Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Japan - Day 7: Arashiyam, Tenryu-Ji, Ryōan-ji & Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto

26th November. We got up pretty early that morning. We knew how complicated and time-consuming the journey from Takanohara to Arashiyama is, so we had to depart early as to provide ample time for sight-seeing. We were so lucky that we managed to get away from the rush hour at the kintetsu train station got into the rapid express which took us straight to the Takeda Station. We arrived at Takeda just in time to hop onto the Hankyu line which travels all the way to Arashiyama.

Mount Arashiyama (嵐山) is a mountain across the Oi River on the western outskirts of Kyoto


Togetsukyō(渡月橋)

(Loosely translated as Moon Crossing Bridge)

The autumn colours on the slopes of Mt Arashiyama.
Tourists taking a boat ride along the scenic Oi river
Sagano bamboo forest
Sōgenchi (The Sōgen Pond, 曹源池)
Tenryū-ji (天龍寺), loosely translated as Temple of the Heavenly Dragon, is located in the Sagano district of Kyoto. It is the head temple of the Tenryu-ji branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism.


Ryōan-ji (竜安寺) rock garden - This simple yet remarkable garden measures only twenty-five maters from east to west and ten meters from south to north.
No trees are to be seen: only fifteen rocks and white gravel are used in the garden.
The karesansui style stone garden - the longer you gaze at it, the more varied your imagination becomes.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site - Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺)
Temple bell at Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺)


Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺)
Also known as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion - a popular name for one of the main buildings of this temple, which is properly called Rokuon-ji Temple.
Autumn foliage on the grounds of Kinkaku-ji

2 comments:

  1. So Beautiful Ming Na! It looks like autumn.. the trees are still so colourful... when i went, it was either gold or "naked" on them.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Claire:

    Yes, of all the temples and shrines I visited in Japan, the above temples are the most beautiful. Well, you can always go to Japan again too experience autumn and pick maple leaves. Make sure you invite me along...

    ReplyDelete

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