Discover a Quiet and Peaceful side of Kyoto
Located within the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City, this site was constructed for the Retired Emperor Go-Mizunoo.
If you apply for a tour, you can walk around the strolling-style pond garden while receiving a guided explanation.
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Zuiho-in is a sub-temple within the Daitoku-ji complex in Kyoto’s Kita Ward, offering a remarkably quiet and serene atmosphere. It features a *karesansui* (dry landscape) garden designed by the renowned Showa-era landscape architect Mirei Shigemori. The temple was founded by the Christian *daimyo* Otomo Sorin and is also famous for the “Kanmin-tei” garden, which contains a hidden stone arrangement shaped like a cross.
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Shoden-ji Temple is particularly famous for its garden, which incorporates Mount Hiei into its scenery; however, the approach to the temple is always quiet and offers a wonderful sense of nature, making it highly recommended.
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Shogoin Monzeki
Located about a ten-minute walk north of Heian Shrine is Shogoin Monzeki, a temple of high prestige where members of the Imperial family and the Sekkan-ke (regent families) served as head priests, and which also once served as a temporary imperial palace.
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Heian-jingu Shrine, built to commemorate the 1,000th anniversary of the capital’s relocation to Heian-kyo, is dedicated to Emperor Kanmu—the founder of Kyoto. While the shrine is distinguished by its massive torii gate, its gardens offer beautiful scenery that changes with the seasons. Kyoto boasts many magnificent gardens, but this is one I highly recommend.
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