Getting Around Kyoto and Nara. Colin Smith

      

      Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd

       www.tuttlepublishing.com

      Copyright © 2015 by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd

       Photo Credits on page 96

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

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       ISBN 978-1-4629-0897-4 (ebook)

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      Getting Around

       KYOTO

       and NARA

      POCKET ATLAS

       AND TRANSPORTATION GUIDE

      Includes Nara, Fushimi, Uji, Mt Hiei,

       Lake Biwa, Ohara and Kurama

      Colin Smith

      TUTTLE Publishing

       Tokyo | Rutland, Vermont | Singapore

      Ginkaku-ji Temple

      CONTENTS

       Introducing Kyoto

       The Capital of Japan for 1,000 Years and Still Its Cultural Heartland

       Part 1:

       GETTING TO KYOTO

       Arriving in Kyoto by Air and by Train and Getting to Kyoto from the Airports

       Part 2:

       GETTING AROUND KYOTO

       Kyoto’s Transportation Network

       Riding the Bus

       Taking the Subway or Train

       Rail Passes and Prepaid Cards

       Taxis

       Renting a Bicycle

       Part 3:

       MAPS OF KYOTO

       Introducing Kyoto’s Main Districts

       Map 1 KYOTO STATION AREA

       Map 2 KAWARAMACHI SHOPPING DISTRICT

       Map 3 GION AND KIYOMIZU AREA

       Map 4 HEIAN SHRINE AREA

       Map 5 KYOTO IMPERIAL PALACE

       Map 6 NIJO CASTLE AREA

       Map 7 GINKAKU-JI AREA

       Map 8 SHUGAKU-IN AND SHINSEN-DO AREA

       Map 9 SHIMOGAMO AREA

       Map 10 KAMIGAMO AREA

       Map 11 KINKAKU-JI AND DAITOKU-JI AREA

       Map 12 RYOAN-JI AREA

       Map 13 ARASHIYAMA AREA

       Map 14 TOFUKU-JI AND FUSHIMI-INARI AREA

       Part 4:

       MAPS OF KYOTO AREA

       Excursions to the Outskirts of Kyoto

       Visiting Uji

       Visiting Ohara Village

       Visiting Kurama and Kibune Villages

       Visiting Mt Hiei and Enryaku-ji Temple

       Visiting Takao Village

       Visiting Otsu and Lake Biwa

       Part 5:

       MAPS OF NARA

       A Visit to Japan’s Other Ancient Capital

       Index

      Tourists in old Kyoto

      Introducing Kyoto

      The Capital of Japan for 1,000 Years and Still Its Cultural Heartland

      Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan for over 1,000 years and it is still known as the heartland of the country’s traditions and aesthetics. A small city compared to Tokyo, it nonetheless attracts tens of millions of visitors a year. Along with the nearby city of Nara, Japan’s capital in even more ancient times, Kyoto is the timeless yin to Tokyo’s hectic, hyper-urban yang. Its narrow alleys, temples and cultural treasures provide the ideal counterpoint to cyber-cute “Cool Japan” and make the city an essential destination for overseas travelers seeking a full experience of the country.

      About This Book

      The public transportation system is another aspect of Kyoto that makes it radically different from the Tokyo region. While Tokyo boasts the most extensive and efficient transit network in the world, Kyoto had no subways at all until 30 years ago, and even now has only two subway lines. The grid layout of the city is not a strategy to facilitate modern commerce, like in New York, but a preservation of the original 8th-century town plan modeled on those of T’ang Dynasty China. Labyrinthine underground passages and snarls of elevated roads, features of most Japanese cities, are pleasantly absent, but so is the convenience of zooming from anywhere to anywhere on assorted subways, railways and highways. Getting around smoothly