Kyoto Station Area - Kyoto - page 115

rive in town, this is the place to do so. Located right outside the Karasuma (north) gate of
the station, this retro tower looks like a rocket perched atop the Kyoto Tower Hotel. The
tower provides excellent views in all directions and you can really get a sense for the
Kyoto bonchi (flat basin). There are free mounted binoculars to use, and these allow rip-
ping views over to Kiyomizu-dera ( CLICK HERE ) and as far south as Osaka.

| TEMPLE

NISHI HONGAN-JI
OFFLINE MAP
( 西本願寺 ; 371-5181; Hanaya-chō sagaru, Horikawa-dōri, Shimogyō-ku; 6am-5pm Nov-Feb,
5.30am-5.30pm Mar, Apr, Sep & Oct, to 6pm May-Aug; 15min walk from Kyoto Station central exit) In 1591
Toyotomi Hideyoshi built this temple, known as Hongan-ji, as the new headquarters for
the Jōdo Shin-shū (True Pure Land) school of Buddhism, which had accumulated im-
mense power. Later, Tokugawa Ieyasu saw this power as a threat and sought to weaken it
by encouraging a breakaway faction of this school to found Higashi Hongan-ji ( higashi
means 'east') in 1602. The original Hongan-ji then became known as Nishi Hongan-ji (
nishi means 'west'). It now functions as the headquarters of the Hongan-ji branch of the
Jōdo Shin-shū school, with over 10,000 temples and 12 million followers worldwide.

The temple contains five buildings, featuring some of the finest examples of architec-
ture and artistic achievement from the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600). The
Goei-dō (main hall) is a marvellous sight. Another must-see building is the Daisho-in
Hall , which has sumptuous paintings, carvings and metal ornamentation. A small garden
and two nō (stylised Japanese dance-drama) stages are connected with the hall. The
dazzling Kara-mon has intricate ornamental carvings.

HIGASHI HONGAN-JI
OFFLINE MAP
See CLICK HERE .

| TEMPLE

SHŌSEI-EN
OFFLINE MAP
( 渉成園 ; 371-9210; Shichijō agaru, Karasuma-dōri, Shimogyō-ku; admission ¥500; 9am-3.30pm;
15min walk from Kyoto Station central exit) About five minutes' walk east of Higashi Hongan-ji,
this garden is a nice green island in a vast expanse of concrete. While it's not on par with
many other gardens in Kyoto, it's worth a visit if you find yourself in need of something
to do near the station, perhaps paired with a visit to the temple. The lovely grounds, incor-
porating the Kikoku-tei villa, were completed in 1657.

| GARDEN