Kinkaku-ji and Arashiyama by noon.

It was built in the 14th century as a shogun's second home. After he died it became a temple. Stand in front of the pond and a second golden building appears in the water. It has three floors, each in a different style, and you cannot go inside.

The gate opens at 9:00 AM exactly. We meet at 8:15 AM so that we are inside in that first hour.

The Randen tram station at Arashiyama is a sight in itself. About 600 pillars, two metres tall, hold kimono fabric sealed inside acrylic. They stand on the platform and along the track, so you walk through the station as if through a wood. There are 32 patterns.

It was made in 2013 when the station was rebuilt. The fabric comes from a Kyoto dyeing works that has run since the Taisho period.

A path about 400 metres long, with nothing but bamboo on either side. This is not the destination today. We take photographs and walk on through. On the way, Nonomiya Shrine has a torii gate built from logs with the bark still on, the oldest form of gate in Japan.

The shrine appears in The Tale of Genji, written a thousand years ago. Princesses on their way to Ise stayed here to purify themselves.

Beyond the bamboo lies a garden of about two hectares. A film star of the 1930s made it himself, from the age of 34 until he died, about 30 years. From the tea house at the top you look out over Kyoto. The ticket includes matcha and a dry sweet.

The hill is Mount Ogura, written about in poetry for a thousand years for its autumn colours. He fell for the view and bought the land.

Rather than go back the way we came, we cut through the park and down the hill. From the lookout the Hozu river lies at the bottom of the valley. With luck a boat comes down it, or the sightseeing train passes. At the bottom is Togetsukyo Bridge, 155 metres long.

The hill with the lookout is called Kameyama, turtle hill. The ridge running down from Mount Ogura is said to look like one.