Kyoto
Spacious grounds of the Heian Shrine
A vacation to Japan is not complete unless you ride the famous bullet train to Kyoto , the ancient capital of Japan for over a millennium . A repository for the best Japanese art , culture , religion and philosophy , Kyoto boasts no less than 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites , the greatest concentration of any city in the world . Upon arriving , it quickly becomes evident just how different this city is from populous Tokyo .
Visit some of the city ' s most atmospheric shrines , such as Kiyomizudera , the temple of " pure water ,” Heian Shrine , flanked by a painted sea of flowers and Fushimi-Inari Taisha , a fascinating complex of more than 2,000 blaze orange torii gates stretching nearly two miles up the picturesque wooded hillside leading to the main shrine . Travel to Kyoto ' s western Arashiyama Mountains to visit the magnificent Tenryuji Temple with its 14th-century Zen garden , one of the oldest in the country and marvel at the stunning Kinkakuji , a three-storied pavilion wrapped entirely in real gold foil .
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