Ah, Kyoto. Boasting (literally) thousands of historic Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines as well as some of Japan’s most beautiful gardens and palaces, it’s brimming with history and a must-see destination for anyone visiting country. The only thing is: Kyoto is frikkin’ cold in the winter; which is probably why the city is sponsoring the “Kyoto Winter Special” for the second year in a row. From January 10, 2009 to March 18, 2009 Kyoto is temporarily opening up twelve cultural heritage sites to the public. If you can bear the bone-chilling temperatures, Kyoto’s got a lot to offer this time of year.

Here are a few of the highlights:

Anrakujuin: An ancient temple that marks the location of the detached Imperial Palace of the Asuka Period (538-710).

Kodai-ji: A Rinzai Buddhist temple built in 1606 to commemorate Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the great unifier of Japan.

Ninna-ji: First built in 888, this temple is now the world headquarters of the Shingon Buddhist sect.

To-ji: This temple houses a veritable treasure trove of ancient books and scriptures of incredible value.

Myoshin-ji: The largest Zen temple in all of Kyoto contains no less than 46 sub-temples.

Myokoji: Completely surrounded by a dense bamboo forest, this is the head temple of the Rinzai Kenninji sect.

Japanican is offering a special package (more information here) or fly into Narita Airport and take any of the frequent high-speed Shinkansen bullet trains to Kyoto.

(via Gadling)

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About the Author:  Holiday Fu occasionally uses content from City Weekend, magazines about city life in China. At the moment, there are magazines about Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. We also link to their listings. For more, go to cityweekend.com.cn.