Naomi's best in Japan

This list was emailed to me by Naomi and is reprinted her with permission:

Top Ten in Kyoto:

1. Katsura Imperial Villa - Simply fantastic. A clear number one vote Just how good it is doesn't show in the photos you see of Katsura, but comes from the joy of walking the garden and the endless details that unfold. Every corner opens up a new stone path, a new lantern, or the next bridge to be crossed.
2. Ginkakuji - Home of the "Very Important Moss" . Like Katsura Villa, the joy is in the progression through the garden and the continual opening up of new vistas and delights, and in the unbelievably immaculate maintenance. Especially fabulous in Autumn.
3. Saiho-in (Kokedera) - The moss temple. Very, very mossy. Very, very serene. Very, very beautiful.
4. Shisendo - The best hedges in Kyoto and the original home of the deer-knocker. A great viewing garden upstairs, with a beautiful garden to stroll around underneath.
5. Fushimi Inari - Most famous for its endless red gates, but I love the endless variety of fox statues at the various shrines. Allow at least half a day to really enjoy properly.
6. Sanjusangendo - Like Fushimi Inari, the joy of sanjusangendo comes from the endless repetition - but of gold statues rather than red gates. A great hallway full of 1001 Kannon statues. The effect is simeltaneously overwhelming and beautifully serene.
7 . Tofuku-ji (Hojo) - The moss checkerboard garden out the rear of this is just fantastic. An amazing design combining both formal structure and organic randomness. Especially nice in the afternoon as the shadow of the roof progresses across it. The nearby Kaisando is the number one autumn viewing spot in Kyoto. Deservedly so, with an amazing prolifieration of maples in all shpaes and colours.
8 . Ryoaniji - The most famous of the zen gardens and so it should be. Simple, but stunning.
9. The Philosopher's Path - The most charming stroll in Kyoto (or many other places for that matter). A tree-draped canal with lots of nteresting tea and craft shops along the way. Conveniently on the way between all the other places you want to go to as well.
10 Nijo-jo - An excellent all round expereince. Interesting history. Great paintings. The famous squeaky nightgale floors, Great gardens to stroll through at the finish.

Shisendo

Tofukuji

Also truly wonderful, but I've run out of fingers:

* Tenju-An - Part of the Nanzen-ji complex. A complete garden in so many ways. A great raked gravel garden proceeding to an exquisite stroll around a pond, including my favourite strolling bridge. A small taste of everything good in Japanese gardens in the one small package.
* Nanzenji (hojo) - the garden is nice, but the Tiger paintings are fabulous.
* Ryugen-in - A personal favourite. Just a lovely modern zen garden. Not on the main tourist trail, so you get lots of quality quiet time to spend with it too.
* Zuiho-in - Ditto. It also features the only Christian Zen garden you're ever likely to see.
* Taizo-in - Because it's beautiful and you don't have to share it with anybody. A hillside of manicured hedges with a stream flowing down through them.

TenjuAn

Best Eating:

* Izusen at Myoshinji. Great zen food hidden away in an obscure corner of the temple complex. No bookings - just arrive reasonably early.

Worst ever experience of complete crap and tackiness:

* Kyoto Craft Centre - 7 floors of crap and tackiness to be exact

Top Ten outside Kyoto:

1. Great Buddha (Kamakura) - I almost didn't see this the first time because I'd seen too many photos beforehand. A startlingly different experience in the flesh though - incredibly beautiful and serene in its valley between the hills, despite the crowds milling around its feet.
2. Himeji - The great castle of Japan. No more. No less. Fantastic.
3. Atomic museum Hiroshima. Deeply affecting (unsuprisingly) in the displays. The history and background is also great - very balanced about why the bombing occured and the politics that were involved.
4. Adachi Museum of Art - The most polished garden in Japan - unbelievably perfect in its manicured beauty. The whole staff of the museum from the tea lady to the director all go out of a morning and collectively groom it for the day ahead. We spent approximately 6 hours staring at this garden all up (having allowed 2) before we had to catch the last bus back to the train station.
5. Koyasan - Just getting to Koyasan is a joy of Japanese travelling - a minature railway up precipitous hills, and a cable car to finish the trip. The brochures mention everything else but the endless moss covered memorials set amongst soaring trees of the cemetary. Skip everything else - this is what you want to see. The central path through this goes for 1.2km to the amazingly beautiful latern filled temple at the end, but the joy is in wandering off the trail into the tens of thousands of memorials in various states of repair. Amazing in both its scope and its numerous details. Allow a whole day, but make sure you wander back down the path to the temple at night when the way is all lit up.
6. Kenrokuen, Kanazawa - One of the three most famous strolling gardens in Japan, and probably the best of them in its size and upkeep. A great experience worth setting aside a good few hours for.
7. Korakuen, Okayama - Another of the three most famous strolling gardens in Japan. Probably not as well kept as Kenrokuen, but I love the open spaces, the mini rice paddies, the rock hedge covered artifical mountain, and most of all, the teahouse with the stream flowing through the middleof it.
8. The Inland Sea - Pine covered islands rising out of a misty sea - it looks exactly like all those picturesque scrolls you've seen of...well....pine covered islands rising out of a misty sea. My favourite way of seeing this was ferry trip from Matsuyama to Hiroshima.
9. Matsuyama - Just a great town with a great atmosphere. Both times I've been here I've ended up in in multiple good natured conversations with complete strangers. Most famous for Dogo Onsen - the best known hot springs in Japan. The families out strolling in their yukata on a weekend evening are a great joy in summer. It also features a gloriously ricketty tram system.
10. Matsumotojo - The second best castle in Japan. No more. No less.

Adaichi Musuem

Koya san

Thanks:

And Finally, Thank you very much sending this and for allowing me to put this on the website. The email did inspire me to visit a number of temples on the list that I had not been to before and it thoroughly worth it. Highly recommended list.