, a Kyoto visit means visiting the five or ten highest profile temples and shrines, and taking a walk through the Gion. The well advised visitor should not miss these sites as they are important both to the cities history and culture, but they present only one very small view of Kyoto.

What visitors often miss are the quiet corners and back streets of Kyoto that offer glimpses into an age long ago past. As my friend and long time expert on Japan, Donald Richie, says; “…Kyoto is more than the official “traditional Japan” one reads about in ordinary guidebooks and takes guided tours to see; it is also these warrens of back streets with their inns and restaurants and shops, the buildings still made of wood and stone and tile.”

Japan Walk-Caster is dedicated to presenting a balanced view of Kyoto from its well-known and famous sites, to its little-known back streets and out of the way spots that one may otherwise miss.

　　　Nijo-jo Castle

TOUR GUIDE SAMPLE


Nijo-Jo castle, actually a fortified residence, is considered to be one of the finest examples of the shoin zukuri style of architecture from the Edo period 1600 - 1868. This alone makes it worth the visit. But it is more. Both historically and aesthetically, Nijo-Jo is very important. It is singular in that its purpose was to intimidate Kyoto, but out of Kyoto’s 1200 plus years of history, it figures in only a brief 265 years of it.

In concept, design, and function, Nijo-Jo represented the new political order that rapidly descending on Kyoto from without after the events of 1600. The men who conceived, designed, and built Nijo Jo were all outsiders.

It can be said that the beginning of the Tokugawa dynasty both began and ended here in its ornate halls, and Emperor Meiji set the Meiji Restoration in motion from here as well.

Get here early, and enjoy Japan your way with Japan Walk-Caster.

Tour Length: Up to Three hours
Note: Enter the gardens with enough time to finish the tour.

¥315



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