I feel the Zen.

[jemz]

It's a continued picspam from last time.

Next stop are Honen-in and Nanzen-ji



Honen-in Temple is a beautiful and quiet temple. It's off the Philosopher's Walk and is very tranquil despite it's proximity to the Silver Pavilion. I especially love the raked sand/rock gardens which I understand that the monks change from time to time.



Then entrance to Honen-in.




The sign!




The steps up the hill to the temple.




I almost sang the Yellow Brick road song from The Wizard of Oz but I didn't. I was really tempted to but there wasn't any yellow bricks and a lot of stairs.




Under the thatched gate was this view. *___*









Pond! I like ponds.





This struck me as very pretty. And there was moss on it!





I like how this wall is covered. It spoke years and years of standing firm and strong.

~*~*~*~

At the end of the Philosopher's Walk, we stopped at Nanzen-ji right when they were about to close. We dashed up to the part where they were doing the goshuuin and Tabs and I managed to get one. For free even though we offered to pay since one of the girls made a huge mistake and the one who did the seal in our books just gave them to us.

Sadly, we didn't get to see much of Nanzen-ji but we did gawk a bit at the gardens.



The view as we entered.



The Sakura blooming was absolutely gorgeous. *_______*




This is a really tall building. @_@




From the side.




So pretty.




The path we dashed up to get our goshuuin.





The gardens to one side that we glimpsed while dashing.







It was getting darker by the moment so we ended up not meeting up with rightsock, damiri, and seshat to watch the geisha dance in the Gion District despite being fairly close. I think I walked my feet off that day and I was cold.





I love Japan for the sheer beauty of their temples and shrines. I can see why so many people do these pilgrimages from temple to temple. It's such a spiritual journey that I can't help be affected by it. I definitely want to do a pilgrimage in Japan one day. *_____________*

Comments

[candy-future.livejournal.com]

So pretty!!

I really wish I had gotten the chance to see more temples. Or sakura blossoms. Lucky you!

[swtjemz.livejournal.com]

It was so pretty!

I know others who went and didn't really want to see a lot of temples and shrines but I really wanted to see more of the well-known ones since they have so much history that's seeping out into the atmosphere. Seeing the sakura was amazing. It was utterly gorgeous and I really recommend people going during that time to see.

I want to go in the fall and go look at the maple leaves turning color. *_______________*

[damiri.livejournal.com]

If we ever make it back to Japan, I really want to go see the Silver Pavilion and the Philosopher's walk. There were so many great things to see that we had to pick and choose. It's great that we can exchange pictures now, so we can each see things that the other people saw but we didn't. It helps with planning for next time!

[swtjemz.livejournal.com]

Oh, I definitely recommend Ginkakuji and the Philosopher's Walk as well as Kiyomizudera (which may be the next picspam).

I'm really glad I pushed shinigamitabris and lady_gemma to come with him because I know they loved the beauty of the walk as well. We bumped into sakon76 and kazuhiko04 at the beginning of our walk and they went off to see the Golden Pavilion, which is something I really want to see the next time I come back. I can't wait to see the other pictures from everyone else!

Yay for next time!

[next4exits.livejournal.com]

*0*!!! So pretty!!!

[sandpanther.livejournal.com]

The big gate at Nanzenji has a bit of a story associated with it. A famous robber (a bit of a Robin Hood) used to hide there. He was eventually caught, and boiled to death in oil. But the gate is famous for that.

I didn't know you were interested in doing pilgrimages. We will have to talk about that at some point. ^___^ I have lots and lots of research, and can recommend different ones, depending on the level of effort/time commitment you are able/interested in making.