{"id":2136,"date":"2026-10-20T07:09:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T14:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/?p=2136"},"modified":"2026-10-20T07:09:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T14:09:46","slug":"the-city-of-ten-thousand-temples-and-shrines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/20\/the-city-of-ten-thousand-temples-and-shrines\/","title":{"rendered":"The City of Ten Thousand Temples and Shrines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today was our first full day in Kyoto and we realized why the City is nicknamed the “City of 10,000 Shrines”. Ranging from world renowned, large complexes that see millions of visitors a year to small neighborhood expressions in a back alley (both equally beautiful), the City has an enormous diversity of religious sites. Kyoto is unique in this regard because: (a) it served as the capital of Japan for over 1,000 years before the capital was moved to Tokyo; and (b) Kyoto was largely spared from the destruction of the United States’ bombing during World War II due to its historical, religious and cultural significance. Today, Kyoto retains the historical old-world charm in contrast to Tokyo’s futuristic aura. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We started our day today by re-visiting Fushimi Inari Taisha, perhaps the most famous shrine in Japan. The shrine has a starkly different (and more crowded) feel during the daylight, so we are glad to have visited it during the day and night. This time, we hiked all the way to the top of the holy mountain of Inariyama – a challenge in the stifling humidity. As we climbed, the sounds of birds strengthened and the sounds of people weakened, increasing the peace of walking through the striking red torii gates. In the Shinto religion, torii gates mark the boundary between the physical world and the sacred space of the shrine. At the mountain peak, we were also able to enjoy panoramic views of Kyoto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Next we got to learn the Kyoto bus system and trek over to To-ji Temple, founded over 1,200 years ago and featuring the tallest wooden pagoda in Japan. As suckers for old things, we loved being able to walk on floors and be up close to statutes, architecture and carvings which are over a thousand years old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After a delicious sushi lunch at a hole-in-the-wall place with seating for 10, we ventured back across the southern portion of the City to Kiyomizu-Dera Temple – one of the most picturesque sites in Kyoto. We were thankful that the rain held off so that we could enjoy the views. The Temple itself sat, seemingly precariously, on a matrix of wooden beams built in a style using no nails – a common technique in ancient Japan. The Temple includes a hall of Jizo statues – we always make sure to pay our respects to Jizo! After strolling through the Sannenzaka walkway (a street lined with vendors selling matcha flavored everything), we stumbled upon Ryozen Kannon Temple, a war memorial dedicated to those who died in World War II. The Temple portrayed an impressive statue of Bodhisattva Avalokite\u015bvara, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy and Compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We ended our day of exploration with a stroll through Maruyama Park, Shirakawa Canal and Pontcho Alley in the Gion district. This district is famously known as the “geisha district” but also features stone stone-paved walkways and the most traditional representation of “Old Kyoto.” We were surprised at how authentic the atmosphere was, despite being one of the most famous locations in Kyoto. Old teahouses and weeping willows line the Canal, adding to the charm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For dinner we found another hole-in-the-wall gem: a restaurant that had no signs and stairs leading into a basement where two men were hard at work serving bowls of ramen with flame torched meat to hungry patrons. As always, some of the best spots to eat when traveling are the unassuming ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tomorrow we are looking forward to another full day exploring Kyoto – focusing on the northwest portions of the City. Don\u2019t forget to check out our Gallery<\/a> if you want to see more pictures from our trip!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today was our first full day in Kyoto and we realized why the City is nicknamed the “City of 10,000 Shrines”. Ranging from world renowned, large complexes that see millions of visitors a year to small neighborhood expressions in a back alley (both equally beautiful), the City has an enormous diversity of religious sites. Kyoto […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","iawp_total_views":14,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2136"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2140,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2136\/revisions\/2140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}