While most people think “Cherry Blossom” when considering the Hanami season, it actually starts with the plum blossoms around the end of February. This is, a few weeks before the cherry blossoms, the actual beginning of spring in Kyoto.
Hanami (lit. “flower viewing”) is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers. “Flower” in this case almost always means cherry blossoms (“sakura”). From the middle of March to early May, the Japanese people …
Hina Matsuri, also called Doll’s Day or Girls’ Day, is a special day celebrated each year on March 3 in Japan. Platforms covered with a red carpet are used to display a set of ornamental dolls (Hina-Ningyō) representing the Emperor, Empress, …
As our architect and friend, Mr. Y participated to this year marathon, we decided to go to support him. The meeting spot (with other friends) was set at kilometer 30 along the Kamogawa river.
Waking up early on Sunday, we discovered the city under snow. This doesn’t happen so often in Kyoto so no hesitation — we called a taxi and went to visit various temples, South (Fushimi Inari Taisha, To-Ji), North-West (Kinkaku-Ji, Genko-An) and North-East (Ginkaku-Ji).
Tenryu-ji (天龍寺) is located in Arashiyama, a scenic area at the foot of the mountains on the western outskirts of Kyoto. It is the main Temple of the area and features one of the finest garden and pond in Kyoto.
Sanjūsangen-dō Temple in Kyoto has always attracted Kyudo (Japanese archery) enthusiasts. The original competition, called Tōshiya, started in 1606 and since this, an annual Kyudo contest has been held at the Temple.
Ninna-ji (仁和寺) is the head temple of the Omuro school of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism. It is located in western Kyoto, near Ryoanji and Kinkakuji. We usually visit all three temples on the same day.
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 . . .
