After the hustle and bustle of Tokyo I found Kyoto refreshing, and somehow more spiritual
1/Golden Pavillion or Kinkakuji which is a stunningly beautiful place was once a retirement villa for the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and turned into a Zen temple after his death.
The grounds are beautiful with plenty of walking paths through the gardens and around the pond. It is relatively easy to get here, by bus number 101 or 205 from Kyoto station costing 230 yen or 23 cents Australian. or the train to Karasuma Station and from there either a bus 101, 102. 204 or 205 for 230 yen or a taxi for about 1200 yen ($12 AU) and costs 400 yen ($4 AU) entrance fees.
2/Nijo Castle was the residence of the Tokugawa Shogunate and has the amazing nightingale floors (uguisubari) which warned the Shogun of intruders. Again not only is there the castle but there are other buildings and beautiful grounds to walk around for an entry fee of 600 yen ($6 AU) there is also a English audio guide to hire for 500 yen ($5 AU) We found walking around Kyoto was quite easy and the distances were not to far from our hotel, but if you are wanting to catch a train from Kyoto station here are the directions, from Kyoto Station, take the Karasuma Subway Line to Karasuma-Oike Station and transfer to the Tozai Line to Nijojo-mae Station. The whole trip takes about 15-20 minutes and costs 260 yen or $2.60 AU.
3/Gion and Gion Corner which is the geisha district of Kyoto, which is a beautiful area with lots of restaurants, ochayas (tea-houses) beautiful old buildings and willow trees and hopefully a geisha or two. There are some people that probably would not think of going to the Gion Corner theatre as it is considered to be too touristy but for a reasonable price of 2200 yen ($22 AU) we got to see a tea ceremony, flower arranging, harp playing,
Kyogen (comic plays) and Kyomai (dance) We took a taxi here, as we had been in Osaka all day and after an hour on the train we worried that we would be late for the performance if we took a bus or train (in winter not many performances so we were limited to the Sunday night) While walking around Kyoto two days later we realized that we could probably have made it in time from our hotel.
5/Temples and shrines around every corner, I loved the fact that every you walked in Kyoto you would come across a temple or shrine, whether a large one or small family one, and no matter what your beliefs you can't help feel a little more spiritual for their presence.
5/Osaka Castle and the plum blossoms-we may have been too early for the cherry blossoms but we were most impressed with the plum blossoms in the gardens around
Osaka Castle. We found it easy enough to get to on the JR Loop Line and getting off at the Osakajojoen Station(we had our JR Pass so didn't have to worry about individual fares which I would recommend to people who plan on doing any extensive travel within Japan) The castle grounds are free to get into, but if you want to climb the castle tower there is a fee of 600 yen ($6 AU) or the Nishinomauru Garden (very popular in cherry blossom season) the fee is 200 yen ($2 AU) out of season 500 yen ($5 AU) in season
6/Shittennoji Temple is easily reached with a 10minute walk from the Tennoji station on the JR Loop Line, and is one of Japan's oldest temples. The outer buildings are free to wander but if you want to walk through the inner precint, gardens or treasure house fees apply from 300 ($3 AU) to 500 yen ($5 AU)
7/Umeda Sky Building- yes another observation deck but this building is amazing with the elevator running between the two towers (if you're afraid of heights you won't want to have your eyes open as you go up this part of the tower) and the entrance fee to the Floating Garden observatory is only 700 yen ($7 AU) and well worth the cost. It is a 10-15 minute walk from Osaka and Umeda stations.
