The Ryōan-ji (龍安寺) garden is considered one of the (if not the) finest surviving examples of kare-sansui (“dry landscape”), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations . . .
Ginkakuji (銀閣寺) aka the Silver Pavilion, is a Zen temple located at the Northern part of Kyoto’s eastern mountains (Higashiyama). I found the place is particularly beautiful in Autumn, but it is also a delight at other seasons.
Nijo Castle was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of theEdo Period (1603-1867). After the Tokugawa Shogunate fell in 1867, Nijo Castle was used as an imperial palace for a while
Tofukuji (東福寺) is a large Zen temple located around 10-15 minutes away from the house. It is particularly famous for its spectacular autumn colors and people come from all over Japan to visit Tofukuji in Autumn.
The Saihoji Temple belongs to the Rinzai school of Japanese Buddhism.
The temple is more commonly known as Kokedera, the Moss Temple, referring to the temple garden’s estimated
