Kyoto City of Art (Part 2) - Exploring architecture, museums and cafes japan-guide.com

Home to some of Japan's most beautiful sightseeing spots, the city of Kyoto also has a reputation as the cultural heart of the country. In this two-part video, I'm taking a look at some of the wide range of things to see, do and experience here, from stylish cuisine and cafes to galleries, museums and historic sites. So join me, Matt Evans, staff writer at japan-guide.com, for part two of Kyoto, City of Culture. Here's the plan. From Kyoto station, we'll take the train to Tofukuji and the Keihan line to Sanjo, where we'll take a look at some interesting examples of modern architecture, visit a museum dedicated to Kyoto's history and check out a performance at the Gier Theatre. From there, we'll make our way to our hotel. The next day, we'll start with breakfast at Inoda Coffee, one of Kyoto's best-loved coffee chains, then take a 20-minute walk to Nijo Castle. From there, we'll take the subway back to Kyoto station and walk to a stylish cafe run by Kyoto's oldest maker of artisanal tea caddies. Finally, it's just a 10-minute walk to our final stop at the Kyoto National Museum. Day one. After arriving into Kyoto station, we take the train to Tofukuji and change there to the Keihan line for Sanjo. Now, I can't show this to you because there's no filming allowed inside, but just down this tiny side street is one of Kyoto's oldest businesses, a family-owned business that's been selling handmade artisanal sewing needles for 360 years. Think of Kyoto and what probably comes to mind is temples, gardens, traditional architecture, but here on Sanjo-dori, you can see some fascinating art deco-inspired buildings like this one from the 1850s to 1930s. Kyoto has had a very special place right at the heart of traditional Japanese culture for well over a thousand years. One of the best places to learn more about the city itself is right here at the Museum of Kyoto on Sanjo-dori. Let's take a look inside. Once the Kyoto branch of the Bank of Japan, the museum's distinctive western-style annex building is full of interesting architectural details. Over in the main building, visitors can take in a permanent collection covering the city's history from ancient times and temporary exhibitions with a focus on art and culture. Located in another interesting period building that was once the Kyoto Bureau of the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, Gear is an innovative non-verbal theatre show for the whole family. Set in a broken-down toy factory in the far future, Gear tells the story of four robot workers whose simple existence is changed forever with the sudden arrival of a living female doll in a performance combining dance, mime, juggling and sleight of hand. After enjoying the show, I check into my hotel next to Kyoto Station. The Thousand Kyoto is a stylish new hotel with a modern design built around an open, light-filled atrium. One of two restaurants at the hotel, Scalae is an elegant but cosy space offering an innovative take on Italian cuisine made with healthy local ingredients. Day two. We're starting the day at the main branch of Inoda Coffee, a popular coffee chain that started right here in Kyoto in 1947. From Inoda Coffee, we make our way to Nijo Castle, one of just a handful of castles with an intact original palace building. After his rise to power, the first Tokugawa Shogun Ieyasu moved the nation's capital from Kyoto to Edo, today known as Tokyo, but Kyoto remained an important political centre, so he built Nijo Castle to serve as a residence, headquarters and a symbol of his power on visits to the city. Behind me, you can see the Tozomurai, which served as waiting rooms for visitors to the palace. Now on these beautifully elaborately decorated screens, you can see pictures of great big fierce tigers and bamboo, which showed the power of the Tokugawa and intimidated the visitors. Behind me are the Shikidainoma, or reception rooms. This is where we start to see these images of large pine trees. Pine trees are a symbol of power because of their height and also because they're green all year round. This is the second room of the Ohiruma, or Great Hall. Now here, the decoration reaches a peak and those tall pine trees we saw before seem to curl protectively towards that raised stage at the back of the room where the Shogun would have sat to receive daimyo, or feudal lords. After visiting Nijo Castle, we make a stop at the Kaikado Cafe, a beautifully designed spot near Kyoto Station, run by a well-known local artisan. Kaikado is Kyoto's oldest manufacturer of tea caddies. They've been making beautifully made metal cylinders, just like this one, since 1875. Here at the very stylish Kaikado Cafe, you can enjoy tea, coffee, cake, all with a definite cylindrical theme. A short walk from the cafe, visitors can check out a range of these same cylinders at the Kaikado store, each one expertly handmade with a design virtually unchanged since the company began. From the Kaikado Cafe, we take a 15-minute walk across the river to the Kyoto National Museum. One of only four national museums in Japan, this is one of the best places to see outstanding exhibitions about Kyoto's and Japan's history and culture. With renovation work ongoing on the classically styled old building, exhibitions from the museum's permanent collection and special visiting exhibitions can both be found in the new building. And that concludes our two-day trip exploring some of Kyoto's cultural highlights. Thanks for joining me. I hope this video has inspired some ideas for your future travels. 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