Other places of interest in Kyoto!

Kyoto Station

• The modern station area is surrounded by ancient temples, preserving the atmosphere of old Kyoto.

• JR Kyoto Station is the starting point for sightseeing in Kyoto, a city where the old and new exist side by side. The station building, a new landmark of the old city of Kyoto, opened in 1997 and boasts of a concourse with an impressive 60-meter-long atrium, a 45-meter-long raised glass passageway connecting the eastern and western parts of the station, and a large 171 step set of stairs. It is a terminal for a city of the future.

• Surrounding the station are modern areas where department stores, restaurants, shopping arcades, theaters and hotels can be found. On the other hand, old temples, such as Higashi-Hongan-ji, Nishi-Hongan-ji and To-ji, also dot the area, providing an oasis in the city, with remnants of the old city and resting places for the people of Kyoto. Nishi-Hongan-ji Temple, commonly known as "Onishi-san," is the head temple of the Jodo-shinshu Hongan-ji sect, and includes in its spacious grounds the Goei-do and Hiunkaku buildings, and Kara-mon Gate. The most popular structure, however, is the Shoin, where dazzling masterpieces of 16th century art can be seen in the murals and decorations found inside.

Kyoto International Manga Museum

Few museums are as hands-on as this old elementary school turned shrine to manga, or comic books, and its collection of some 300,000 comics and manga-related exhibits. Visitors can read any piece of manga they fancy from the towering wooden bookcases that line every wall and hallway. Some read propped up against the walls or sitting crossed legged on the floor; others hunker down with a coffee at the museum's wood-decked outdoor café. The eclectic and universally transfixed crowd is a testament to how much a part of mainstream Japanese culture manga has become.

The museum is a one-minute walk from Karasuma Oike Station on the Karasuma and Tozai subway lines. Admission is ¥500 and it's open from 10am to 6pm. Closed Wednesdays and New Year's holidays.

There are also temporary exhibitions of manga illustrators works.

1. Kyoto International Manga MuseumKarasume Oike, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan; 81-(0)75-254-7414 kyotomm.jp

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Toei Kyoto Studio Park

• Yes, it's touristy, and yes, it's a bit tacky too, but dressing up as a samurai and watching TV actors hamming it up on set does hold a certain charm. Eigamura, or Kyoto Toei Studio Park to give it its English name, is a working TV and movie set that doubles as a theme park, where besides dressing up in period costume you can wander around a mock-up Edo-era samurai town and take in exhibitions of the well-known TV series and films shot here.

• It's the live studio performances, however, that steal the show. The swordfights are extravagant, the facial expressions and body language overly dramatic, and the dialogue at times delivered about as convincingly as an elementary school end-of-year play. It's Japanese kitsch at its finest. Quentin Tarantino would love it.

• Eigamura is open daily from 9am to 5pm (9.30am to 4pm from Dec to Feb). Admission is ¥2,200, though you can get in for half that if you come dressed in a kimono. Take bus number 75 from Kyoto Station to the Uzumasa Eigamura-michi bus stop.

•10 Uzumasa Higashihachigaoka-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan; 81-(0)75-864-7716 toei-eigamura.com

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Nishiki Market

• Epicureans don’t miss the Nishiki Market. Meander down the narrow, pedestrian street lined with hundreds of food shops and stalls. This is where locals and most of Kyoto’s great chefs buy cooking ingredients.

• I have never wandered through such an odor-free fish, fruit and produce market. I could not even identify half of the food items on display. Vendors stand in front of their narrow stalls to offer samples of their fare, from pickles to seaweed soup. Even the fresh seafood market had tantalizing dishes, including tiny octopus heads stuffed with hard-boiled eggs, fish eyes, individually plastic wrapped cod, and whale skin. It is a great place to find knives and cookware, too.

Kyoto Costume Museum

• Another piece of ‘fun meets history’ that’s a great stop for the kids. Note that the museum is really only 2 rooms and could easily be closed off in an hour or two, depending on your love of Heian dress.

• The museum holds a 1/25th scale of the house in Genji Monogatari and a number of the scenes are set out including the highly ritualised multi layer kimonos of mediaeval Japan.

• On top of this there is a wonderful ‘dress up’ section where you can put on courtiers clothing, both men and women’s and photograph yourself in silly poses…. so long as you work out how to get all the multi layered clothes on. Don’t forget the silly hats.

• http://geishaofjapan.com/travel/kyoto-costume-museum/

• We could also visit the Kyoto Costume Institute Gallery. I just can’t find where it is … yet.

Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art

Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art

They have Van Gogh and Magritte!