Kyoto, Japan


* Nijo Castle
* Kyoto Imperial Palace
* Pontocho Area
* Kyoto Station
* Fushimi Inari Shrine
* Kiyomizudera
* Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion)
a Zen temple along Kyoto’s eastern mountains
* Gion
Kyoto’s most famous geisha district
* The Philosopher’s Path
a stone path through the northern part of Kyoto’s Higashiyama district.
* Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) is a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf.
* Shugakuin Imperial Villa
* Ninnaji
one of the many great temples in Kyoto which are listed as World Heritage Sites.
* Ryoanji Temple
* Kurama
a rural town in the northern mountains of Kyoto City
* Arashiyama
* Saihoji or Kokedera
* Katsura Imperial Villa
* Mount Koya
* Himeji


* Nishiki Market
* Isetan Department Store in The Kyoto station

Japan taught me to trust people. Complete strangers willing to help, going out of their way to genuinely be there for you. It was the woman who offered to drive my backpack to the next town, so I could hike without heavy weight; she offered help for no reason other than being kind, other than being trustworthy. And I had no choice but to trust. I also realized in that moment I trust to find my luggage in that next town with no doubt. Strange, but the idea of being left in the middle of Japan with nothing but a handbag and a camera did not seem to be a likely outcome. I realized I trusted this complete stranger more than I trusted some people I knew. And this complete stranger would help me more than some people I knew and she would do this for someone she would never see in her life again.

It is the society that makes us doubtful, suspicious. She was trustworthy and I trusted her. I found the meaning of trust in the very core of me. I had it, I had it all along…I just lost it for a while with the wrong people, wrong experiences, wrong places, wrong circumstances…but I found it right back, here in the middle of nowhere in a small town in Japan!

Top Experiences

  • Gion
  • Pontocho Area

    one of Kyoto’s most atmospheric dining areas.

  • Kiyomizudera

    literally “Pure Water Temple” is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan.

  • Arashiyama

    a pleasant, touristy district in the western outskirts of Kyoto.