#Kyōto

One of the must-do tours in Kyoto is the Philosopher’s Path (哲学の道, Tetsugaku-no-michi). It got its name because the contemporary philosopher and professor Nishida Kitaro is said to have walked along this path on his daily commute to the university while meditating.

Right near the starting point is the Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion. It’s worth starting the tour right away with a visit. Afterwards, you can grab a snack in the adjacent shopping street to refuel before the strenuous part of the walk begins. 😉

The Philosopher’s Path starts at the lower end of the shopping street and follows the Biwa Canal in a southerly direction. A narrow path leads along the banks under romantic cherry trees. Occasionally, we’ll leave the path for detours to visit the nearby little temples and shrines called Hōnen-in, Anraku-ji, Reikan-ji and Otoyo-jinja. At the Kumano Nyakuōji, we leave the canal and walk through small streets to the Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji. Finally, we reach the Nanzen-ji, where our tour ends. What’s impressive about this temple is the massive San-mon gate, the main building with a rock garden, and various outbuildings. Right nearby, you’ll also find a structure you probably wouldn’t have expected here. The brick aqueduct Suirokaku transports water from Lake Biwa into the Philosopher’s Path canal and once fed Japan’s first hydroelectric power plant.

The path itself is obviously free, and most of the small temples and shrines don’t charge an entrance fee either. You should plan about 30 minutes for the path itself. With all the little detours and photo opportunities, time flies though, so you should add a generous time buffer.

The Ginkakuji charges an entrance fee of 500¥. At the Nanzen-ji, you pay for the individual buildings separately; climbing the San-mon, for example, costs 600¥, and visiting the main building with the rock garden is another 600¥. An extensive tour of all the stops adds up pretty quickly, both in terms of time and money.

You can get there either by bus to Ginkakuji-michi (銀閣寺道) or take a taxi straight to the Ginkaku-ji (銀閣寺). Careful with the pronunciation: The Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) sounds very similar and is more touristy, but it’s on the other side of town! From Nanzen-ji, you can head back either by bus (stop Nanzenji Sosui Kinenkan Dobutsuen Higashimon, 南禅寺・疏水記念館・動物園東門) or by the Underground (stop Keage Station 蹴上駅). Alternatively, you can also pay a visit to the nearby Heian Shrine and its garden.

The weather was mostly kind to us. Plus, according to the news, the autumn leaves in Kyoto are at their peak right now. We visited a few of the countless shrines and temples in the eastern part of Kyoto, just like loads of Japanese people who stormed the grounds armed with cameras.

Well then, have fun looking at the colourful leaves. 😁

We haven’t had much luck finding the autumn leaves in Yokohama so far. It was still a bit too early for that.

The maple and gingko trees in Kyoto have already turned and are glowing in vivid colours. Only the weather hasn’t really played along yet, because it was too overcast for nice photos today. If the sun comes out tomorrow, the hunt for Momiji pictures is finally on.

In the east of Kyoto you’ll find the Heian-jingu, a massive shrine complex built in 1895.

Wrapping around the shrine is the Shin-en, the Garden of the Gods. It’s 33,060 m² in size and features several ponds connected by pathways. Loads of cherry trees decorate the garden, making the grounds an absolute must-visit during cherry blossom season.

In the ponds, you can spot rather rare animal species like the yellow pond turtle or the Japanese pond turtle. The fish and turtles love being fed, and you can buy the right food right there on site.

Visiting the Heian-jingu itself is free, but access to the garden costs 600¥. It’s worth not getting there too late, as time really flies by there, and the garden closes at 5 pm.

On Yasaka Dori in Kyōto, just across the street from the Kennin-ji temple, you’ll find what’s probably the smallest Ukiyo-e museum in the world, the Ukiyo-e Small Museum. It belongs to Ichimura Mamoru, one of the last living artists of this genre.

Generally, Ukiyo-e refers to prints that are carved into several wooden blocks and then printed. A separate wooden block is used for each colour, pressed onto the paper with top-notch precision.

This museum caught our eye because of its quirky opening hours. A big board outside the door says the museum is open as long as the owner isn’t asleep - or until he just can’t be bothered anymore.

The museum was open when we were there, but sadly we didn’t have time to pop in. Maybe next time… The photo of the opening hours is definitely worth a look, though.