Visiting Kyoto is like stepping back in time.
With its spectacularly ornate temples, gorgeous Zen gardens and immaculately preserved architecture, it’s a city still firmly anchored to Japan’s old customs and traditions.
Like the geishas that you see walking gazelle-like down the streets of downtown Gion in their colourful kimonos and elaborate hairstyles, it’s a bewitching mixture of outrageous beauty and understated charm.
A short two hour forty minute bullet train ride away from Tokyo, it’s smaller and more manageable than the sprawling capital.