Traveling through history and style
Visiting Kyoto is going back to Japan’s feudal times, to Gion’s vintage houses with Maikos and Geishas crossing your path, dressed in beautiful and perfect outfits, a true representation of the Japanese soul. The hospitality of people in Kyoto is perhaps its main charm, making the Heritage sites even more special to visit.
In total the city has seventeen properties declared by UNESCO as sites of global importance to the world’s cultural heritage. Each of the sites belong to a different era, when Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over 1000 years. The conservation efforts taken in place allow visitors to know and see the buildings mostly as they originally looked liked.
The additional of the sites followed criteria (ii) and (iv) of the organization’s Convention, and basically recognises the importance of the development of architecture and gardening of each site to the history of Japanese society:
Criterion (ii): Kyoto was the main centre for the evolution of religious and secular architecture and of garden design between the 8th and 17th centuries, and as such it played a decisive role in the creation of Japanese cultural traditions which, in the case of gardens in particular, had a profound effect on the rest of the world from the 19th century onwards.
Criterion (iv): The assemblage of architecture and garden design in the surviving monuments of Kyoto is the highest expression of this aspect of Japanese material culture in the pre-modern period.
Kyoto Imperial Palace – Tours are open during specific scheduled times and can not be organised on the day of the visit, tickets must be bought at least one day in advance.
In Kyoto visitors can also get a glimpse on all types of Japanese ancient arts, at Gion Corner, the cultural center with shows twice a day only at 6pm and 7pm, presenting Maiko dance, Kyo-mai Dance, Tea Ceremony, Koto Zither, Flower Arrangement, Gagaku Court Music, Kyogen Theatre and Bunraku Puppet Theatre. Ticket counter opens 1 hour before the show and there are no pre sale, so it is highly recommended to be there early to guarantee a seat.
Most of the restaurants and other establishments in Gion are open mainly for lunch and dinner only, closing between one and the other, in case you are going for food as well.
A Kyoto speciality, Obanzai Ryori is the local traditional home style cooking, composed of small dishes cooked in a simple way, with ingredients in season and incorporates five core elements: genuine things; balance; encounter; hospitality; avoiding or not producing waste. It reflects on the need to use the ingredients properly, using creativity to add food that otherwise would be discarded, harmonising the preparation of the food to the vibes and mood of the environment and guests. It is a true process of reflecting on food to nourish the soul as well as the body.
Although not part of the list of heritage sites, the Shinto shrine Fushimi Inari Taisha is a popular destination for tourists visiting Kyoto, for its beautiful structure and famous tori gates forming trails around the temple dedicated do Inari, the Shinto god of rice.
Adding on to the existing heritage of Kyoto, in 1997 a historical treaty was signed in which nations recognise global warming as a real problem to the international community and that human activity is the main source of it with the emissions of CO2. It also, for the first time, mentions the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities”, placing the developed countries in the spot as responsible for the climate change, resulted from years of industrial activity and lack of environmental regulations.
The Kyoto Protocol took nearly 7 years to go into force, and initially didn’t stipulated targets to countries like China or India, as they didn’t play a major role in contributing to the greenhouse emissions years before. The decade which followed 1997, however, saw an exponential increase in the emissions of CO2, possibly because of the economic and industrial growth seen in developing countries, not coincidentally India and China, nations for which the treaty didn’t apply its regulations to reduce gas emissions.
As the tasks to reduce emissions by each country seemed more difficult than it was predicted on paper, the Kyoto Protocol remains an important historical event to the region and to the international cooperation, having brought together for the first time United Nations parties and a common agreement on the risks and challenges of climate change.
Travelling is a powerful enriching experience. Kyoto is no exception, a destination that will add so much to anyone’s memories as much as the mind and heart are open for it. The Heritage sites are only the starting point for this journey.
