It is not only in the fresh air in the bamboo forests or in the green forests that surround the city. There is something very serene about Kyoto, deeply rooted in your daily life.
Kyoto has nurtured its elegant simplicity in parallel with its aesthetic of cleanliness and purity for centuries. The maximum refinement is accompanied by a feeling of purity. In Kyoto, it’s not just about the ideal atmosphere, but also the current practices integrated into the lifestyle and welcoming guests.
Japan’s millennial capital vindicates the legacy of well-being and balance in its new campaign “The Kyoto Promise: Enhaceyour Well-Being”, which shows how the new habits we have been forced to adopt around the world to protect the pandemic by forming part spirit of the city, which permeates every corner of Kyoto with purity, balance and compassion.
Kyoto has nurtured its elegant simplicity in parallel with its aesthetic of cleanliness and purity for centuries
Kyoto City TourismAssociation (KCTA), has launched a campaign in which it invites citizens of the world to rediscover the ancestral values of the ancient imperial capital: compassion, purity, a sense of personal space and minimalist beauty, more current and necessary than ever, to connect with the sense of well-being offered by this beautiful Japanese city.
This campaign, entitled “The Kyoto Promise: Enhaceyour Well-Being”, reviews some of the cultural aspects most ingrained in Kyoto culture, which have how to leave the proverbial Japanese hospitality, and which is reflected in various practices that have become a lives of millions of people.
Neatness and cleanliness, the connection with outdoor spaces, water and gardens, ornamental balance and clean lines, and the importance of personal space are the protagonists of a video, which will delve into the spiritual value of these practices and traditions that have been a part of Kyoto life for hundreds of years.
Purification and balance: the legacy of Kyoto’s well-being
The video insists on the organic and spiritual nature of these rituals which, unlike other western and eastern countries, have not been recently adopted, but are the backbone of Kyoto society and its sense of hospitality.
These daily customs permeate many other local and national traditions, from the final years to the tea ceremony, to meditation, decoration, ikebana, water purification at the doors of temples or houses, or various expressions. artistic premises.
“The Kyoto Promise: Enhaceyour Well-Being” is also an invitation to the healing of the soul, purifying the body and mind. It is about finding balance in a time of great complexity for humanity, exploring places full of beauty and peace, such as the temples, shrines and gardens of Kodaiji, HeianJingu or the iconic Torii corridors of Fushimi Inari Taisha, the spaces dedicated to thermalism (onsen), the peaceful bamboo forests, or the rooms of the machiyas, traditional houses converted into quaint accommodations, such as GionHatanaka, Hiiragi or Sowaka.
Nothing, at a distance. Explore Kyoto safely and pleasantly.
This year, many of us stay home during the spring and miss the beautiful view of Kyoto flooded with cherry blossoms. But tourists are gradually returning to the city since the state of emergency was lifted in June.
“The Kyoto Promise: Enhaceyour Well-Being” reviews some cultural aspects more rooted in Kyoto culture
If you visit Kyoto, it is essential to do tourism safely avoiding the “3C” *. To help contain the spread of the infection, temples, shrines, shops, restaurants, public facilities and local government are working together to implement precautionary measures against the “3Cs”. They ask for the cooperation of all while striving to make the sea visit safe and pleasant for all.
(The 3C: spaces cwrong with poor ventilation / crowded places with a lot of people cerca / adjustments of cclose contact, such as short distance conversations).
Staying at home has reiterated the value of experiences that cannot be had through a screen. This is especially conscious for traveling. Let’s make the joy of exploring a city with our two feet a part of our lives once again.
① Social distancing
You will always keep a distance of less than two meters from the others when queuing for a bus or train, or when you are in line for a restaurant or shop.
②Masks
Wear a mask in shops, museums, and other enclosed or crowded public spaces, and when indoors with poor ventilation. You want carefully used masks. Throwing rubbish is forbidden.
③ Hand hygiene
Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer provided at the entrance to restaurants, public facilities, and other places.
④ Get the latest information on your phone
Let’s make the joy of exploring a city with our two feet a part of our lives once again
Kyoto City has developed an app called AnshinTsuisekiService that allows you to receive email notifications if someone who has been to a store, restaurant or facility where you have been, tests positive for COVID-19. We cooperate to provide related information upon request. You can register by simply scanning a QR code with your phone at participating locations.
⑤ Daily health management.
Each time you return home or to your hotel room, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and running water for 15 seconds. Monitor your health and temperature daily.
Welcoming tourists to a safe Kyoto: hospitality in the COVID era
Many people want to visit Kyoto for an autumn excursion and enjoy the autumn leaves and seasonal cuisine, but do not dare to do so. His destiny of concern about what could happen if he became infected with COVID-19 during his journey is understandable.
You need to know that KyotoTourism and tourism industry companies are working together as a team to implement a variety of infection control measures.
So we will present the details of the initiatives to keep safe, including the guidelines that form the basis of are initiatives, stickers that indicate the establishments that customers can visit in peace and a new project in which customers can participate to contribute to the strengthening of infection control measures.
- Kyoto and the project “Security today, smiles tomorrow”
– What are the colorful stickers we often see lately pasted on the entrances of the city’s shops and restaurants?
Kyoto (in its succession, simply “Asociación de Turismo”): these are stickers to show that the company complies with the guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In July this year, 23 tourism-related companies in Kyoto City and the prefecture responded to the Association’s call and together developed guidelines for COVID-19 infection control measures for safer tourism (in Japanese only at https: // ja. kyoto.travel/withcorona/guideline/).
The guidelines are to protect the safety not only of tourists, but also of local residents and workers
At that time, the period of stay at home and travel restrictions between the prefectures were relaxing, so it was important to properly ensure the safety of everyone, including Kyoto, tourists and those in the tourism industry, before receiving to tourists.
These stickers were distributed to companies that support and comply with these guidelines.
– The stickers show that everyone involved in the Kyoto tourism industry came together to create the guidelines. How many establishments are currently displaying the stickers?
Tourism Association: They were around 7,500 at the end of September. Its use has spread more than all restaurants and its retail trends to various tourism-related industries, such as accommodation facilities, tourist facilities and bus and taxi companies, so which has become quite familiar.
– Some of the characteristics of the guidelines?
Tourism Association: There are three main features of the Kyoto guidelines.
The first is that the guidelines are to protect the safety not only of tourists, but also of local residents and workers. It is aimed at companies in the Kyoto tourism industry, who can protect the safety of local residents by taking the lead on infection control measures and acting appropriately towards tourists.
The second is that the guidelines cover several industries. Industry-specific standards have also been set for accommodation providers, restaurants, transportation providers, etc., but the guidelines cover all industries and aim to make tourism in Kyoto safe in general, thus protecting to everybody.
And the third is that the guidelines plan to integrate infection control measures with Kyoto’s unique Kyoto hospitality. Promoting infection control measures may mean that we cannot provide the same hospitality and service as in the past, but tourism companies will strive to achieve a new style of hospitality that will allow for comprehensive infection control measures. and hospitality coexist in harmony.
– Are there other measures that provide security to customers in addition to those mentioned?
Tourism Association: For everyone’s peace of mind, we would also like people to register for services such as Kyoto, Kyoto Emergency Contact Service COVID-19 Kyoto Prefecture KOCOTORO or the Contact Confirmation Request COVID-19 COCOA. You can then record your diaries, restaurants, and facilities you’ve visited, and then you’ll be notified if it’s a high-risk contact in case someone got infected there. Then, you can go quickly and get tested for the virus and minimize the risk of infecting your family and others around you.