My first time to Japan!
 

Last year I visited Japan for 2 weeks. I have to say that I spent there the best holidays of my life. I visited Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. During my traveling I had the possibility to see many Buddhist temples. The most beautifull temple I saw was the one in Kyoto: the kiyomizudera temple. That's absolutly fantastic!

You saw some famous places that most tourists see. I haven't been to Osaka or Kyoto yet but look forward to it.

Did you see the Great Buddha in Kamakura?

that sounds like a fun trip ^^ i've been to those places before and the temples really are amazing. i've been to kiyomizudera temple before!

You have must taken a lot of pics, please share them :vsign: . I have never been to Japan but I saw it on TV, it is really nice and I want to come :D

if you loved the temples in kyoto you should try nikko.

Easy Travel, thanks for sharing. I am going to Osaka in Nov 08 and planning half a day to Kyoto. I plan to visit golden temple and Gion in Kyoto but not the Kiyomizudera temple which you mentioned. Is it really worthwhile to visit this temple ? Further, I have one more day left in Osaka and is planning to visit Himiji Temple and Kobe on that day. Is this a good choice or I should go somewhere else ? Thanks !

If you're going to Himeji, see the castle, not the temple. Kobe doesn't have much to see that's unique and exciting, IMO. Nara or Koyasan would be better day trips from Osaka than Kobe, though they are not in the same direction as Himeji. If you could fit Himeji in as a half day on another day, and then spend a whole day going to either Nara or Koyasan, that'd work better.

Samurai,

Thanks for your advice. So far, I understand that Kobe does not seem to be exciting place to visit. As I will be going to Himeji, so just think of going there on the way.

My trip to Osaka will be :

Day 1 - Arrive from Tokyo to Osaka. Visit Osaka Castle and the Aquarium.
Day 2 - Visit Universal Studio
Day 3 - Nara and Kyoto
Day 4 - Himiji Castle and Kobe
Day 5 - Home sweet home. (11 am flight)

Let me know if I can improve my itinary. Thanks !

Well, your tastes may be different from mine, but for me, here's what I'd do with that amount of time:

Day 1 - Arrive from Tokyo to Osaka. Visit Osaka Castle, the Aquarium, and explore Osaka (Dotonbori Street, Den Den town, etc). You should be able to do all that in a day if you get an early start.
Day 2 - Visit Nara, travel to Kyoto in afternoon/evening, see some sights in Kyoto
Day 3 - Explore Kyoto in morning, travel to Himeji, see Himeji Castle in afternoon, travel back to Arima Onsen (just outside Kobe) and visit/stay at an onsen resort (Arima Hot Springs)
Day 4 - Travel to Koyasan, explore the cemetery and temples and stay at a temple overnight
Day 5 - Home sweet home. (11 am flight)

(It's a pretty busy itinerary, and you might decide to cut something, such as Himeji Castle, since you're going to visit Osaka Castle anyway...)

Which airport are you flying out of? If it's Kansai International, you should be able to make it from Koyasan to the airport in time to depart. If you are leaving from Tokyo, you may not be able to stay overnight in Koyasan, instead having to return to Osaka that evening in order to catch a shinkansen back to Tokyo as early as possible.

Finally visited Koyasan, now I understand why you like it. I absolutely love the place, so much better than Kyoto. And during our return trip to Osaka it rain and the mountain was absolutely amazing, eerie but amazing.

Cool! Did you stay overnight in a temple, or just visit for the day? And I agree, IMO it's a much more interesting and unique place to visit than Kyoto, and off the beaten path so there aren't nearly as many tourists.

I found this pictures on your website, they look great! Did you explore Okuno-in cemetery? That is one of my favorite places to take pictures, there are so many beautiful scenes of statues and torii amid the old trees!

Unfortunately, not this time. My friend and I just toured the place but next I will definitely try to stay at one temple inn. And hopefully with a better camera :D

When we went there, there are lots of Local Tourist who are on, I think , historical and religious tour.

Yes, there are some religious pilgrimages there. They usually aren't that many people, at least compared to Kyoto's crowds, but especially around holidays (like Obon) it can get busy there sometimes. As you said, foreign tourists are much rarer there than Kyoto though, it's mostly Japanese people that know about the place.