JAPAN CENTER - Kyoto, Japan

The Friends World East Asian Center is located in the northwest of Kyoto just behind the famed Kinkakuji Temple (The Golden Pavilion).  The Center is accessible to numerous transport centers.  The East Asian Center has been in Japan since 1968, first in Hiroshima and then in Kyoto.  Kyoto City, the capital of Japan from 794 to 1600, and still the capital of Japanese traditional arts and home to many universities, is a wonderful base from which to study Japan and its culture.  The significant population of foreign residents also provides a resource network which offers students many opportunities to find and pursue a wide range of projects and interests.

Most people who have spent any time in Kyoto, be it as a traveler, tourist or resident, agree that it is a very special city.  In a former incarnation it was the ancient capital of the country and remains the cultural center of Japan with its magical maze of approximately 1,500 Buddhist temples, 200 Shinto shrines, and myriad esoteric gardens.  Riding a bicycle (Kyoto is a wonderland to traverse by bike) from one point to another will usually involve passing through or by any number of these sites.  Anyone interested in studying flower arrangement, tea ceremony, traditional Japanese dance, or pottery will be delighted to know that Kyoto is home to a large number of the most traditional as well as the most modern schools of these and many other arts.  A constant stream of foreigners seeking Zen wisdom are not disappointed with the opportunities available to practice at a plethora of both Rinzai and Soto Zen temples.  Kyoto is also a haven for those enamored of Japanese poetry; haiku poets are active here and American poets such as Gary Snyder have taken refuge in the city’s historic tranquillity.

Kyoto is surrounded by mountains on three sides and is a paradise for hikers and bikers; in a few minutes one can be traversing a mountain trail or pedaling along a scenic road out in the country. In addition to its scenic beauty and cultural treasures, Kyoto is a university town.  The National Kyoto University, second in prestige only to Tokyo University and which contains the world’s most important collection of Sinology materials, is located here as well as such well-known private universities as Doshisha, Ritsumeikan, Sangyo, and Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, to name just a few. It is not unusual for visiting students from abroad to forge academic and social links with their counterparts in Kyoto.

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