Simply put, Kyoto is the most spectacular city I've ever seen. It has become known as the "Cultural Capital" of Japan, and for good reason. The city is home to more than 2000 shrines and temples, and it easily stands out as the most interesting place that we've ever visited.

We made a couple trips to Kyoto, the first of which was during the New Years season. At that time, the city was bustling with dozens of festivals and millions of tourists. One of the larger New Years festivals is held at a place called Yasaka Shrine.

On the left, you can see the huge crowds of people moving through a row of booths selling various souveniers and food. In the middle is a picture of the people lined up to pray at the buddhist shrine. Each person rings a bell and makes a small donation. On the right is a picture of a very unfortunate tree. At festivals like this, everyone buys a piece of paper which has their fortune on it. If you don't like what it says, you're supposed to tie it to a tree where you got it. This way, you leave the bad luck behind. (For instance, mine told me I would become pregnant in the next year. Being male, the idea just doesn't really appeal to me.)

Another interesting temple is called Kiyomizu (pronounced key-yo-me-zoo). It's rather well known because half the main building is on stilts. And there's a very nice view of the city from the top. Here's a panoramic view of the temple.

Easily one of the most spectacular sights from our entire year was Kinkakuji Temple. This is also known as the Golden Pavillion. The upper levels are entirely coated in real gold leaf. Amazing! There was a security guard who kept people a "safe" distance away to ensure tourists don't walk away with pieces of the building.

Kyoto was also the political capital of Japan up until the imperial family moved to Tokyo in 1868. So the city contains a couple very impressive castles and palaces. One of these is the imperial Sento palace. The buildings themselves were pretty cool, but what really grabbed our attention was the huge garden on the palace grounds. The garden contained a large pond with a very impressive bridge. If you look closely, you'll see trees growing at either end. The branches of those trees grow along the entire length of the roof and meet in the middle. This photo was taken in the middle of winter so there's no leaves on the branches, but it was still spectacular!

Finally, check out this picture. It was taken in the garden on the grounds of Nijo castle. A great deal of care was taken in planning the placement of every tree and stone in the garden. Notice the stone walkway over the pond.