3 Best Sights in Kyoto, Japan

Considered the epitome of beauty, culture, landscape, and architecture, the Imperial Villa is highly regarded here and abroad. The landscape architect Enshu Kobori (1579–1647) employed aesthetic gardening concepts founded on shin-gyo-so (formal, semiformal, informal) principles that imbue every pathway with a special beauty. Kobori incorporated horticultural references to famous Japanese literature, including The Tale of Genji, and natural sites.

Built in the 17th century for Prince Toshihito, brother of Emperor Go-yozei, Katsura is in southwestern Kyoto near the western bank of the Katsura River. Bridges constructed from earth, stone, and wood connect five islets in the pond, some moss-covered, softened by the ages yet as fresh as rain.

The villa is fairly remote from other historical sites. Allow at least a couple of hours for a visit and guided tour, for which you must secure permission from the Imperial Household Agency in Kyoto, by filling out and submitting a form on the agency's website in advance. Same-day tickets are sometimes available upon arrival, but making a reservation is highly recommended.

The house and workshop of prolific potter Kanjiro Kawai (1890–1966) has been transformed into a museum showcasing his distinctive works. The asymmetrical vases, bowls, and pots on display represent only a fraction of his output of this leading light of the Mingei (folk art) movement of the 1920s. Besides the intriguing workshop and enormous kiln preserved in an inner courtyard, there is a residence itself, an old country farmhouse Kaiwai had moved to this location. A little hard to find, this compound is along a small street one block west of Higashi-oji-dori and two blocks south of Gojo-dori.

A short walk south of Nijo-jo, this 17th-century merchant house saw later service as an inn for traveling daimyo (feudal lords). A warren of rooms, Nijo Jinya is crammed with built-in safeguards against attack, including hidden staircases, secret passageways, and hallways too narrow to allow the wielding of a sword. The house is again a family residence, so visitation is limited to one-hour tours that require reservations at least a day ahead. The tours are in Japanese, and nonspeakers are required to have an interpreter (instructions for how to arrange one are on the house's website).