There was a sense of politeness and
regard for others that shone through
in the orderliness of the everyday
commute. Train stations were filled
with efficient queues, people on the
sidewalk moved in an easy rhythm
to make way for speedier walkers,
and bus drivers patiently waited for
pedestrians to cross even after the light
had turned.
I may have arrived at a bastion of
Japanese modernity that was the steel
and glass Kyoto Station, but as soon
as I hopped off the train and walked
deeper into the city, time seemed to
move backwards. Modern buildings
slowly gave way to quaint wooden
Japanese houses,
ryokan
(
traditional
Japanese inns with sliding doors and
wall-to-wall tatami mats) and
okiya
(
lodging houses of geisha and maiko),
looking just the way they might have in
the 1930s.
The traditional
tour
Kyoto, which had been the country’s
capital city for centuries, is teeming
with temples and shrines, and
continues to be the heart of traditional
Japan. Among its most stunning
sights is the Fushimi Inari Taisha, an
8
th-century Shinto shrine in southern
Kyoto. The shrine is famous for having
Kyoto, the country , s former
capital, continues to be the heart
of traditional Japan
On the way to
Kiyomizu temple;
(
inset) Fushimi Inari
Taisha during the
New Year’s Day
celebration
69
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Spot the
inspiration for
wide trendy belts
J A P A N F O R B E G I N N E R S
