kyoto in photos | The Road Forks

Photography is a communion between the eye and the light of the external world. In Kyoto, light flooded the gardens and streets, creating spectacles without words.

Tourist geisha. These women are not actual geisha but are tourists who spend about 5000 yen ($60 USD) to be dressed like geisha. There are less than 3,000 active geisha in Japan so sighting a geisha in Gion is quite rare.

Community shrine in Higashiyama district.

Streets of Gion. This geisha district was spared from the fires that ravaged other parts of Kyoto and is filled with old teahouses, inns, and shops filled against narrow cobblestone streets.

Yasaka Shrine, Ryozen Kannon, and Kiyomizu Temple, all situated in the Gion area. The Kiyomizu Temple offers a beautiful view over Kyoto.

Ryoanji Zen Rock Garden. The famous rock garden dates from the late 1400s. It demands silent contemplation, a near impossible feat with the hordes of high school students who arrive in buses to view this classic Zen garden.

Ryoanji lower garden. In contrast to the Zen rock garden, the lower Ryoanji garden is lush, letting light flicker through the leaves and trees.

The beautiful Nijo Castle, a shogun's castle built in the 16th century.

Myoshinji Temple. This often ignored temple has numerous subtemples with small tea arbors and gardens.

Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion. Even on a cloudy day, the gold leaf layered pavilion gleams.

Tenryu-ji Temple. In the beautiful Arashiyama area, the Tenryu-ji Temple offers a respite from the bustle of Kyoto.

In Gion, we found a small tea shop attached to a picturesque garden. The koi were simply the most beautiful fish we have ever seen. They floated through the crystal water, creating waves of orange, red, yellow, white, and porcelain blue. We walked into the tea shop after exclaiming over their beauty and saw, hidden in the closet, a jumble of trophies and ribbons for those colorful fish. The light filtered through the garden so we stayed and drank tea and ate sweet things in that private place in Kyoto.

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06/16/2010 02:17

Gourmantic

Great photos as always :)I love the close up of the geisha girl. The skin looks like porcelain!

Gourmantic's recent blog post: Vivid Sydney: Macquarie Visions

06/16/2010 13:47

Karin Nedela

Thank you!
This brings back wonderful memories of the times I spent in Kyoto. It is one of my favorite cities in the world. New Year 1998 a dream came true for me: I witnessed the ringing of the big bell at the Chion-in and later the wild celebration at the Yasaka Shrine. Great food, too.

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06/17/2010 02:46

Akila

Thanks Gourmantic and Karin. Karin, what a wonderful memory of Kyoto! The city has so much understated glamour. We love it, too.

Akila's recent blog post: kyoto in photos: gardens and streets

06/17/2010 13:17

Shannon OD

Your photos are, once again, stunning - the colors are so vivid that I love re-traveling even to places I've been through your photo essays.

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06/17/2010 22:02

Joya

These are gorgeous photos and it makes me want to visit Japan even more!

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06/18/2010 05:27

Akila

Thanks Shannon! The colors in Kyoto mesmerized us.

Thanks Joya! Definitely give Japan a chance. It took a little while for us to learn to love it but we've fallen pretty hard.

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06/19/2010 08:00

Lilia Cornelio

Such beautiful pictures! I love the geisha one :D I did it too before and the wig and kimono were so heavy. I couldn't walk straight. I admire real geishas for being able to wear this almost every day to entertain people. More about Japan please :D I'm really enjoying reading your posts about it :D

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06/26/2010 05:25

Akila

Lilia - Thank you! That's so awesome that you dressed up as a geisha. I imagine that the dress is heavy - it looked heavy from where we were standing especially on a warm day!

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06/28/2010 02:19

Rebecca Yale

thanks for sharing these! I love the Geisha ones! I am about to embark on my own 5 month travel journey and I love all the tips here, thanks so much for them!

10/22/2010 01:10

Gary Taylor

Thank-You!! I feel like I was looking through a National Geographic magazine. These photo's remind me why I fell in love with Japan and the Japanese people.

10/22/2010 12:23

Patrick

Thanks all for the compliments!

Rebecca - let us know how the trip goes.

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01/18/2011 21:13

Dani

Awesome photos! Filled with envy. Japan is a must-visit for me. =)

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01/18/2011 21:13

Akila

Dani, thank you! Japan is an amazing place.

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01/19/2011 20:35

Gemma

Isn't Ryoanji just amazing? It was a cloudy day when I was there, which was actually nice because it wasn't bright and sunny, and it was very calm and relaxing. Great atmosphere. And my first experience with a traditional Japanese toilet!

01/19/2011 20:35

Akila

Ryoanji is beautiful. In particular, we loved the moss garden which I imagine would be soothing and perfect on a cloudy day. I only wish it had been larger (though that was my wish for every Japanese garden because I wanted to keep strolling through them more and more).

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02/14/2011 03:40

Dina

The tourist geisha looks quite convincing. We went to Kyoto in 2002, we tried to spot geisha, I forget it was in Gion or Pontocho, but we didn't have any luck.

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02/14/2011 10:34

Akila

There were tons of the tourist geisha, actually! It cost about 60 Yen to do it and they dressed you up in the whole ensemble. We think that we saw a real geisha, who was off-duty and not in her full costume, when we were in Chikuma City, too.

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08/12/2011 17:01

HipTraveler

Wow, beautiful photography! I love Japan. Such wonderful memories of traveling to Kyoto & Tokyo. I was very lucky to see 6 or 7 real geisha in Gion and Pontocho. But I felt like a paparazzi. Although I saw several fake geishas while in Japan, I was determined to see the real ones. I must confess, I felt like a stalker. And unfortunately, was not able to capture a really good photo. The aperture vs. shutter speed was a problem, because I was avoiding using my flash out of respect. Darn! Those ladies are fast walkers in their high wooden shoes! But I'm SO fascinated by them : )

Safe travels! Keep blogging!

cheers,
~Kelly

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08/13/2011 08:28

Akila

Thanks so much Kelly! How lucky that you saw real geisha --- we searched all over and didn't find them except maybe off-duty --- but we loved seeing the tourist ones, too.

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08/13/2011 08:32

Akila

Thanks so much Kelly! How lucky that you saw real geisha --- we searched all over and didn't find them except maybe off-duty --- but we loved seeing the tourist ones, too.

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08/13/2011 08:33

Akila

Kelly, We loved seeing the geisha in Japan, too (even though we only saw tourist geisha). Their outfits are amazing, aren't they? So envious that you got to see real geisha --- I would have had a hard time taking pictures of them, too.

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08/24/2011 16:10

michael jentsch

great pictures, makes me want to go back

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08/27/2011 09:31

Akila

Thanks Michael! We loved Kyoto - it's such a lovely city.

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01/12/2012 17:29

Anwar

Awesome Photos. I was lucky enough to catch a Geisha several years ago when I was in Gion. But as I was trying to be quick and sneaky about photo taking (and it was late) the photo ended up coming out blurry. I just tried to convince folks back home that Geishas are hard to spot because they are naturally blurry ;)

01/20/2012 11:47

Akila

Ha! It's so hard to catch the geishas in pose! We got a lot of blurry pics of geishas, too.

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01/16/2012 12:19

matt

I must say that those are some amazing photos that you have taken here. I was wondering if there are any places in Japan that offer a all inclusive package option for traveling? I am definately putting Japan on the bucket list of places to visit in my lifetime. Such amazing looking views.

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01/20/2012 11:39

Akila

Matt, I don't know of any all-inclusive options in Japan because that concept hasn't really taken hold there. But, I know that several companies offer amazing tours which combine all the attractions, transportation, and food into one package. This company here looks pretty good (but I haven't used them personally): http://www.insidejapantours.com/

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01/19/2012 21:50

Penny

I never seen a city so closely built along with nature. The place is amazingly stunning with all these photos. I can't wait to visit Kyoto!

01/20/2012 08:56

Akila

Penny, thanks! Kyoto was our favorite city in Japan - it's impossible not to be captivated by its beauty.

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01/20/2012 10:26

Matthew Karsten

Your photos took me on a great little tour!

Too bad about the rock garden noise though. I'd love to sit there in complete silence for a while.

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02/02/2012 09:57

walkingon travels

Gorgeous photos. They brought back very fond memories of our own trip to Kyoto last spring.

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