Across a week in Kyoto I hit up nine of the sites making up this World Heritage Site. Of those, only Saiho-ji has escaped comment on this site. It was one of my must-do sites and didn't disappoint. Until recently (I suspect being part of the reason it's been avoided by this community) visitors have had to send a postcard to the temple, but this has fortunately changed in recent years to allow online booking. I procrastinated until a few nights before and was still able to get a slot that worked for me, though the early time did necessitate getting a taxi all the way from Higashiyama. Entry is linked to a timed slot, but once you get in you have a fair bit of freedom. In the main hall you're provided with a sutra and a calligraphy brush with which to trace. It's a very soothing experience and I was able to enjoy the spiritual angle a bit deeper than in other elements of the WHS. With that done you can pass back through the main hall, get a surprisingly quirky goshuin if that's your thing (I recommend it, it's an art book and diary of your religious visits all in one!), and then proceed to the famous moss garden. It goes without saying that it's absolutely beautiful, especially whenever the sun cuts through the branches of the trees and bounces against the central shallow lake.

Quickly covering the other sites I visited - Kinkaku-ji is the one site I felt was actually ruined by overtouristing, as beautiful as it is. Its cousin Ginkaku-ji is both less visited and offers a larger area to walk around in. They do, nonetheless, make for a nice comparative pair of temples. Kiyomizu-dera's tourist problem is alleviated by a large back half where the visitors taper off drastically, but its wide verandas mean that it never feels that suffocating to begin with. Byodo-in is beautiful and deserves its monetary recognition (when I was in Tokyo, I enjoyed visiting the banknote museum in Oji which hosted several versions of the note that the temple's two famous bird statues appear on, as well as several appearances of nearby WHS Horyu-ji), though I do wish I had've leapt for one of the time slots that allowed entry into the main hall. Nearby is Ujigami, which is probably the most humble component, especially whenever you've just walked from Byodo-in! It's pleasant, relatively secluded, and easy to mix up with the non-WHS Uji shrine nearby (worth poking your head into to see the purification water fountain shaped like a rabbit). Ryoan-ji was one of the best spots in this site with its meditative rock garden and compact tea garden at the exterior. The nearby Ninna-ji has a very impressive gate and a pagoda that made up for never making the time to visit Toji. I would have liked to hit up its gardens, but in over-30 degree weather with high humidity, I gave it a pass. Nijo Castle was a uniquely secular site, making it a bit of an odd duck here. Its nightingale floorboards - a high-pitched noise created by nails underneath - mean that the amount of visitors almost make it better. At the expense of distracting from the beautiful wall art and intricate ceilings, the sound of hundreds of feet constantly chirping is a novel experience!

I was unable to visit as much components as I wanted to due to a combination of the oppressive heat (September is NOT the time to go to Kyoto) and bronchitis caught from a coughing baby at the Kyoto Railway Museum (even so, one of my favourite places I went on my trip to Japan. Check it out, just don't stand beside infectious children more than is necessary!) Hopefully one day I'll be able to come back and check off the rest of the sites, but nine makes for a good sampler of what the place has to offer nonetheless.