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Copyright © 2015 by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd
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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