|                          | Osaka is Japan's oldest city,       having been an Imperial capital in 645 A.D. That said, it is still likely       that you will spend your sightseeing time in Kyoto or elsewhere. Kyoto is       only a half hour from Osaka by train, and Kyoto was the capital of Japan for       about 1,000 years. It is Kyoto that, in spite of the city's entrenchment,       has preserved some of the most impressive elements of early and beautiful       Japan. Besides temples, gardens, and palaces, there is the elegant Golden       Pavilion, pictured below left. It is set in a forest that belies its       presence in a large city. |        |