Mercato Nishiki e Cucina di Kyoto — La Cucina di Kyoto
Nishiki Market (錦市場 — 'Nishiki Market', nicknamed 'Kyoto's Kitchen' (京のお台所 — Kyō no Odaidokoro) — the covered market street in the heart of Kyoto, running 390 metres west from the Teramachi arcade, lined with approximately 130 vendors of Kyoto food specialties): the market has operated continuously since the early Edo period (approximately 1615) and specializes in the distinctive food culture of Kyoto (kyo-ryori — Kyoto cuisine), characterized by its emphasis on seasonal vegetables (kyo-yasai — Kyoto vegetables), tofu (the finest tofu in Japan is made in Kyoto from the mineral-rich mountain water), and the delicate aesthetic of kaiseki (the Kyoto multi-course haute cuisine).
Gion — Il Quartiere delle Geisha di Kyoto, Hanamikoji e le Case da Tè Ochaya
Gion, il quartiere d'intrattenimento delle geisha di Kyoto — il quartiere d'intrattenimento culturalmente più significativo del Giappone — ospita le geiko (geisha di Kyoto) e le maiko (apprendiste geisha) nel sistema delle case da tè ochaya che funziona ininterrottamente dal XVIII secolo.
Higashiyama — Kiyomizudera e i Paesaggi Urbani Storici Preservati
Higashiyama (東山 — 'Eastern Mountain' — the district on the eastern hills of Kyoto, the most extensively preserved historic district in Japan): the Higashiyama sannai (the inner Higashiyama area, designated an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings) preserves the most complete streetscapes of Edo-period machiya townhouses and temple approaches in Kyoto, including the Sannenzaka (三年坂 — Three Year Slope) and Ninenzaka (二年坂 — Two Year Slope) stone-paved lanes flanked by traditional craft shops, tea houses, and restaurants.
Ryoan-ji, Daitokuji e la Filosofia del Giardino Zen di Kyoto
Ryoan-ji (龍安寺 — UNESCO World Heritage since 1994 — the Rinzai Zen temple famous for its kare-sansui (dry landscape) stone garden, created in the late 15th century): the Ryoan-ji stone garden (15 carefully placed rocks arranged in five groups on a rectangular bed of white raked gravel (approximately 25 metres × 10 metres)) is the most celebrated and most discussed karesansui garden in the world — its arrangement (from the viewing veranda, only 14 of the 15 stones are visible from any single viewpoint, with the 15th stone always hidden behind another) is the subject of extensive philosophical and aesthetic interpretation.
Palazzo Imperiale di Kyoto, Castello Nijo e la Storia Imperiale della Città
The Kyoto Imperial Palace (京都御所 — the former ruling palace of the Emperor of Japan from 794 until the Emperor Meiji moved the imperial seat to Tokyo in 1869 — the current palace buildings, rebuilt in 1855 in the original Heian-period style after a fire, set within the Kyoto Imperial Park (京都御苑)) is the centrepiece of Kyoto's imperial heritage; Nijo Castle (二条城 — the flatland castle built in 1603 by the Tokugawa Ieyasu as his Kyoto residence — UNESCO World Heritage since 1994) is the finest surviving example of the Edo-period shogunal architectural aesthetic.
Fushimi Inari-taisha — 10.000 Portali Torii fino alla Cima della Montagna
Fushimi Inari-taisha, il santuario shintoista più visitato del Giappone (circa 3 milioni di visitatori all'anno), è famoso per il suo tunnel di circa 10.000 portali torii vermiglio che salgono fino alla cima del Monte Inari nel sud di Kyoto.
Cerimonia del Tè, Matcha di Uji e la Cultura del Chanoyu a Kyoto
The Japanese tea ceremony (茶の湯 — Chanoyu, literally 'hot water for tea' — the ritualized preparation and presentation of matcha (抹茶 — powdered green tea) that was developed into its current form by the tea master Sen no Rikyū (1522-1591) in Kyoto in the 16th century): the tea ceremony is the central aesthetic and philosophical practice of traditional Japanese culture, embodying the four principles defined by Rikyū — wa (和 — harmony), kei (敬 — respect), sei (清 — purity), and jaku (寂 — tranquility) — and the aesthetic concept of wabi-sabi (the beauty of imperfection, incompleteness, and transience).
Arashiyama — Il Boschetto di Bambù, Tenryuji e il Ponte Togetsu
Arashiyama, il quartiere montano al margine occidentale di Kyoto — il quartiere più visitato della città — combina il Boschetto di Bambù di Sagano, il giardino zen di Tenryuji e il Ponte Togetsu-kyo in un contesto di straordinaria bellezza naturale e culturale.
Kinkaku-ji — Il Padiglione d'Oro e i Giardini Zen di Kyoto Nord-Ovest
Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺 — the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, officially Rokuon-ji — the Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple in the Kita ward of northern Kyoto, the three-storey golden pavilion (shakyo-do) reflected in the Mirror Pond (Kyōko-chi) — the most visited single site in Kyoto (approximately 5 million visitors per year) and the most internationally recognized image of traditional Japan): the pavilion is covered in gold leaf (the top two stories are entirely covered in gold leaf, approximately 20 kg of gold leaf applied in the 1987 restoration) and is reflected in the large pond garden surrounding it.