Shimogamo Shrine

The best shrine walk in Kyoto that is not Fushimi Inari. The approach runs through Tadasu-no-Mori, a forest of broadleaf trees, which is rare in Japan, where so much of the old mixed woodland was replaced with cedar. Walk it early in the morning and the vermilion gate at the end appears through the trees rather than over a crowd. Plan around the festivals: horseback archery fills the grounds on May 3, and the Aoi Matsuri procession ends here on May 15.