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DISCOVERING KYOTO’S ELUSIVE SOUL

Let’s start with something of a confession: it took me a few years of living in Japan before I “got” Kyoto and Nara. Initially coming to Tokyo after university to teach English for a year, I had very little interest in golden temples, geisha districts and ornately landscaped gardens. As for my take on foreigners who were into Kyoto and Nara, it seemed to me like they had all become more Japanese than the Japanese; wearing kimono, bowing on the phone and composing haiku under the cherry blossoms. All a bit weird.

Then I visited the cities. The way the gilded Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto cast its reflection into the pond before it had me snapping away on my camera like a madman. The colors and aromas of the food stalls along Nishiki-koji were addictive. The gardens of Tofuku-ji Temple were mesmerizing. Tokyo is a great city to call home, but by comparison Kyoto and Nara felt almost serene—calm and mature compared to the brashness and fickleness of Japan’s capital. I’ve always thought that traditional Japan’s soul and mine aren’t really natural bedfellows. With Japan’s ancient capitals, I guess, it’s a case of opposites attracting.

Each time I return, it feels like I stumble on something new. On one trip while writing this book, it was a first visit to the ancient moss gardens of Saiho-ji—eerie and dank, and only accessible after copying out Japanese sutra at the temple. On another trip, I remember sitting on the wooden steps next to Ryoan-ji’s famous dry landscape garden and noticing for the first time a weeping cherry blossom reaching over the garden’s wall. The two cities hold so much history, mystery and allure that I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of going back. I hope this book will help you discover some of that magic for yourself. Happy travels!