Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto - UNESCO World Heritage Site

Hey everyone, welcome to World Heritage Journey. Today we're at the historic monuments of ancient Kyoto, in Japan. Located in central Japan, the beautiful city of Kyoto is one of the most important and historic cities in the entire country. For over a thousand years, Kyoto was home to the Emperor, and thus the political and spiritual heart of Japan. This World Heritage Site is a series of locations across the city, showcasing this beautiful heritage in an interesting number of ways. The first stop for us was the incredible Kinkaku-ji, the famous Temple of the Golden Pavilion. This beautiful three-tiered temple is one of Japan's most famous buildings, covered in gold leaf and sitting serenely adjacent to a gorgeous lake. The temple itself dates back to the 14th century, though the current building is a 1950s replica after the original was deliberately burned down. And the architecture here is fantastic. Each of the three floors has a different external and internal style, reflecting social and religious hierarchy. And of course the entire building is topped with a beautiful bronze phoenix statue. Set among a lovely Japanese garden with other pavilions and shrines, Kinkaku-ji is a real highlight of Kyoto. Next up is beautiful Ryoan-ji, the Temple of the Dragon at Peace. Dating back to the 15th century, this incredible Zen temple is one of the most famous rock gardens in Japan. Here you'll find 15 large stones, carefully arranged on a bed of smooth white pebbles that monks rake every day. From the viewing platform on the veranda, the rocks are organised so that no matter where you're standing, you can only see 14 of the 15 large stones. The only way to view all 15 at once is to achieve enlightenment. Elsewhere in the temple, there's some lovely pavilions, a large pond and a beautifully carved ritual washing basin. It's located on the floor, so that monks and pilgrims alike have to prostrate themselves to wash. Our final stop in Kyoto was at Tenryu-ji, a large 15th century Zen Buddhist temple. The highlights here are the large and small abbey buildings known as Tohojo and Ohojo, which both front onto a beautiful pond known as Sogenchi. This is designed as a Japanese strolling garden, one that's meant to be walked around and admired from all angles. And it's certainly beautiful, particularly with the emerging autumn colours when we visited. All up, Kyoto is an amazing place, with a huge number of temples, shrines and gardens to see. Even after two full days, we felt that we'd barely done it justice.