Temples, gardens and the Japan of old postcards
Kyoto was Japan's imperial capital for more than a thousand years, and it shows: well over a thousand temples, a clutch of UNESCO sites and lanes still lined with wooden machiya townhouses. Mornings are for shrines before the crowds, afternoons for gardens and tea, evenings for the lantern-lit alleys of Gion and Pontochō. Spring blossom and autumn leaves are spectacular and busy; winter is quiet and underrated.