Temples in the Snow

Following the tea ceremony, we spent the afternoon exploring temples in the snow. We had bus passes and routes planned, and Leanne was on a mission.

Our first stop was the Heian Jingu Shrine. This was a short walk from the tea house and the temple stood out with its bright orange exterior. We took some great photos and walked around the main grounds. We had heard great things about its gardens and seen some amazing pictures, but with the snow coming down heavy we decided not to go in. To be honest, the gardens looked amazing in the spring time, with rows of cherry blossom lighting up the paths, but in the snow we saw empty branches and didn't want to spoil the vision...

We jumped on a bus and headed for the Ginkakuji Temple. Known as the silver pavilion, the temple stood out with its Zen gardens and forest walkway. It used to be a villa owned by a Shogun who retired there, to literally chill out! Designed with that in mind, it was extremely tranquil and relaxing. And while the temple was impressive, it was the gardens that really stood out. The path up into the mountains was like a forest walkway, and as we wondered up, you forgot you were in Kyoto. It felt like we were deep in the mountains, but still within view of the Temple and rock gardens below - simply amazing.

The snow didn't let up, but still we headed for the Honen-in Temple. It wad quite secluded in the mountains, just off the philosophers walk. The thing we loved about this temple was that we were literally on our own for our whole visit. We don't know if it was because of the location, or the snow, but we had the temple and all of the grounds to ourselves. It felt so mysterious. With the snow coming down heavy, we explored the grounds in complete isolation. With time to walk around and wonder, we could have been there in ancient times - not a soul in sight!

Then the skies opened up, and the snow just kept falling. We made a run for the bus stop.

We took a bus to the final temple of the morning, Eikan-do. This temple was so different, so ornate. With gold plated statues and vibrantly painted wood work, it really stood out. It also had awesome walkways which twisted into the mountain and led up to a tall Pagoda. We spent a good hour exploring the grounds and as we did, the snow started to ease off.

It was about 2:30 when we took our final bus on the day back to the centre of Kyoto in search of some well earned lunch...