Kyoto

Kyoto officially - Kyoto City (???) is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture, located in the Kansai region of Japan. It is best known in Japanese history for being the former Imperial capital of Japan for more than one thousand years, as well as a major part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area. As a result, the Imperial City (Emeritus) of Kyoto is one of the few Japanese cities that still have an abundance of prewar buildings, such as the traditional townhouses known as machiya. However, modernization is continually breaking down the traditional Kyoto in favor of newer architecture, such as the Ky?to Station complex. Kyoto became a city designated by government ordinance on September 1, 1956. In 1997, Kyoto hosted the conference that resulted in the protocol on greenhouse gas emissions. Kyoto sits atop a large natural water table that provides the city with ample freshwater wells. Due to large-scale urbanization, the amount of rain draining into the table is dwindling and wells across the area are drying at an increasing rate. With its 2,000 religious places - 1,600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines, as well as palaces, gardens and architecture intact - it is one of the best preserved cities in Japan. Among the most famous temples in Japan are Kiyomizu-dera, a magnificent wooden temple supported by pillars off the slope of a mountain; Kinkaku-ji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion; Ginkaku-ji, the Temple of the Silver Pavilion; and Ry?an-ji, famous for its rock garden. The "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto" are listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. These include the Kamo Shrines (Kami and Shimo), Ky?-?-Gokokuji (T?-ji), Kiyomizu-dera, Daigo-ji, Ninna-ji, Saih?-ji (Kokedera), Tenry?-ji, Rokuon-ji (Kinkaku-ji), Jish?-ji (Ginkaku-ji), Ry?an-ji, Hongan-ji, K?zan-ji and the Nij? Castle, primarily built by the Tokugawa sh?guns. Other sites outside the city are also on the list. The key industry of Kyoto is information technology and electronics: the city is home to the headquarters, of Nintendo, Intelligent Systems, SCREENHoldings, Tose, Hatena, Omron, Kyocera, Shimadzu Corp., Rohm, Horiba, Nidec Corporation, Nichicon, Nissin Electric, and GS Yuasa. Tourists are hugely fond of Kyoto, contributing significantly to its economy. The cultural heritage sites of Kyoto are constantly visited by school groups from across Japan, and many foreign tourists also stop in Kyoto. In 2014, the city government announced that a record number of tourists had visited Kyoto, and it was favoured as the world's best city by U. S. travel magazine. Home to 40 institutions of higher education, Kyoto is one of the academic centers in Japan. Kyoto University is considered to be one of the top national universities nationwide. Kyoto's municipal bus network is extensive. Private carriers also operate within the city. Many tourists join commuters on the public buses, or take tour buses. Kyoto's buses have announcements in English and electronic signs with stops written in the Latin alphabet. Most city buses have a fixed fare. A one-day bus pass and a combined unlimited train and bus pass are also available. These are especially useful for visiting many different points of interest within Kyoto. The bus information center just outside the central station handles tickets and passes. About 20% of Japan's National Treasures and 14% of Important Cultural Properties exist in the city proper. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) includes 17 locations in Kyoto, Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, and ?tsu in Shiga Prefecture. The site was designated as World Heritage in 1994.