kyoto

The Shishinden, the Hall for State Ceremonies at the Kyoto Imperial Palace, viewed from across its vast white gravel courtyard under a clear blue sky.

A Guide to the Kyoto Imperial Palace (Kyoto Gosho): A Top Free Attraction

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On a bright and sunny, albeit chilly, Saturday afternoon in mid-January, as part of a larger trip across Japan, I found the Kyoto Imperial Palace rather empty. It was a surprising turn of events after I had encountered crowds of tourists spilling off the sidewalks in Arashiyama and flooding through the red tori gates at […]

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“Crowds gathering at Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo for a winter street festival with food stalls and bright signage

What It’s Like to Visit Japan in Winter: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Himeji & Kobe in January

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Everyone warned me not to go to Japan in the winter: too cold, too gray, too quiet, they said. But the reality? Japan in winter was even better than I imagined. Yes, there were some cold and overcast days, but traveling in January meant experiencing lingering New Year’s traditions, witnessing the first early blooms, and

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