Sakura
It's that time of year again. Spring has sprung, the weather is bearable (for the time being) and the cherry blossoms are out. The occasion prompted another trip to Kyoto, this time to Arashiyama on the western edge of the city. This time, it was only a one-day trip, which was much easier on the wallet, but a great time nonetheless. Due to some strange scheduling, I had nearly a whole week off work, most of which was spent in blessed indolence, and early on Thursday the fifth, we set out on the shinkansen once more. We arrived in Arashiyama just before lunchtime, and wandered towards Togetsu-kyou, a rather unremarkable bridge, which led across the Katsura river to Nakanoshima Park, an island in the river covered in cherry trees. The centrepiece was a massive shidarezakura (weeping cherry)...
...surrounded by many more trees, festival stalls, and hanami revellers on blue tarps getting tanked in the sakura snowstorm. Thanks to said stalls, we enjoyed a hearty lunch of takoyaki and steamed pork buns, washed down with vending-machine coffee. Suitably fortified, we went for a wander around, snapping pics all the way.
From there, it was back across the bridge to the local temple, Tenryu-ji, another major centre of the Rinzai school of Zen. Built on the former site of Emperor Go-Daigo's villa, it was founded after a priest had a dream of a heavenly dragon (tenryu) rising from the river, and decided to build a temple to appease the Emperor's spirit. The buildings, of course, are more recent, but the gardens date to the 14th century.
The sakura wasn't the only thing blooming, either. Out the back of the temple grounds, there was a path through a bamboo forest leading to Kameyama Park...
...which had fantastic views of the Katsura river running through the surrounding sakura-covered mountains.
Apparently, this park also has wild monkeys roaming around it that occasionally terrorise little kids, but we didn't see any, so we continued on our way. To the north, there are a series of smaller temples throughout the countryside, so we thought we'd see how many we could see before closing time...
...but, unfortunately, my phone's battery ran out at the first one, Joujakkou-ji. Maybe someday I can add some more to this one. :(
Anyway, after another temple or two, it was getting dark, so we made our way back. A stop at Kyoto station was in order for ramen, gyoza and beer, and soon enough it was back home on the shinkansen again.
As a postscript, and one last photo, the following day was another new experience, my first hanami. The school had organised a little get-together in Tsurumai Park, just down the road, and much boisterous fun was had with several hundred other locals on blue tarps under the sakura.
...surrounded by many more trees, festival stalls, and hanami revellers on blue tarps getting tanked in the sakura snowstorm. Thanks to said stalls, we enjoyed a hearty lunch of takoyaki and steamed pork buns, washed down with vending-machine coffee. Suitably fortified, we went for a wander around, snapping pics all the way.
From there, it was back across the bridge to the local temple, Tenryu-ji, another major centre of the Rinzai school of Zen. Built on the former site of Emperor Go-Daigo's villa, it was founded after a priest had a dream of a heavenly dragon (tenryu) rising from the river, and decided to build a temple to appease the Emperor's spirit. The buildings, of course, are more recent, but the gardens date to the 14th century.
The sakura wasn't the only thing blooming, either. Out the back of the temple grounds, there was a path through a bamboo forest leading to Kameyama Park...
...which had fantastic views of the Katsura river running through the surrounding sakura-covered mountains.
Apparently, this park also has wild monkeys roaming around it that occasionally terrorise little kids, but we didn't see any, so we continued on our way. To the north, there are a series of smaller temples throughout the countryside, so we thought we'd see how many we could see before closing time...
...but, unfortunately, my phone's battery ran out at the first one, Joujakkou-ji. Maybe someday I can add some more to this one. :(
Anyway, after another temple or two, it was getting dark, so we made our way back. A stop at Kyoto station was in order for ramen, gyoza and beer, and soon enough it was back home on the shinkansen again.
As a postscript, and one last photo, the following day was another new experience, my first hanami. The school had organised a little get-together in Tsurumai Park, just down the road, and much boisterous fun was had with several hundred other locals on blue tarps under the sakura.
posted by Ia Ftaghn at 10:27 pm
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