Sacred Kyoto
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Enjoy Kyoto, fully.

Every temple has a story. Twenty guides to the greatest temples and shrines of the city — what you are looking at, what to notice before you walk past it, and why it has mattered for centuries.

Read them or listen to them, and take your time.

Get it on Google PlayDownload on the App StoreComing soon
A Sacred Kyoto guide to Kinkaku-ji, with Listen and Read side by side

20 sites now… And many more to come.

Each one sets the scene, tells the story, then points out two or three things to notice before you leave. About four minutes — to read, or to listen to.

Ukiyo-e illustration of the vermilion torii gates at Fushimi Inari TaishaUkiyo-e illustration of the Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-jiUkiyo-e illustration of the great gate at Kiyomizu-deraUkiyo-e illustration of Tenryū-ji and the bamboo groves of ArashiyamaUkiyo-e illustration of the Silver Pavilion at Ginkaku-jiUkiyo-e illustration of the rock garden at Ryōan-jiUkiyo-e illustration of the five-storey pagoda at Tō-jiUkiyo-e illustration of the hall of a thousand statues at Sanjūsangen-dō
Fushimi Inari Taisha伏見稲荷大社shrine
Kinkaku-ji金閣寺temple
Kiyomizu-dera清水寺temple
Ryōan-ji龍安寺temple
Ginkaku-ji銀閣寺temple
Tenryū-ji & Arashiyama天龍寺・嵐山temple
Nanzen-ji南禅寺temple
Sanjūsangen-dō三十三間堂temple
Yasaka-jinja八坂神社shrine
Heian-jingū平安神宮shrine
Tō-ji東寺temple
Tōfuku-ji東福寺temple
Chion-in知恩院temple
Eikan-dō永観堂temple
Ninna-ji仁和寺temple
Shimogamo-jinja下鴨神社shrine
Daigo-ji醍醐寺temple
Kitano Tenmangū北野天満宮shrine
Kamigamo Jinja上賀茂神社shrine
Kurama-dera鞍馬寺temple
20guides
90 minof narration in English
Freeevery guide
Offlineall of it

Free, and entirely yours

Just you and the guides.

Download it once and the whole collection is on your phone. Every word and every minute of audio travels with you, so you can read and listen anywhere — in airplane mode.

The app runs on your phone alone, and your data stays there: allow location and it is used on the device to show what is nearby. This first version is in English, covers 20 sites, and every guide in it is free. More languages and many more sites are on the way — we can't wait to show you.

Get it on Google PlayDownload on the App StoreComing soon