Discover a Quiet and Peaceful side of Kyoto
Daisen-in, a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji in Kyoto’s Kita Ward, is renowned for its *hojo* (abbot’s quarters) building—which features the oldest *tokonoma* (alcove) and *genkan* (entrance) in Japan—and for its dry landscape garden, a National Special Place of Scenic Beauty that epitomizes the Muromachi period.
Location
Agata Shrine in Uji is an ancient shrine that guards the *kimon* (northeast, or “demon gate”) of Byodo-in Temple and is home to a Japanese hackberry tree estimated to be 500 years old.
Location
While Zuiho-in is noted for its two dry landscape gardens, visitors can also view the tea room known as Ansho-ken.
There is a tea house called “Yushin-tei” on the western shore of the North Pond. It is said that this tea house was relocated from the Konoe family’s estate.
This strolling pond garden features both a North Pond and a South Pond; the North Pond incorporates Mount Higashiyama as borrowed scenery and boasts a stone bridge known as “Rokumai-bashi” (Six-Slab Bridge) as a highlight.
The South Pond is famous for its “suhama” (pebble-strewn beach area) and the “Yatsuhashi” (zigzag bridge) situated beneath a wisteria trellis.
During my visit, a heron had come to spend time at the pond.
