Japan Guide
Kyoto
Northwest Kyoto
Compared to east Kyoto, sights in the city's western districts are more dispersed and therefore require a little more effort to get to. Nevertheless, it's well worth devoting one day to this area, particularly the northwest fringes, where the city meets the encircling hills. Here you'll find the outrageously extravagant Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, rubbing shoulders with Ryōan-ji's supreme example of an austere, enigmatic Zen garden. If puzzling over Zen riddles is your thing, then don't miss the dry gardens of Daitoku-ji, where Daisen-in attracts all the attention, though several other sub-temples allow quieter contemplation.
Kōryū-ji, to the south, houses one of Japan's most perfect images, a serene statue of the Future Buddha, carved fourteen centuries ago. Nearby Tōei Uzumasa Eiga-mura, on the other hand, celebrates the celluloid world. This "movie village", styled as "Japan's Hollywood", has restored working film sets and studios into a theme park, complete with battling samurai, winsome geisha and sci-fi monsters. The city's southwestern suburbs contain two outstanding gardens: Katsura Rikyū, one of Japan's first stroll-gardens, belongs to the languid world of moon-viewing parties and tea ceremonies, while the dappled mosses of Saihō-ji herald from an older tradition of Buddhist paradise gardens.