{"collection":{"id":"city:1857910","slug":"kyoto","revision":1,"locale":"en","availableLocales":["en","zh","zh-TW","ja","ko"],"title":"Kyoto: Zen Gardens, Imperial Precincts & Historic Lanes","intro":"Surrounded on three sides by forested mountains and bisected by the Kamo and Katsura rivers, Kyoto served as Japan's imperial capital for more than a thousand years. Its urban fabric pairs formal court precincts and monumental Buddhist monasteries with intimate moss gardens, neighborhood Shinto shrines, and lively commercial arcades. This guide traces the city's geographic and cultural contours across four themes: contemplative Zen pavilions in the northern and western hills, timber temple complexes along the Higashiyama slopes and southern plain, imperial and shogunal estates, and the shrines and market lanes that animate daily life.","scope":"Covers fourteen landmarks across Kyoto—spanning Zen gardens in Kita, Ukyō, and Sakyō wards, hillside and lowland temples, imperial and shogunal architecture, and central shrines and culinary arcades.","generatedAt":"2026-10-31","updatedAt":"2026-10-31","city":{"geonameid":1857910},"datasets":[{"id":"gen:9ee844bf-f500-4127-b9e5-2306fc84b206:1","revision":1,"title":"Zen Gardens & Contemplative Pavilions","summary":"Classic Muromachi-era pavilions, dry-landscape rock compositions, and pond gardens shaped around borrowed mountain scenery in northern and western Kyoto.","color":"#4f46e5","features":[{"type":"Feature","id":"osm:way/98115917","geometry":{"type":"Point","coordinates":[135.7295373,35.0395293]},"properties":{"name":"Kinkaku-ji","description":"Set beside the reflective waters of Kyōko-chi (Mirror Pond), this three-story pavilion covered in gold leaf exemplifies Muromachi-era villa design framed by pine islands and sculpted stones.","geofan:source":{"credits":[{"url":"https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright","attribution":"© OpenStreetMap contributors","license":"ODbL-1.0","licenseUrl":"https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/","accessedAt":"2026-10-31"},{"url":"https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/98115917","attribution":"© OpenStreetMap 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