Haruka Nishimura
Temple by temple, gardens to Nishijin looms
Based in Kyoto, Japan.
Kyoto culture writer reading the city temple by temple, from Nanzen-ji's moss gardens to the Nishijin weaving lofts and potters who still work by hand.
Latest stories
Okazaki, Kyoto: museums, temples and tofu by the canal
Kyoto’s calm cultural quarter pairs Heian-jingu’s vermilion gate, major museums, Zen gardens and yudofu houses with a pace that still knows how to breathe.
Kita, Kyoto: temples, tea and the quiet north
A slow, temple-lined corner of Kyoto where Kinkaku-ji, Ryoan-ji and Daitoku-ji are only the beginning, and the real pleasure is the hush between them.
Gion & Higashiyama, Kyoto: dawn lanes, temple hills and tea houses
Kyoto’s most photographed district still feels most itself at 7am, when the lanes are empty, the pagoda holds the skyline and the geiko quarter wakes before the crowds.
Fushimi, Kyoto: where the torii climb ends and the sake begins
In southern Kyoto, Fushimi splits neatly into two moods: the red-gated mountain of Inari above, and below it a canal-town of breweries, spring water and old merchant streets.
Downtown Kyoto (Kawaramachi & Karasuma): Where the City Eats, Shops and Stays Up Late
A walkable, neon-bright stretch of Kyoto where Nishiki Market, Pontocho, Kiyamachi and the Shijo department stores compress the city’s appetite into a few flat blocks.
Arashiyama, Kyoto: bamboo, bridges and quiet temple hours
A scenic west-Kyoto district where the best hour is dawn, the core pleasures are temples, tofu and river light, and the crowds thin just as the mountains begin to glow.
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