京都略影

京都旧称平安京，日本平安时代定都于京都，到1869年迁都江户(即现在的东京).京都为日本历史上的千年古都。精细致的京都人文与景观，一直是日本文化的象征。

京都具有浓郁的日本风情，是日本人心灵的故乡。它是日本纺织物、陶瓷器、漆器、染织物等传统工艺品的产地。同时，它又是日本花道、茶道的繁盛之地，被称为“真正的日本”。京都也是接受文化熏陶的好地方，无论是艺术、佛教还是民间手工艺。游客可以学习日本烹调技术、传统工艺、日本戏剧、茶道和插花。

京都几乎每天都有庆祝活动和例行节日，富有浓郁的地方乡土风情。最为热闹的是祗园节（7月1日至29日）和时代节（10月22日）。时代节是平安神宫的祭礼，将京都成为首都后1000多年来的风俗习惯按各个不同年代的风貌列队展现。

京都一年四季都有值得观赏的景点，到京都旅游的最佳时间是春秋两季。樱花节通常在4月，大约持续一周。每年樱花节，平民百姓必在树荫浓郁的樱树下铺上席子或塑料布摆好阵势，带上酒菜，又喝又唱又跳地闹腾一阵。京都是观赏红叶的名地，京都岚山，嵯峨野附近的枫尾，人烟稀少的大原等处，皆以红叶美艳而名闻遐迩，吸引了无数的游客。
Kyoto was the political capital of Japan for more than 1,000 years - from 794 until 1868, when the government was transferred to Edo (Tokyo). It remains the cultural heart of the Japanese nation, and with more than 2,000 temples and shrines, it is a place of pilgrimage as well as a veritable open-air museum. No fewer than 17 major sites in and around the city have gained UNESCO World Heritage status.
It is in Kyoto, more than anywhere else in Japan, that the old ways of the country’s old imperial civilisation are kept alive, both in the arts and in real life. From geisha to kabuki actors, the past is still present in the old capital, and this is also reflected in the physical environment; the city has managed to retain (not least since Kyoto was spared bombardment at the end of WWII) the ambience of old at least in some areas, where temples, shrines, teahouses and old wooden machiya townhouses give the visitor a vivid impression of what traditional Japan must have been like.