Travel postcard: 48 hours in Kyoto, Japan's old capital

By Elaine Lies

KYOTO (Reuters Life!) - Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital, is a laid-back counterpart to Tokyo, first established more than 1,000 years ago.

Its wide avenues follow a grid pattern that invites easy walking, one of the best ways to explore. Strolls reveal a modern city, but one where traditional touches -- a tiny shrine, upswept temple roofs -- are never far away.

Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors make the most of the city that was Japan's capital until 1868:

FRIDAY

6 p.m. - Walk through one of the hanamachi, or geisha districts, and you may see a geisha or apprentice geisha heading out for the evening. Sightings of these women in elaborate kimono, thick white makeup and gleaming, upswept hair are especially likely in the Miyagawa-cho district, where taxis line up to whisk the geisha away to engagements at exclusive traditional restaurants.

7 p.m. - Dinner at Kusshan, which specializes in kushi-age, lightly breaded and crisply fried bits of meat, fish and vegetables on skewers. Eaten dipped in thick, slightly sweet sauce or mixed salt-and-pepper, kushi-age are addictive, especially when chased with cold beer.

9 p.m. - Stroll along the banks of the Kamo River. In spring, the eastern banks are lined with flowering cherries and newly green weeping willows, while in the summer diners can sit on terraces overlooking the water and gaze out towards the mountains that surround the city.

Typical Kyoto scenery is the couples seated along the bank from afternoon into the evening, somehow always managing to space themselves exactly the same distance apart.

SATURDAY

9 a.m. - Head out for some temple viewing, armed with a free bus map from tourist information in front of Kyoto Station.

A good place to start is Sanjusangendo, a vast wooden hall filled with 1,001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The face on each of the faded gilt statues is said to be different.

Another essential is Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, famed more for its gardens than the actual pavilion, which is made of weathered brown wood. Notable are representations of Mount Fuji and the ocean made of sand.

From Ginkaku-ji, walk the "Philosopher's Trail," a stone path lined with cherry trees that winds south past temples and souvenir stores. The walk leads you to Nanzenji, a sprawling complex of temples whose park-like grounds are a good site for a rest and people-watching.

12 p.m. - Lunch at one of the many restaurants surrounding Nanzenji, which offer set meals centered around tofu, often in rooms looking out across traditionally landscaped gardens.

2 p.m. - If temple burnout hasn't struck yet, try Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion. Though the temple building itself was rebuilt after being burnt down in the 1950s -- an incident that became the base for the Yukio Mishima novel "The Golden Pavilion" -- and looks it, the surrounding grounds are pleasant.