Flower-viewing at Mimurotoji

On our final sightseeing outing in Kyoto, we went back to the nearby tea-growing town of Uji. We were headed for Mimurotoji, a temple famous for its flower gardens. Mimurotoji is located at the Northern edge of town, nestled at the foot of the surrounding lush green hills. The location is lovely: the whole hillside was fragrant and filled with birdsong. And it was a great moment to visit, as now is the season of the ajisai, the hydrangea bloom.

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Nature-escape to Kurama

While Kyoto is surrounded by wooded hills and the need of getting away from it all is not as pressing as in the concrete-desert of the Kanto plain, it’s still nice to spend a few hours surrounded by nothing but majestic Japanese cedar trees. Kurama, just a 40 minutes train ride from central Kyoto to the north, is just such a getaway. At Kurama station, the visitor is greeted by a chorus of wind bells hung under the roof. Kurama itself is a one-street town with the station at one end and Kurama Onsen, a hot spring ryokan at the other. Its real attraction is Kurama-dera, an extended temple complex reaching up Mt. Kurama.

Looking up to Niomon

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Kyoto Gardens: Shosei-en

Apart from re-visiting our favorites, there are still many places in Kyoto we haven’t seen. One of them was Shosei-en, the detached garden of Higashi Hongan-ji near Kyoto Station. It’s a beautifully landscaped garden with several interesting buildings and bridges, amounting to “13 views”. In its style it reminded me somewhat of Tokyo’s Korakuen. Unlike many of Kyoto’s temple gardens which are nestled in the foothills of the surrounding wooded mountains, Shosei-en can’t hide its very urban location. Tall buildings are visible all around it.

Shinsetsu-kyo

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Back in Kyoto

Matcha and warabimochi

It’s been a week now that we’ve been back in Kyoto (as usual, for work). Apart from enjoying the food and going to our favorite shops to stock up on Japanese essentials, we’ve not yet had the chance to do many touristic things. But we’ve walked the philosopher’s walk yet another time, which is always pleasurable. So far, we’ve been relatively lucky with the weather, only one day of rain… let’s hope the weather holds up another bit, we still have one more week to go!

Along the philosopher’s walk

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Visit to Chishakuin [Picture Book]

Kon-do (central hall) seen from behind

In our quest to see new sights in Kyoto, we decided to visit Chishakuin, the headquarters of the Chisan School of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism, located at the height of Shichijo, at the foot of Higashiyama. Being somewhat off the beaten track, it was wonderfully quiet and peaceful there (and as often, not really any worse than the completely overrun main sights). Behind the majestic Kon-do, smaller temple halls are nestled in the wooded foothills of Higashiyama. A special attraction is however its scenic garden.

Scenic garden at Chishakuin

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Early Morning at Kiyomizudera

Since we’re supposed to be working and it gets dark early, the only moment to squeeze in some sightseeing for us is the early morning. Kiyomizudera, unlike most other temples (which open at 9), opens already at 6am, so it’s a recurring destination for us. Another perk of showing up in the morning is that the place is empty, and we were able to just see the sun rise over Higashiyama.

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In Kyoto

Along Kamogawa, looking North

As always, we are also spending some time in Kyoto. The winter weather being what it is, we’ve had some sunshine, but also some cloudy weather. But we try to make the best of it, trying not to get too cold visiting temples in our socks and always buying too many cute things when we enter shops to warm up.

Hojo Garden at Chion-in

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Tea ceremony meets Sanrio – at the Hello Kitty Tea House

Kitty Japanese garden – Hello Kitty greeting the customers

Kyoto is not all austere temples and shrines of historic importance. Japan’s pop-culture is part and parcel of it all. One of its outgrowths are character cafes. In Kyoto’s old town, there is a traditionally styled tea house, with a small Japanese garden to look at, and macha on the menu. The only difference to its many cousins is that it’s a Hello Kitty Cafe, where everything is Kitty-themed down to the smallest detail. And if you’re feeling lonely, you can sit next to a life-size Hello Kitty plushie.

Styled to the last detail

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Visit to Uji

Torii leading to Ujikami Shrine

In the spirit of exploring the region beyond Kyoto, we dedicated half a day to visiting the nearby town of Uji, reachable in a little more than half an hour from Kyoto by local train. One could have easily spent an entire day there, but among work commitments, muggy weather and two little kids in tow, we opted to just go for the two UNESCO World Heritage sites: Ujikami Jinja and Byodoin.

Phoenix Hall of Byodoin

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Revisiting Kinkakuji

While there are many places worth seeing that we have not yet visited in Kyoto, there are others we keep coming back to, like Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion. This time, arriving at opening time did not work in our favor, as about 10 school classes did the same. Kinkakuji presented itself sparkling in a ray of sunlight before a backdrop of moody clouds.

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