Kyoto Tower (Nidec The Kyoto Tower)
It is located right in front of Kyoto Station. It was designed in the shape of a lighthouse to illuminate Kyoto, and is the tallest building in Kyoto at 131 meters. It has been visited by over 32 million people since it opened in 1964.
It looks just like a candle lighting up the night!
Mt. Otowa Kiyomizu-dera Temple
Opened in the year 778, the temple was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1994. In the 130, 000 m2 area of the precincts spread out on the hillside of Mt. Otowa, there are more than 30 cathedrals and monuments, including national treasures and important cultural properties.
I happened to run into a group of Japanese students on a school trip. The whole Kiyomizuzaka area was packed with students. Every single one of them was super polite and well-behaved. You can really see how Japanese people learn to follow the rules from a young age.
Yobuko Morning Market
Yobuko has long been known as one of the important port towns in Japan. The Yobuko morning market has been in operation since the Taisho period and is one of Japan’s three major morning markets, along with Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture and Takayama in Gifu Prefecture.
This market has a real local vibe. Most of the vendors are older folks from the area. It's mainly dried seafood, and the prices at each stall are pretty similar.
Kuzuryu Shrine Hongu
This is a sacred place of worship for the dragon gods, where the legend of the nine-headed dragon of Lake Ashinoko has been passed down to this day. It was built as a shrine outside the precincts of Hakone Shrine, which is known as the main shrine of the Kanto region, and stands in the lush Hakone Kuzuryu forest by Lake Ashinoko.
The purification fountain at Kuzuryu Shrine is really unique—there are actually nine dragons on top of it!