Kyoto for The Three Generations: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

Escalators all the way to the rooftop garden of Hiroshi Hara's glass station, benches at every landing and the whole city in the window; the youngest run, the eldest ride.

A lift to the observation deck, chairs by the windows, telescopes that are free, and the mountains that ring the city named in the glass; twenty minutes is enough.

Pork cutlets on the eleventh floor by lift, a long table booked ahead, children's sets and soft tofu for anyone who wants less; refills of cabbage and rice are free.

The slow open train along the gorge with a seat for everyone and a cheerful driver on the loudspeaker, twenty-five minutes out; the JR line brings you back in fifteen.

A 1339 pond garden on flat gravel paths with benches under the maples, the bamboo grove at its back gate for a short stroll, and the hills borrowed for free.

The temple's own vegetarian lunch on tatami in a long hall, trays of sesame tofu, pickles and simmered vegetables at a single long table; chairs on request.

The biggest climb of any funicular in Japan, 561 metres up Mount Hiei in nine minutes from the end of the Eizan line, then a ropeway to the top; seats, windows, no steps worth counting.

The Tōdō precinct around the Konpon Chūdō is a short walk from the ropeway with handrails and benches; a shuttle bus runs between the three precincts for those who want more.

Dinner in a merchant's 1600s villa with a stroll garden lit at night, big tables, kaiseki trays or plain sushi by the plate, and ground-floor rooms by the garden.

The gold pavilion on its pond, a flat twenty-minute loop on gravel with the view from the first bend; go at opening before the coaches and take the tea house bench.

The Ninomaru palace is one level, shoes off, with the shogun's painted tigers and squeaking floors; wheelchairs are lent at the gate and the garden has benches by the pond.

Tofu courses in a riverside machiya, a tatami room with a view of the Kamo and sunken-floor seating so no one has to kneel; children get the plain tofu they like.