Our favorite non-skiing part of the trip. It was awesome to see the history and the temples and the imperial castle. It wasn’t crowded, but I hear cherry-blossom season is quite the opposite.
Background
Kyoto was Japan’s imperial capital for over a thousand years, and it’s where the country keeps its old self — thousands of temples and shrines, the vermilion torii tunnels of Fushimi Inari, the gold pavilion of Kinkaku-ji, and Nijo Castle with its squeaking nightingale floors. Winter strips out the cherry-blossom and fall-foliage crowds and leaves the place quiet.
If you go
Kyoto is the old capital and the temple capital — Fushimi Inari’s torii gates, the golden Kinkaku-ji, Nijo Castle and the Imperial Palace grounds. The crowd note in the blurb is the key planning tip: winter is low season and genuinely quiet, while cherry-blossom spring and fall-foliage season turn the famous spots into a crush. If you can stand the cold, the quiet is worth it. More here.
