Kyoto

Thousands of vermilion torii gates climb the slopes of Mount Inari behind this shrine to the god of rice and prosperity. Most visitors turn back after the first dense tunnels of gates; keep walking and the crowds thin, the gates grow older and mossier, and you reach viewpoints over the city. The full loop to the summit takes two to three hours on foot.

TipCome at sunrise or after dark. The shrine never closes and entry is free, and the lantern-lit gates at night are worth the trip on their own.

A temple hall more than a hundred metres long, the longest wooden building in Japan, holding 1,001 gilded statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, standing in rows like a silent army, guarded by twenty-eight protective deities. It's one of the most extraordinary sights in Japan.

TipPhotography is not allowed inside the hall.

A wooden temple built out over a wooded hillside on a huge timber stage, put together without a single nail. The view from the stage, across a sea of maple and cherry trees to the city below, is one of Japan's classic images. Below the main hall, the Otowa waterfall splits into three streams said to bring long life, success and love.

TipWalk up through the old slopes of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka, but do it early: by late morning the lanes are shoulder to shoulder.

On the western edge of the city, Arashiyama combines the famous bamboo grove with a riverside setting, the moss and pond garden of Tenryu-ji temple, and a hillside monkey park with views over Kyoto. The bamboo grove is short, a few minutes' walk end to end, so treat it as part of a morning here rather than the whole reason to come.

TipArrive before 8 am for the bamboo grove, then go up to the Okochi Sanso villa garden, which most tour groups skip.

The Golden Pavilion, its upper floors covered in gold leaf, reflected in a pond framed by pines. It is one of the most photographed buildings in Japan and you see it from a set path, so expect a short, busy visit rather than a contemplative one.

TipCombine it with Ryoan-ji, the temple of the famous rock garden, a short bus ride away.

The most famous Zen rock garden in Japan: fifteen stones set in raked white gravel, enclosed by an earthen wall, arranged so that you can never see all fifteen at once from the viewing veranda. Its meaning is left to the visitor. Beyond it, the temple's pond garden is lovely in every season.

Kyoto's best-known geisha district, with wooden teahouses, latticed facades and stone-paved lanes. Gion is still a working district: you may see geiko and maiko walking to evening appointments, but they are not attractions. Some private lanes now ban photography, and fines apply, so watch for the signs.

TipWalk along the Shirakawa canal at dusk, when the willows and lanterns are at their most beautiful.

A covered, five-block market street lined with stalls selling pickles, tofu, fresh fish, Japanese sweets and kitchen knives. It is the place to graze on small bites and to see the ingredients behind Kyoto's cooking.

TipMany stalls ask you not to walk while eating: stand at the stall to finish, then move on.

A stone path along a cherry-lined canal in the north-east of the city, named after a philosopher who walked it daily. It links Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, with a string of smaller temples and quiet cafes, and takes about half an hour end to end.

TipContinue south to Nanzen-ji to see the brick aqueduct running through the temple grounds.

The Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shoguns, with painted screens and "nightingale floors" that chirp underfoot, designed to warn of intruders. The gardens and the castle's sheer scale show the power of the shoguns in a city of emperors.