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If you are interested in Japanese culture, you cannot afford to miss Kyoto. This ancient city with its rich collection of historical sites offers a microcosmic view of the entire nation. Though the political centre of the country has been shifted to Tokyo, Kyoto is still the spiritual hub of Japan. With its innumerable temples, shrines, landscape gardens, hot springs, castles including seventeen World Heritage Sites, Kyoto stands in sharp contrast with Japan’s high tech core, Tokyo. The Shirakawa-dori Street, running from north to south in Kyoto, is an important stretch of the highway from Kyoto to Omi (present Shiga) via Ohara. Initially there were few teashops along this path. But now with numerous boutiques, coffee shops and fashion good shops, it is one of the most crowded places in Kyoto. It runs along the Shirakawa River lined with Willow trees.
Shirakawa Dori, the well-known fashionable street in Kyoto city is very popular among the young people for its beautiful streetscape. The tourist destinations near Shirakawa Dori are as follows: Enko-ji Temple: Erected long back in the 17th century by the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu, the temple served as a centre for development of studies. It has a rich collection of books imported from Korea. The wooden printed blocks, which were used for publishing in ancient Japan, are also kept in this temple. Shisendo: It comes immediately after the Enko-ji Temple. It is adorned with the famous portraits of thirty-six Chinese poets. Shugakuin Rikyu Palace: This beautiful palace attracts a great deal of attention from tourists visiting the Kyoto city. Its man-made waterfall with water drawn from the nearby Otowa-gawa River stands in perfect harmony with nature. Shinmonzen Dori, which precedes the Shirakawa Dori, is famous for its antique shops. The wide variety of shops by the side of Shinmonzen Dori includes small shops with miscellaneous curios or incense as well as big stores filled with samurai gear, massive tansu (dressers), Kimono and many other gaudy items. Shirakawa Dori is no doubt the best of all streets in Kyoto. The telephone polls, which used to cause great disturbance to the travelers moving along this street, have been removed. The resulting streetscape with wooden teahouses and fashionable restaurants roofed with tiles, stands in sharp contrast with Kyoto’s ancient theme.
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