Kyoto promotes wearing kimonos by offering the Kimono Passport. The passport is available to both locals and tourists, and the only requirement for use is that you are wearing a kimono. Participating businesses offer discounts on transportation, food, museums, tea ceremonies and more.

Tip: Visit the Kimono Passport website in Google Chrome for the option to translate it.

Pachinko Parlor, Kyoto



Pachinko

The popularity of Pachinko reaches far beyond Kyoto, but if you would like to try a game or two, you will have no problem finding a parlor in Kyoto. A favorite pastime for gamblers, Pachinko is a version of a slot machine where your fate is decided by how well you maneuver a handful of tiny silver balls. Pachinko parlors look much like casinos lined by pachinko and other similar machines. Gambling for cash is illegal in Japan, but winners can claim prices, which most players trade for money elsewhere. Pachinko creates more revenue in Japan than it does in Vegas, Macau, and Singapore combined.

Golden Pavilion

Kinkaku-ji

Kinkaku-ji, in northern Kyoto, is one of the most visited structures in Kyoto. It became a Zen Buddhist temple in the early 1400s following the death of a shogun named Ashikaga Yoshimitsu who had acquired it for his retirement. The temples top two stories have been covered in gold, and many referred to it as, "The Gold Pavillion." Gold was initially used on the outside of the pavilion because it is believed to keep out negative energy. It is also a great show of wealth during Yoshimitsu's time.

Exploring the grounds of Kinkaku-ji



In 1950 a young mentally ill monk burned the pavilion down completely. It was rebuilt a few years later and underwent restoration in the late 1980s.