Gardens of Kyoto (Part 2) – stroll gardens
In the first part I presented one type of Japanese gardens: Zen gardens of Kyoto, so this post is about the rest of them but mainly stroll gardens. And as words are useless to describe their beauty, this post is rather a photo essay which I hope you will enjoy 🙂
Imperial Palace gardens
Nijo Castle Kyoto
Ninomaru stroll garden with pond is a typical Momoyama period garden and it is part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site that is the Nijo castle
Ginkaku-ji Temple (the Silver Pavilion)
The stroll garden with pond was chosen to be constructed at the base of Daimonji mountain due to its extraordinary beauty. This is completed by the dry landscape garden and it is one of the most famous sights of Kyoto
Kinkaku-ji temple ( the Golden Pavilion)
A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, this is probably the most famous image of Kyoto and for good reasons. The garden is a stroll garden with a pond that makes use Kinugasa mountain as its backdrop. It is a garden that completely changes with the season, each sight being equally beautiful in its own right. The Rokuon-ji ( the original name of the temple) garden is designated a historical place and a place of special scenic beauty.
Ninna-Ji Temple
UNESCO World Heritage Cultural site. The garden of Ninna-ji temple is another stroll garden with pond, from Edo period this time. This is completed with a partial dry landscape garden, a five story pagoda and a tea house
Gion Corner garden
Chion-in
The vast site of Chion-in temple includes 2 stroll gardens: Hojo garden and Yuzen Garden but the whole compound looks like a massive garden itself.
Heian Shrine
There are in fact two stroll gardens with ponds on the site of the shrine. One of them in particular is of incredible beauty during Sakura due to its myriad of weeping cherry trees. The garden is also lit and open for night viewing and often concerts are also held there during this period.
Shoren-in temple
Another beautiful stroll garden with pond and a place of serene beauty, often skipped by tourists due to its small size. However this makes it even more tempting to visit at it s very peaceful and zen like even in peak periods.
Ryoan-ji temple
This is a boating pond stroll garden, formerly known as Mandarin Duck Pond. The scenery is just simply amazing, weather the water lilies are in full bloom, the cherry trees or the yukiyanagi (white flower bushes). It is a place of pure serenity.
Koto-in temple
Koto-in is a zen temple temple and the garden is rather a Karesansui type garden (dry landscape garden) known as the Garden of Maple.
Shoden- Eigenin temple
This is a very small temple in Gion which is open for public only in certain occasion. The tea garden is just a little zen corner in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Gion.
Eikan-do Zenrin-ji Temple
The temple is situated along the Philosphers Path, at its southern end. Its garden, although mostly famous for its autumn colours, offers an excellent stroll being a real oasis of calm and quiet.
Kennin-Ji temple
Although the zen gardens are the most famous at this temple, the whole compound is a beautiful big garden
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