People always focus on airplanes when it comes about tourism but have you ever planned a trip with cruises. Truly, this is a real tourism for me. Travel by cruise explore the water and surrounding and then when you dock at the port explore the rest of the attractions in the city and grab all the happiness that will make you feel pleasure. I say this as I felt the real pleasure by traveling on cruise and exploring Kyoto which is the ancient capital of Japan. Well, we all know that Japan offers unlimited attractions which is an eco-tourism city and also has worth to visit.
Kyoto has over 2,000 temples and shrines as it is a place of pilgrimage and also a real open air museum. I got shocked when I heard that Kyoto has total 17 major sites that gained the status as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. When you will start your journey you can experience beautiful sights that will already fascinate you a lot and when you will dock at Maizuru port let me tell you that this port is dotted with sightseeing spots. So when you will start exploring the sights it will be a real trip that you have never planned or thought before.
Well, the Kobe port which is located in the northwest direction of Osaka Bay was opened in the year 1868. This port was developed as a major Japanese International trading port. Now if we see this port is among the world’s major global container ports. So if your cruise ship docks in Osaka or Kobe then do not miss the chance of exploring Kyoto that has 1600 Buddhist temples, 200 Shinto shrines and 3 imperial palaces. This is the reason why Kyoto is also called as the spiritual capital of Japan.
I went for a trip from Sydney to Shanghai and by the time for two days our cruise was in Osaka and allowed passengers to visit the historical Japanese cities out of which we first went to visit Kyoto. It was our full day visit that also comprises of guided visits to three most significant sites of Kyoto which is Kiyomizu Temple, Nijo-jo Castle and also the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. All of these historical sites was interesting and was amazing. We went there during the month of February when we experienced snowy climate. Temples, shrines, teahouses and old wooden machiya townhouses offers magnificent views to the visitors who throng here in a huge number to explore this ancient city and also its culture and traditions.
Kyoto has most of the breathtaking scenery in Asia that increases the glory of Japan. Castles, gardens, parks, museums, and monuments all become the major attractions of Kyoto that you can explore and make your holidays a memorable one. In short time, we explored the major attractions of Kyoto that impressed us a lot like the Fushhimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Kiyomizu Temple, Ginkakuji Temple, Heian Shrine, Ryoanji Temple’s Zen garden, Imperial Palace and Nijo Castle. We also strolled through the old lanes of this city that gave us immense pleasure. The Higashiyama district in the east offers many temples and peaceful walks so try them out.
When you are strolling around the city, do try shopping and make your trip memorable forever. Between the Shijo-dori and Kawaramachi-dori you will get the best shopping experience which is the heart of Kyoto. Head to the Kitayama Street that extends from the Kitayama Bride where you will get stylish shops, exclusive boutiques and trendy restaurants. To get the well-known arts and crafts shops, head to the multistory Kyoto Handicraft Center, Kumanojinja Higashi, Marutamachi-dori and Sakyo-ku and buy few of them. Also we really enjoyed the food of Kyoto where many restaurants offers a variety of Japanese cuisines.
The best time to visit such a great place is during spring that occurs in the months of March to May and autumn starts from September to November. You will experience blossoms in spring and also sizzling beauty in autumn. The city has total 1,473,873 populations and enjoys constitutional monarchy. You will get most of the religion as Shintoism and Buddhism with a Christian minority. People there are very friendly and bowing is the customary greeting at that place. So whenever you plan a trip, do visit Kyoto that has so much of attractions worth exploring and will give you immense pleasure. My trip to this place was a great experience and I wonder how these old attractions are still living. In fact, how the old capital is still present.