places to visit in kyoto

*back dated entry*

today i am going to start sharing some of places that i planned in my travel itinerary & the first place is kyoto! i have heard so much about kyoto from my friends & all of them said it to be such a pretty place!!! cant wait to see it for myself!!! all the information are obtained from my travel "bible" & japan guide website.....

as i was searching for kyoto attractions, i found most of them are scattered in different part of the city so it will be impossible to visit all of them within my travel plans so i have to strategise & go to those that i really want to see.... another thing is that JR doesnt have extensive network in kyoto so main mode of transport will be buses & local trains.... the most popular thing is to get kyoto 1 day bus pass for 500yen which entitled you to unlimited bus ride & i recommend taking raku bus.... although they only have 3 bus services, all of them get you to different famous kyoto attractions.... enough said, lets go to different attractions....

1. kyoto station area
there are quite a number of things over there & of cause the main attraction just outside kyoto train station will be kyoto tower.... i am very sure every big city in japan has some sort of tower & its main purpose is for people to have a bird's eye view of the city....

kyoto tower, photo taken from here

of cause there are shopping centers nearby the station such as bic camera & yododashi kyoto... i feel these 2 are like BIGGEST store in japan, you will always find them at those major stations.... they mainly sell electronics but also cosmetics, toys & food.... tourists also can get tax rebate from them BUT you need to hit the minimum spending which will be 10,000yen (before tax) in general....

2. nijo castle

nijo caste, photo taken from here.....

Honmaru, photo taken from here.....

nijo castle is a famous attraction in kyoto & based on the map, i think it's a pretty big place... the picture of honmaru is so lovely!!! i read in my travel bible that there are some shopping streets nearby so you can get some food & souvenirs from there...

3. Kiyomizudera (清水寺)

Kiyomizudera during spring, photo taken from here

Kiyomizudera during night illumination, photo taken from here

shopping streets on the way to kiyomizudera, photo taken from here....

one of the most important temple in japan & it's a MUST to visit... the temple is located in higashiyama area & along the walk towards the temple, there are old shop houses around which sell many souvenirs.... you can see from the picture that kiyomizudera look so PRETTY during night illumination!!! but too bad i will be going during winter so there wont be night illumination =( 

4.Ginkakuji (银阁寺)

silver pavilion, photo taken from here.....

ginkakuji or more commonly known as silver pavilion, it's located somewhere near kiyomizudera so you can plan a day trip to both places... although the name suggest the temple is silver colour, it's actually not so.... i was abit disappointed when i find out this information but nonetheless i think it's still a pretty nice place to visit....

5. Kinkakuji (金阁寺)

gold pavilion, photo taken from here....

kinkakuji or golden pavilion is really covered with GOLD leaf!!! you can see from the picture how shinny it looks!!! amazing!!! my friends told me this temple is really pretty so hopefully i have time to visit this place....

6. arashiyama

togetsukyo bridge during autumn, photo taken from here....

bamboo forest, photo taken from here....

 this is the place for the famous bamboo forest.... i saw from my friends pictures about this place & it just look so nice!!! Togetsukyo Bridge is another famous attraction there.... you can also take the  Saga scenic train to tour the area but sadly the train doesnt operate during winter =(

7. fushimi inari

torii gates, photo taken from here....

it's the shrine with thousand gates, another lovely attraction in kyoto.... you can find fushimi inari taisha there which is a famous shrine in japan

so basically are my personally selection of the famous attractions in kyoto, of cause there are much more places to that but if you have limited time, i think these are some of the MUST see places in kyoto =)