京都座落於本州西部，日本的主要島嶼上。這裡是眾人眼中日本最美的城市之一，一千多年來一直是日本的皇室所在，直到1868年東京才取而代之成為日本現代首都。（備註：日本法律沒有明定首都位置，如果真的要定義的話，日本的首都是依據天皇居住地而定；目前天皇定居於東京，因此以現今的情況來說，真的要說東京為日本的首都其實沒有錯，但也並未是一個正確的答案。）走出現代摩登的京都車站，您可能會納悶，京都著名的數百年文化傳統都到哪去了？從京都塔鳥瞰底下整齊方正的街道時，就算您認為自己來到的是其他城市，也都似乎情有可原；儘管如此，傳統的京都就在您的周圍，大部分情況下就近在眼前。
Kyoto lies in Western Honshu, the main island of Japan. This city, regarded as one of Japan’s most beautiful, wore the country’s imperial robes for over 1,000 years, until Tokyo became the modern capital in 1868. Emerging from ultra-modern Kyoto Station, you may wonder, “where are the centuries of culture and tradition this city is famous for?” And as you look down upon the gridded streets from Kyoto Tower, you might even be forgiven for thinking you’ve arrived at the wrong city.
Yet, the old Kyoto is all around you, and more often than not, it’s right under your nose.
從京都塔往東走，穿過市中心高樓大廈的重重簾幕之後，便可進入祇園的街道，就是在這裡，這個古代的娛樂場所，您可以開始稍微窺探京都最迷人的傳統景色之一「藝妓」。精緻、典雅，宛如身處異世界，藝妓貼切地體現了古京都的風味，再往東走來到石塀小路等狹長小巷，在成排的京都風老宅邸中，感受歷史震盪的回音，也正是在這帶地區，您可以找到一些京都最棒的日式旅館。這些傳統旅舍起源自江戶時代，您可以舒適地闔上眼，在夢中追憶過往的年代。
From Kyoto Tower, head east, and push through the curtains of the downtown’s high-rise, into the streets of Gion. It is here, in this historic entertainment quarter, that you’ll begin to catch glimpses of one of Kyoto’s most alluring traditions, the geisha. Refined, artistic and otherworldly, the geisha are the very embodiment of old Kyoto. Venture further east, into narrow alleyways like Ishibe Koji, and feel the echoes of the past amid the rows of traditional Kyoto-style houses. It’s in areas like this you’ll find some of Kyoto’s finest Ryokan. These traditional inns originated in the Edo period, and are the perfect places to lay your head and dream of days gone by.
搭乘人力車，片刻後便可來到車輛禁止通行的三年坂二年坂街道，探索傳統的茶屋和工藝品店，然後跟隨世世代代的朝拜者腳步，來到鄰近的山頂寺廟，京都是著名的「萬寺之都」；若要仔細探索所有寺廟，可能要花上一輩子的時間。京都的居民非常重視季節變化，如四季更迭一般，每個祭祀地點也都有自己的特色、自己的規矩。京都有許多氣氛莊嚴的大寺，像是平安神宮，主奉這座城市的首任和末代天皇。在青蓮院等，占地較小的寺廟中，您可以坐下，在外頭的花園中安靜沉思 ，然後造訪以石材為主要建材的寺廟，像是清水寺，它是日本最受崇敬的寺廟之一；或是其他以古木建成的寺廟，像是東福寺，它的廊橋穿梭過一座座楓樹和雲杉遍野的山谷，是極受歡迎的景點。
Just a rickshaw ride away, are the traffic-free streets of Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka. Explore the traditional teahouses and crafts shops, then retrace the steps of generations of worshipers who made their way to and from the nearby hilltop temples. Kyoto is known as “the city of 10,000 shrines”, and it would take a lifetime to experience them all. Kyoto residents’ place enormous importance in the seasons. And just like the seasons, every place of worship has its own colours, … its own mood. There are places of spacious austerity, such as the Heian Shrine, dedicated to the first, and the last, of the city’s emperors. And intimate places, such as the Shorenin Temple, where you are invited to sit, and quietly contemplate the gardens outside. Visit temples dominated by stone, such as the Kiyomizadera, one of the most revered in Japan. And others crafted from ancient timbers, such as Tofukuji, loved for its covered bridges which span valleys filled with maple and spruce.
在京都的所有祭祀場所中，水是不可或缺的必要元素。來到高台寺，在代表無盡海洋的細石花園中，任思緒隨著水波飄盪，想要欣賞其他風格的水景，則可造訪南禪寺。在十九世紀的引水渠下休息，這處渠道至今仍供應京都大部分的用水，但是京都所有的寺廟都比不上這座伏見稻荷大社，這座寺廟的主神是稻荷狐。寺廟本身橫跨整個山坡，從主殿出發，走上10,000個鳥居夾道的2.5英里步道，景緻極為出奇壯觀，沿途還有數千個小聖殿，您可以順道參拜或停下來喘口氣，再登上還有兩小時路程的山峰。
Water is an integral and unifying element in all of Kyoto’s places of worship. At the Kodai Temple, let your thoughts drift across a raked gravel garden which represents the infinite ocean. For a water feature with a difference, visit Nanzenji, and rest beneath the arches of a 19th- century aqueduct, which still supplies much of the city’s water. But of all Kyoto’s temples, nothing quite compares to Fushimi Inari-taisha. Dedicated to the fox spirit, Inari, this temple complex spans an entire mountainside. From the main shrine, climb an extraordinary two and a half mile path lined with 10,000 tori gates. Along the way there are thousands of smaller shrines where you can pay your respects or simply catch your breath, before arriving at the summit two hours later.
古老的京都不只存在於街道和寺廟間，它存在於二條城的宮殿中，也存在於讓人體悟時光珍貴。稍縱即逝的櫻花季中，它棲身在嵐山竹林沙沙作響的竹葉，和穿入林間的天光，也藏身在神色平靜而富有禪意的市區猴子身上，古老的京都也藏匿在，涮涮鍋等眾人合食的蒸騰熱氣中。在人力車車夫輕柔的腳步中，而當夜幕低垂，整座城市如點亮的燈籠般閃耀，也必定有它的蹤跡。也許就在這個時刻，在城市燈光的照射下，您會發現根本沒有所謂的古京都，京都穿梭古今，它可以傳遞昔日的跫音，以及今日的手機鈴聲；當世界隨著時間的長河快速變動，京都只是安分地守下一段段，值得慢慢品味及享受的美好時刻，京都就是京都，在當下，記錄永恆。
It’s s not just within the streets and temples where you’ll find old Kyoto. You’ll find it the palace grounds of Nijo Castle, and in the fleeting cherry blossom season which reminds us of the preciousness of time. It resides amid the whispering leaves and the ethereal light of the Bamboo Forest of Arashiyama, and in the Zen-like calm of the city’s resident monkeys. You’ll find old Kyoto in the rising steam of a communal dishes like shabu shabu, in the gentle pad of the rickshaw pullers’ footsteps, and it can certainly be found as evening falls and the city lights up like a living lantern. Perhaps it’s then, beneath the glow of the city’s lights, you’ll realize that there is no old Kyoto. Kyoto is timeless, it exists equally in the echoes of the past and in the ringtones of today. As the world rushes by on the river of time, Kyoto is but a series of perfect moments, each to be savored and enjoyed. Kyoto is Kyoto, here, now and forever.
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