48 hours in Kyoto

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.

Here is how to 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 specialises 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 on 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.

Nearby is Ryoanji, home of the famous rock garden, and Ninna-ji, whose long corridors with their smooth wooden floors are cool under tired feet.

5 p.m. Walk down Teramachi, several blocks of streets lined with shops, many selling antiques, old books and prints.

7 p.m. Dinner at Tako Nyudo, which specializes in "obansai," or Kyoto homestyle cooking. Offerings on a recent day included yakitori, lotus root simmered with ground beef, and simmered pumpkin, but there are more exotic dishes such as tiny whole octopus stewed in soy. Ask the chef to whip up the house specialty: Akashi yaki, which resemble small round omelets wrapped around a chunk of octopus.

Sunday
9 a.m. Head for Ohara, a small hamlet in a valley amid green hills about an hour north of Kyoto by bus, which can be caught from in front of Kyoto Station.

Sanzen-in temple is about ten minutes up a hillside on a path lined with stalls selling Japanese pickles. The main attraction here is a lush central moss garden beautiful in any season of the year but especially nice in fall when the maple leaves turn red.

A 15-minute walk across the valley floor is another temple, Jakko-in, famous as the last residence of a tragic empress whose entire family was annhilated in a sea battle in 1185.

3 p.m. Back in Kyoto, walk up to Kiyomizu-dera, a temple famous for its large wooden stage jutting out over a valley. From here you can see across the city. Other sights include a shrine said to bring romance.

5 p.m. Head down from Kiyomizu. Hawkers of salty pickled plum tea offer refreshing samples, as do vendors of sweets.