Kyoto's best-kept secret

My first time in Kyoto, a couple of years ago, was not wholly successful. Like many people, I'd heard too much about how it was the cultural capital of Japan, the hub of all tradition, where it was impossible not to have the very best time.

However, it's easy, if you're only there for a day or so, to get it wrong in Kyoto. Whereas the hustle and bustle of most cities centres around their railway stations, the opposite is true here. You have to walk, explore, venture and dig deep to find the best places to go – but it's worth it.

Luckily, my second visit, a couple of months ago, was more successful. We rented a bike by day and covered much of the sprawling temple grounds. By night, we plucked up the courage to try some of the smaller all-Japanese bars, in a bid to get off the tourist trail – not always an easy feat, especially with minimal Japanese skills.

So I'm going to save you a lot of trouble here: if you're heading for Kyoto and want all of the usual – a bit of history, interaction with locals, some great drinks and drop-dead beautiful surroundings – head to Kanga-an temple.

The secret bar

I came across Kanga-an through an article in the Japan Times (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fg20090130nc.html) and, speaking as someone who has seen their fair share of Japanese temples, it was anything but standard. Though it's probably a beautiful place no matter what the circumstances, I'd strongly advise going in the evening, to get the best of its moody lighting, paper lamps and candlelit vibe.

Located on a dark road full of unspectacular buildings, Kanga-an catches your eye right away. A stone gateway leads through to a path lit by candles, which, in turn, leads to the entrance of an impressive Zen temple. Lights glow from behind the sliding doors, which are topped by a huge, two-layered, traditional slated roof.

A man appeared from a separate building on our left, which houses a vegetarian restaurant – a rare thing in Japan. He very politely led us through a small door to an impressively clean, sophisticated, marble-topped bar, which looked out over the most Japanese of Japanese gardens. The barman, dressed in immaculate suit and tie despite there being no other customers, was super-polite and spoke a little English. He asked us how we found out about the secret bar. "Japan Times?" Yep.

Though the small but well-equipped bar even boasts Guinness on tap, it's worth trying something a bit more special. I asked the barman if he had any umeshu – a sweet wine made of plums that is impossible not to like. He disappeared and emerged soon after with a huge glass jar labelled "2004". The monks had made it themselves and it was well worth asking for. At 600 yen (£3.80) a glass, it wasn't the cheapest around, but considering the mind-blowing surroundings, think of it as fair trade.

The temple's owners had even gone to the trouble of printing English leaflets detailing the origins of the temple, how its roots lie in vegetarian cuisine and the fact that it was once the property of Japan's imperial family.

After we had finished our drinks, the man who led us in appeared again and asked us to please visit the garden before we left. It was like something from an airbrushed brochure – every blade of grass stood obediently in line, with the cloud-shaped bonsai branches and curved cobbles lit up by lanterns and candles.

In striking contrast to most bars in any given county, the goodbyes were just as welcoming as the greeting.

So when in Kyoto, get out of Gion for a while - head to Kuramaguchi and give the world's friendliest monks something to keep smiling about.

Getting there

Take the subway to Kuramaguchi station on Kyoto's Karasuma line. On arriving, I followed the instructions given in the Japan Times and they proved to be perfect. Just for reference, here they are: "Take a right out of Exit 1 of Kuramaguchi Station, then take the first right and walk 200 meters. It's on your left, the second temple on the street, with a blue sign. The bar is at the end of the cobblestone footpath, to the left of the main hall."

The temple website is in Japanese, but you may be able to translate through a search engine: www.kangaan.jp.