A collection of soaring buildings, spacious courtyards and gardens, Chion-in serves as the headquarters of the Jōdo sect, the largest school of Buddhism in Japan. It's the most popular pilgrimage temple in Kyoto and it's always a hive of activity. For visitors with a taste for the grand, this temple is sure to satisfy. Chion-in was established in 1234 on the site where Hōnen, one of the most famous figures in Japanese Buddhism, taught his brand of Buddhism (Jōdo – or Pure Land – Buddhism) and eventually fasted to death.

The oldest of the present buildings date to the 17th century. The two-story San-mon temple gate is the largest in Japan. The immense Miei-dō Hall (Main Hall) contains an image of Hōnen. It's connected to another hall, the Dai Hōjō, by a 'nightingale' floor (that sings and squeaks at every move, making it difficult for intruders to move about quietly). Up a flight of steps southeast of the main hall is the temple's giant bell, which was cast in 1633 and weighs 70 tonnes. It is the largest bell in Japan. The bell is rung by the temple's monks 108 times on New Year's Eve each year. The temple has two gardens – the Hōjō garden designed around a pond in the chisen kaiyūshiki style, and the Yuzen-en featuring a karesansui (dry landscape garden). 

A buzzing hive of activity perched on a hill overlooking the basin of Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera is one of Kyoto’s most popular and most enjoyable temples. It may not be a tranquil refuge, but it represents the favored expression of faith in Japan. This temple was first built in 798 and is part of the Hossō school of Buddhism, which originated in Nara. The present buildings are reconstructions dating from 1633. After you ascend the hill to the temple, up more sets of stairs is the Hondō (Main Hall) known for its 200-sq-mile veranda called the butai (stage). Made of hinoki (cypress), it’s suspended 13m above the hillside below on 18 zelkova wood pillars dating back some 400 years and offers soaring city views.

Behind the Hondō is Jishu-jinja, a Shintō shrine up the steps. Visitors try to ensure success in love by closing their eyes and walking about 18m between a pair of stones – if you miss the stone, your desire for love won’t be fulfilled! You can ask someone to guide you, but if you do, you’ll need someone’s assistance to find your true love. The hillside path wends its way down to the waterfall Otowa-no-taki, where visitors drink sacred waters believed to bestow health and longevity. Check the website for the scheduling of special night-time illuminations of the temple held in spring and autumn. 

With seemingly endless arcades of vermilion torii (shrine gates) on a thickly wooded mountain path, the Fushimi-Inari-taisha shrine complex is a world unto itself – and one of Kyoto’s most impressive and memorable sights. The 4km looping pathway is called Sen-bon-torii (1000 torii), but that’s actually a misnomer – it’s more like 10,000! – punctuated with hundreds of sub-shrines and fox statues.

The fox is considered the messenger of Inari, the god of rice, and the stone foxes, too, are often called Inari. The key often seen in the fox’s mouth is for the rice granary. Fushimi Inari dates from the 8th century when the ruling Hata family dedicated it to the gods of rice and sake. Later deities were added in order for people to pray for prosperity in business. Nowadays, the shrine is one of Japan’s most popular; a head shrine for some 40,000 Inari shrines nationwide. This is a pleasant (if often crowded) day hike, or a less crowded but somewhat eerie stroll in the late afternoon and early evening, when the graveyards and miniature shrines en route take on a mysterious air. Vermillion Espresso Bar is the perfect place to take a rest after exploring the shrine complex. It serves excellent coffee and cakes. 

Anyone with the slightest fondness for Japanese gardens or tea ceremony won’t want to miss Daitoku-ji, a large Zen temple complex dotted with atmospheric sub-temples with superb, carefully raked kare-sansui (dry landscape) gardens. Founded in 1319, Daitoku-ji was destroyed in the fires of the Onin Wars, and rebuilt in the 16th century. It became known as a center of tea ceremonies and for its associations with powerful warlords. It is now the headquarters for the Rinzai Daitoku-ji school of Zen Buddhism. The main temple is usually closed to the public, but several of the sub-temples open regularly.

One of the most rewarding temples in Kyoto, Nanzen-ji is the headquarters for the Rinzai school of Zen and features expansive grounds and numerous sub-temples. Originally a retirement villa for Emperor Kameyama (1249–1305), it was dedicated as a Zen temple in 1291. Civil war in the 15th century destroyed most of the temple; the present buildings date from the 17th century. Near the entrance stands the massive Sanmon gate, which has a great view over the city from the 2nd story. Continue around the Hattō (Dharma Hall, closed to the public) to the Hōjō (head priest’s quarters), best known for the classic Zen-style Leaping Tiger Garden; the large stones are meant to evoke tigers crossing raked gravel ‘water’. Tigers are also depicted on gold-leaf fusuma-e (sliding door paintings) inside.

Perhaps Kyoto’s most famous (and most crowded) autumn foliage destination, Eikan-dō is a superb temple just a short walk south of the famous Path of Philosophy. Eikan-dō is made interesting by its varied architecture, its gardens and its works of art. It was founded as Zenrin-ji in 855 by the priest Shinshō, but the name was changed to Eikan-dō in the 11th century to honor the philanthropic priest Eikan.

In the Amida-dō hall at the southern end of the complex is a famous statue of Mikaeri Amida Buddha glancing backwards. From Amida-dō, head north to the end of the curving covered garyūrō (walkway). Change into the sandals provided, then climb the steep steps up the mountainside to the Tahō-tō pagoda, from where there’s a fine view across the city. For most of November, when the autumn leaves are at their best, the admission fee increases during the day, and the temple stays open until 9 pm for the nighttime illumination. 

Home to a sumptuous garden and elegant structures, Ginkaku-ji is one of Kyoto's premier sites. The temple started its life in 1482 as a retirement villa for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, who desired a place to retreat from the turmoil of a civil war. While the name Ginkaku-ji literally translates as 'Silver Pavilion', the shogun's ambition to cover the building with silver was never realized.

After Ashikaga's death, the villa was converted into a temple. Walkways lead through the gardens, which include meticulously raked cones of white sand (said to be symbolic of a mountain and a lake), tall pines and a pond in front of the temple. A path also leads up the mountainside through the trees. Note that Ginkaku-ji is one of the city's most popular sites, and it is almost always crowded, especially during spring and autumn. We strongly recommend visiting right after it opens or just before it closes.

The thick green bamboo stalks seem to continue endlessly in every direction and there’s a strange quality to the light at this famous bamboo grove. It's most atmospheric on the approach to Ōkōchi Sansō villa and you’ll be unable to resist trying to take a few photos, but you might be disappointed with the results: photos just can’t capture the magic of the place. The grove runs from outside the north gate of Tenryū-ji to just below Ōkōchi Sansō.

Dating from 1339, Tenryū-ji is a major temple of the Rinzai school of Zen, with one of the most attractive gardens in all of Kyoto. Most of the current buildings date from around 1900, but the garden was designed by Tenryū-ji's first abbot, Zen master Musō Soseki. The large, central koi pond forms the shape of the kanji (Chinese character) for heart, and Musō had some of Japan's best shakkei (borrowed scenery), the Arashiyama mountains, as a backdrop.

For an extra charge, enter the Hojō (abbot's quarters) to contemplate the garden from the veranda. Rocks across the pond represent a waterfall, which, it is said, if the koi can climb it will turn into a dragon, a symbol of enlightenment – look for the imposing 19th-century fusuma-e (sliding door painting) of a fearsome yet happy dragon behind you. Tenryū-ji is understandably mobbed during spring cherry blossom and autumn foliage seasons, but it pays to visit early in the morning or on a weekday any time of year. You will find Arashiyama’s famous bamboo grove situated just outside the north gate of the temple.

Behind the imposing stone walls and ramparts of Nijō-jō, which dominates a large part of the northwest city center, one can’t help feel the military might of Japan’s great warlord generals, the Tokugawa shoguns. This castle was built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu, on land that was originally occupied by the 8th-century Imperial Palace (abandoned in 1227). The ostentatious style of its construction was intended to demonstrate his prestige and signal the demise of the emperor’s power. As a safeguard against treachery, Ieyasu had the interior fitted with ‘nightingale’ floors (that sing and squeak at every move, making it difficult for intruders to move about quietly), as well as concealed chambers where bodyguards could keep watch.

After passing through the grand Kara-mon (gate), you enter Ninomaru Palace, which is divided into five buildings with numerous chambers. The Ōhiroma Yon-no-Ma (Fourth Chamber) has spectacular screen paintings. Don’t miss the excellent Ninomaru Palace Garden, which was designed by the tea master and landscape architect, Kobori Enshū.