The Japan travel classic and cultural guide gets you wandering from downtown quarters to remote mountaintop temples....This revised and updated edition of the Japan travel classic and cultural guide gets you wandering from downtown quarters to remote mountaintop temples and features expanded information on new museums and gardens now open year-round for viewing.Judith Clancy's expert research weaves a rich narrative of Kyoto's history, local lore, and artis...

Enjoy delicious Japanese food in some of Kyoto's most tucked-away and spectacular townhouses.Machiya, or townhouses, are traditional wooden dwellings in Kyoto that evoke the elegance and culture of Japan's old capital with their architectural details, beautiful gardens, and intimate rooms. Many have been converted into restaurants to create unforgettable dining experiences.Enjoying healthy food in a historic, traditional Kyoto environment is a rare pleasure...

"Bring the art and beauty of Japan to your garden with inspiration from Kyoto Gardens."—HGTV GardensFeaturing beautiful Japanese garden photography and insightful writing, Kyoto Gardens is a labor of love from master photographer Ben Simmons and Kyoto-based writer Judith Clancy. In their rocks and plants, empty spaces and intimate details—Kyoto's gardens manifest a unique ability to provoke thought and delight in equal measure. These varied...

This travel pictorial and Japan travel guide captures the sites and soul of Kyoto—Japan's historical and spiritual center.An elaborate kaleidoscope of craft, artistry and religion, Kyoto is one of the world's most popular travel destinations. Art and design form the weft and warp of this vibrant 1,200-year-old city, home to hundreds of gardens, palaces, villas and magnificent wooden temples, including seventeen UNESCO World Heritage sites.Like a Zen koan, K...

Featuring beautiful photographs and insightful commentary this Japanese gardening book is a must-have for any gardening or zen enthusiast.At the heart of a Japanese garden is harmony with nature. More than simply a landscape of trees and flowering shrubs, a Japanese garden provides a place of serenity and rest, filled with peaceful spots that lend themselves to meditation and contemplation. Japanese Gardens celebrates and illustrates this ideal, showcasing...

Gain some new ideas along with the principles and history of Japanese stone gardening with this useful and beautiful garden design book.Japanese Stone Gardens provides a comprehensive introduction to the powerful mystique and dynamism of the Japanese stone garden—from their earliest use as props in animistic rituals, to their appropriation by Zen monks and priests to create settings conducive to contemplation and finally to their contemporary uses and mean...

Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital and modern-day center of tourism and traditional culture, is one of the world's most beautiful and historic cities. Founded nearly 1,300 years ago and undamaged by the war, Kyoto today is the home of over 1,600 Buddhist temples, 400 Shinto shrines, countless national treasures and 17 World Heritage sites, including the famed Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle and Kiyomizu Temple.This book presents 29 easy-to-follow walking tours through Kyo...

Houses and Gardens of Kyoto presents over 500 photos of the most excellent examples of traditional Japanese architecture from every significant historical period in this new edition of a favorite classic.Kyoto, considered the quintessential birthplace of Japanese culture, has survived centuries of damage and the onslaught of modernization, yet remains the undisputed home of the country's architectural and cultural history. This vibrant collection of Japane...

This Tokyo guidebook provides an intimate and detailed look at Japan's dynamic capital.Walking is the best way to get to know any city and here is a walker's guide to Tokyo—one of the most fascinating cities in the world. Author and Tokyo native Sumiko Enbutso leads readers through Tokyo's old downtown. Sensitive to the character of each varied neighborhood, she brings a sharp eye to its half-hidden history, its traditional shops, and its most appealing restaurants...

"Follow your bliss!" Joseph Campbell famously said, so she did. After several harrowing years of losses, author Mariellen Ward set out to recover from grief, understand the essence of yoga and rediscover the joy of living by traveling, studying yoga and volunteering in India.The stories in this collection are inspired by the scorched earth of the Rajasthan desert; the hypnotic currents of India's most sacred river; the awe-inspiring spectacle of the sunrise reflected against the wh...

The first book to present the amazing swords and armor belonging to the most famous Samurai in Japanese history!Paul Martin, a world-renowned scholar of Japanese swords, takes us on a journey of discovery of samurai culture through an examination of valuable weapons and armor belonging to thirty of Japan's most celebrated warriors, many of which are classified as Important Cultural Propertiesor National Treasures and therefore rarely seen by the p...

**Winner of the 2006 American Horticultural Society Book Award**The Art of the Japanese Garden is the only historical overview of Japanese gardens that covers Japanese gardening culture in one beautiful book.Japanese gardens are rooted in two traditions: an indigenous prehistoric tradition in which patches of graveled forest or pebbled beach were dedicated to nature spirits, and a tradition from China and Korea that included elements such as ponds,...