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Kyoto's thatch-roof houses, Kamigamo Shrine, Honganji temples, 5-yen coins, Daitokuji & Imamiya!

A female-looking Buddhist painting in Kyoto on stone.

Kyoto's legendary Nintendo fortunes turn to a super museum, as popular as Ghibli Studio parks! In SE Kyoto a former Nintendo factory has been turned into a nostalgia-filled gaming museum. Nintendo’s Uji Ogura plant began manufacturing toys and playing cards, Nintendo’s big money-makers at the time, in 1969. The new new Nintendo museum opened on Oct 02, 2024. The museum will welcome 2,000 people a day and tickets will be sold out for months at least 90 days in advance. So, if you want to see the new Nintendo museum you will need extra help to get tickets. If you can get them at all!

The latest Nintendo museum is one of a growing number of video game tourist destinations in Japan. Tokyo's Akihabara remains a mainstay for geeks interested in tech and also anime and manga. And Osaka Universal Studios now also has its own Super Nintendo World theme park. And a new Pokémon theme park is being planned for Inagi, Tokyo.

The rest of this article covers the following main topics:

Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!

Miyama: Kyoto's thatch-roofed houses

Miyama-cho or Miyamacho is located in the center of Kyoto Prefecture. The town, famous for its pastoral beauty (Miyama means beautiful mountain), is surrounded by steep, forested 800-900 meter-high mountains. The Yura River runs swiftly through the area. In addition to its natural beauty, Miyamacho is home to 250 thatch-roofed houses, more than any other place in Japan. Come to nature, experience a living fairytale: come to Miyamacho!

Thatch-roofed House Village: The village of Kita, which has the highest concentration of thatch-roofed homes in Miyamacho, is registered as an Important Architectural Heritage Site. Of the 50 house in Kita, 32 have thatched roofs. The oldest one was built in 1796. Eighteen of them were built in the mid 19th century. The age of the other homes is less clear though they were all built during the Edo period (1603-1867).

In the old days, before trains and electricity, village life in a place like Kita was very simple. Everything—the building materials, food, clothing—was harvested from the surrounding mountains and fields. Everything was done by hand. Nature was their home and they were a part of it.

One of the biggest changes that came with modern life was a loss of knowledge. People forgot how to take care of their old houses and fewer and fewer roof thatchers were trained. In the past two decades the love and respect for these homes and the way of life they represent has greatly increased. Miyamacho is currently making great efforts to preserve these houses and the culture they represent. The people who live in these houses are keen to preserve the original design and atmosphere of their homes. Through the assistance of the national government, Kita now has a few young master builders specialized in thatch-roofed houses and access to the necessary thatching materials.

Today, Miyamacho attracts nature lovers from the city all year round. In spring, people come to pick and enjoy mountain vegetables. In summer, fishermen come to catch ayu, a kind of river trout. In autumn, thousands come to search for the elusive matsutake mushroom, prized in Japanese cuisine. In late October, the surrounding fields are stacks with bundles of kayatate, the reed used for the roof thatch. And then, finally, in winter, people come to shoot or enjoy wild boar.

There are two minshuku inns in the area (the Matabe and the Tomiya). Experience life in an old thatch-roofed house!

Miyama Folk Museum: This is 200-year-old thatch-roofed house has been turned into a museum devoted to equipment, bamboo products and daily life tools. A visit to the attic will teach you a lot about how the roof has been thatched. Open: 9:00-17:00 (Apr.-Nov.); 10:00-16:00 (Dec.-Mar.); closed on Mon. (unless a national holiday). Information: 0771-77-0587.

Miyama Nature and Culture Village: This new outdoor village offers the visitor all kinds of hiking, camping, fishing and craft experiences. You can take a course on pottery or how to make washi paper. Accommodation options include a night in a thatch-roofed house or the Kajika-so villa, which has a nice spa. Overnight rates are per person and include dinner and breakfast. Information: 0771-77-0014 or http://www.m-kajika.jp (information in Japanese only).

Access: To get to the village of Kita and the museum, take the JR bus to Shuzan from Kyoto Station (90 min.). Then change to the local bus bound for Akake (40 min.), and then take the bus to Kita (15 min.). To get to the Miyama Nature and Culture Village take the same bus as for Kita, but get out at Chimi-guchi (17 min.)

Kamigamo Shrine: The oldest Shinto site in Kyoto?

Sacred ground, symbolic power point, place of natural spiritual strength Kamigamo Shrine (J-7, pg 8 map) is one of Kyoto’s largest and oldest Shinto shrines. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The area in and around the shrine is bright, positive and filled with a strong sense of natural power. Serving to protect Kyoto from natural disasters and epidemics caused by the curses of ghosts taking revenge on this world, the shrine is still one of the best places in Kyoto to experience and explore the world of ancient Shinto beliefs and motifs.

The precinct of this shrine is home to the God of Thunder and one can sense a strong power residing in the low hills covered with huge trees behind the main buildings where the clear, sacred waters of the Mitarashi stream well up. The God of Thunder is the protector of agricultural growth (and keeps away angry ghosts). This explains why there are more than 2,000 Kamo-related shrines throughout Japan.

The shrine also has large open areas of raked white sand and two perfect cones of sand (see photo) in front of an elevated wooden platform called the Saiden. White sand or gravel in Shinto shrines is used to mark sacred ground. The cones are for moon viewing, and one can imagine the long, silent shadow of the cones stretching west and then east during the passing of the moon overhead. They are also symbolic of the two heaps of salt that are commonly used to purify the entrance to certain areas in Japan, including restaurants, bar and homes. In a shrine, more than anywhere, purification is essential.

Leading to the inner, sacred part of the main shrine area, but roped off, is a bridge called the Hashidono. It is used only by the virgin princess of the important May Aoi Matsuri festival procession, which ends at the shrine. No one else has ever crossed this bridge!

Facing the shrine grounds to the south, stone bridges cross a canal lined with graceful willow trees and the thick tan colored earthen walls of the age-old compounds where the shrine priests or kanushi live. This timeless scene (see photo) is one of the most beautiful in Kyoto. During the first days of January, the shrine is very popular New Year’s destination and one can see many women in fine kimono in the sunshine paying their respects to the gods under the grand open blue sky that hangs so close to everything here. On January 4th at 10:00 shrine music and dance is performed at the shrine. Then, on the 16th at 10:00 an annual ritual contest of Japanese Kyudo archery, a display of concentrated power and skill, will be held on the grassy grounds.

Kyoto's amazing Honganji temples

Hongan-ji Temple was founded by Shinran in 1272, as the first temple of the True Pure Land sect. It's original location was in the Otani area directly east of Yasaka Shrine. In the 15th century, the temple's popularity increased dramatically under the influence of its seductive head monk Rennyo. The power and popularity of the sect became so great that the temple was completely destroyed by an army of Tendai monk warriors from Enryakuji Temple, who descended in a fury from Mount Hiei. But Rennyo survived the attack, and quickly set up a new base in Kanazawa, where he and his followers established themselves as the region's leading power. Eventually, the sect established its headquarters at Ishiyama Hongan-ji in Osaka, from with its leaders ruled like the popes of the European middle ages. In 1591, Nobunaga's successor, Hideyoshi, located the new sect headquarters on the site where Nishi Hongan-ji stands today. The Eastern sect built their temple, appropriately, a few hundred meters to the east, and were later favoured by Hideyoshi's treacherous ally Tokugawa Ieyasu. It would be hard to find a temple with a more unusual background. Today, both sects maintain entirely different philosophies, universities, and traditions. Not surprising, the area between the temples and just east of Higashi Hongan-ji are full of intersting shops that sell fine handicrafted religious articles to the millions of pilgrims that pray here every year.

Nishi Hongan-ji Temple: Nishi Hongan-ji has nearly 30 million members throughout Japan, making it the largest religious sect by far. It has fared better than its eastern neighbor in terms of survival. Though the East Temple was destroyed by fire a number of times in the past 150 year, the West Temple was totally destroyed by fire only one time, in 1617.

The seemingly endless sea of tatami mats of the Founder’s Hall, as a result of the thousands of pilgrims that visit here, always seems timeworn. This is an excellent place to sit and take in the overall energy that fills this entire temple.

At the south end of the complex stands the Shoin, an huge structure that certain Japanese scholars believe was originally part of the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Fushimi Castle. The Shoin is widely regarded as one of Japan’s finest standing examples of Momoyama period (1576-1603) architecture. It is only open to the public on days when it is not being used for religious ceremonies. State your preferred date(s) on a return postcard (ofuku-hagaki) and mail it to the temple. The temple will then let you know on what day you have a reservation. Nishi Hongan-ji, Hanaya-cho sagaru, Horikawa-dori, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto-shi 600. Tel: 371-5181.

If you don’t have time to get a reservation, and are looking for another monument to the artistically amazing Momoyama period, then be sure to admire the Kara-mon, or Chinese gate (a National Treasure) south of the Shoin.

Higashi Hongan-ji: The other branch (H-4, pg 11 map) of the Jodo Shinshu sect has over 10 million followers. The grounds are nearly always bustling with the comings and goings of the faithful. The temple's buildings are impressive and its entry yard awesome. A long coiled length of black rope, made from the hair of the temple's female faithful, used to pull logs for the rebuilding of the Great Hall in 1895, lies on the verandah of the main building. Kikoku-tei: This large garden park (H-5, pg 11 map), east of Higashi Hongan-ji, is an excellent place to completely leave the city behind. Ishikawa Jozan, the builder of Shisen-do (L-12, pg 8 map), and the 13th head monk of the temple designed the garden. All the small, low buildings in the estate have burned down a few times, but have always been faithfully reconstructed in the original style.It is open year-round. The spacious green grounds, generally almost always empty, encircle a large pond full of carp and several kinds of waterfowl. Unlike formal gardens, this garden is surprisingly free of restrictions, and you can pretty much walk anywhere you like unhindered, even the tiny, arched bridge and elegant, covered one can be crossed. The garden is a particularly fine place from the early afternoon onwards. When you enter, a guard will ask you write your name and address in a book.

Musings on Japan's 5-yen coin

I've never really paid attention to coins. I've never thought about how those look like. Some people are fascinated about collecting them, and admire then as wonderful art pieces. But for me, money is just money, it serves certain practical matter. Especially if it is 5 yen coins, I couldn't care less about it.

But one day, I was stopped by one Western man at cafe and he asked, "What is this?" He was showing a 5 yen coin on his palm. Firstable I thought he was trying to make a small joke or something, and next moment, it was the first time that I really looked into 5 yen coin in my life.

Later on, I overheard that coins with a hole in the center is very unusual. This idea actually is not originally Japanese but from China. In ancient time, people carry money with the string though inside. That was the way of wallet at that time. Although in the western culture, coin with hole have been seen, such country as Spain. I remember that a Spanish market seller was selling necklaces of xx peseta coins to the tourists.

But even with that idea, I didn't know what he meant, yet. If he can see 100 yen, 50 yen, or 10 yen, why he was asking such question about 5 yen?

Well, the answer was... The reason why he was questioning that was there were only Kanji (Chinese character) written on the coin. If you don't read Japanese, there were no way to find out that this is "5" yen. It only could be some kind of token for western people. 5 yen is pronounced as goen in Japanese. "Goen" has also a meaning of good luck or good chance, connection with people. For Japanese this coin has power of some kind of lucky charm. Some people put red string on the 5 yen coin and keep their wallet forever. Nevertheless, it is very funny fact that there were no Arabic number written on the 5 yen coins in spite of Japanese currency already became considerable internationally. And one more funny thing is I had never realized this about the coins of my country without this western man' honest question. [written by an anonymous Japanese woman for the now-defunct KVG print magazine.]

Daitoku-ji Temple & Imamiya Shrine: Ancient neighbors!

For a truly delightful morning or late afternoon explore the Daitoku-ji Temple complex and Imamiya Shrine behind it (K/L-5/6 pg 8 map). These two places and the area on both sides (east and west) offers the visitor a unique chance to see ancient Kyoto in all its splendor. Look for the wonder in the details (interesting tile motifs, hidden gardens, unbelievable woodwork, and timeworn surfaces) and take pleasure in the distant past and all its refinement and beauty.

An important Zen temple constructed in 1319 on the site of an old Heian-period imperial villa, Daitoku-ji was rebuilt under the guidance of its head priest Ikkyu (1394-1481), the celebrated illegitimate son of an emperor, who is said to have stated that brothels were more appropriate for the practice of meditation than temples. An harsh critic of the overly serious Zen leaders of his day, he lived a colorful double life as a highly learned and respected abbot by day (well-known for his poems, Zen paintings, and early appreciator of the tea ceremony) and a passionate carouser in brothels and wine shops at night (often returning to the temple with the early dawn light).

In the early 16th century, Daitoku-ji became one of Japan's favored temples for the ruling samurai class and its love of Zen. Japan's most famous tea master, Sen no Rikyu, was intimately involved with the temple as was the super warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Rikyu committed suicide, upon Hideyoshi’s order, in a tea room he designed in the temple. Today, the temple’s quiet stone lanes, beautiful earthen walls and amazing wood sculpted structures are still perfect. The temple also has a couple of superb Zen vegetarian restaurants.

Just north of the temple lies the amazing Imamiya Shrine nestled in a small forest of unbelievably huge trees. On the east side of the complex you will find two tea and aburimochi (rice dumplings) that haven’t changed for centuries (stop here after you have toured the endless living relics of the shrine itself).

Large and important Imamiya Shrine has been revered as the habitation of a health-giving spirit since before 794. The main shrine is filled with a masterfully different variety of roof styles. The view of the main shrine, framed by the empty Bugaku stage, reveals in a moment the understated profundity of traditional Japanese architecture.

To the east of the main shrine is a charming array of diverting side paths and minor shrines, often at odd angles to the central design of the grounds. Japan's largest maker of samurai dramas and historical epics often uses Imamiya Shrine for locations.

Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!