Facts about Kyoto
Kyoto was removed from the list and its architectural treasures were preserved.
Kyoto's kimono weavers are particularly renowned, and the city remains the premier center for kimono manufacturing.
U.S. Secretary of State Henry Stimson adamantly refused to bomb Kyoto because it "was the ancient capital of Japan, a historical city, and one that was of great religious significance to the Japanese."
In 1945, at the end of World War II, the Target Committee of the United States Manhattan Project placed Kyoto at the top of the list of targets for the dropping of the atomic bomb.
Kiyomizu-dera (or Kiyomizudera; Japanese: ???) refers to several Buddhist temples but especially to one of the best known sights of the city, Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera (??????) in Eastern Kyoto.
Kyoto remained Japan's capital until the transfer of the government to Edo (now Tokyo) in 1868 at the time of the Imperial Restoration (some Japanese still consider it to be the legal capital).
Today the city has a population of close to 1.5 million and is the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.
The Katsura Imperial Villa (???, Katsura Riky?), or Katsura Detached Palace, one of Japan's most important large-scale cultural treasures, is a villa with associated gardens and outbuildings in the western suburbs of Kyoto.
Ginkaku-ji ( ???), the "Temple of the Silver Pavilion," is a Buddhist temple in the Higashiyama District of Kyoto.
S. cerevisiae, the yeast most commonly used for ethanol production, cannot metabolize xylose.
In 1997, Kyoto hosted the conference that resulted in the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions.
The forest suffered some damage over the ages, as Kyoto was burned during successive revolts and wars, but has rebounded and is considered to be natural, not pruned or planted by man.
Kyoto University is considered to be one of the top universities in Japan, boasting several Nobel laureates such as Yukawa Hideki.
Kyoto is known as one of the academic centers of Japan, and is home to 37 institutions of higher education.
Kyoto was spared during the fire bombing of World War II, making it the only large Japanese city that still has an abundance of pre-war buildings and a popular destination for tourists.
Bicycles are an important form of personal transportation in the city, and are considered a part of Kyoto's urban identity.
Kyoto sits above a large natural water table that provides the city with ample freshwater wells.
The Shimogamo Shrine, the “lower” Kamo Shrine, believed to be a century older, was originally built to protect the then-new capital city of Heian-kyo (Kyoto).
Surrounding areas do not follow the same grid pattern as the center of the city, though streets throughout Kyoto share the distinction of having names (Japanese streets typically are not named).
The Toei Uzumasa Eigamura (also known as Kyoto Studio Park and Toei Movie Land) is called the "Hollywood of Japan.
After Edo was renamed Tokyo, (meaning "Eastern Capital"), Kyoto was known for a short time as Saikyo (??, Saiky?, "Western Capital").
The three largest and best-known local universities are Doshisha University, Kyoto University, and Ritsumeikan University.
During World War II when firebombing was conducted throughout the country, Kyoto and its ancient buildings were spared, leaving it one of the best-preserved cities in Japan.
A common English pronunciation of Kyoto has three sounds as key-oh-toe; however, the Japanese pronunciation is kyoh and to.
The city's cultural sites are constantly visited by school groups from across Japan, and many foreign tourists also stop in Kyoto.
The torii before the main gate is one of the largest in Japan, and the main building, or shaden (??), is designed to imitate the Kyoto Imperial Palace.
Kyoto is the only large Japanese city that still has an abundance of prewar buildings, such as machiya (traditional townhouses).
Kyoto's only sizable heavy industry is electronics: the city is home to the headquarters of Nintendo, as well as the headquarters of OMRON, Kyocera (Kyoto Ceramic) and Murata Machinery.
The Kyoto area has some of the most famous temples, shrines, palaces and gardens in Japan.
Surrounded on three sides by mountains known as Higashiyama, Kitayama and Nishiyama, Kyoto is famous for its stifling summer nights with no breezes.
