Hukuisu restaurant’s past

Behind the former Tainan weather observatory were beautifully restored buildings surrounded by a Japanese garden. I removed my shoes and stepped over thick wooden boards into what was once a famous Japanese restaurant during the Japanese colonial period.

Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens

These Endo-period gardens weren’t just about the artistic arrangement of plants and lakes that covered the site, there was history attached. With signage both in Japanese and English I read that once an elaborate Chinese sign marked the entrance to the gardens, but it was destroyed by bombs in 1945.

Heading to a green spot on my ap

I arrived in Tokyo on a wet, slushy afternoon, but that didn’t keep me inside. I’d sat for the past couple of hours on a Shinkansen so headed to Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens close to where I stayed in Chiyoda-ku.

Ginkaku-ji

Close by the Path of Philosophy was Ginkaku-ji (or the Silver Pavilion) constructed as a villa in 1482 for a shogun. After the shogun’s death the grounds at the base of Higashiyama Mountain Range were converted into a temple.

Kyoto’s Eikando Temple

This temple was burned down during the Onin Wars, but reconstructed in 1497. Later other buildings were added to the grounds for another sect of Buddhism.

Japanese Gardens

Skirting one side of Kyoto’s Ninomaru Palace, was a Japanese garden redesigned in the early 1600s for an Imperial visit. Had the day been sunny, I would have spent more time admiring the rock arrangements and arched bridges that stretched over the pond. Arriving early, I at least avoided the usual crowds that visited this UNESCO World Heritage site.

Sho-ren-in

Sho-ren-in was known as one of the five Monzeki temples in Kyoto whose head priests were originally from the imperial family. It was one of the main lodgings in the mountain used by several well known priests.

Maruyama Park

Until 300 years ago, the area where Kyoto’s Maruyama Park stands today was merely shrubs and weeds. Early last century a landscape gardener, Jihei Ogawa, improved the gardens. The area was originally called Makuzugahara, but during the Kamakura period, it became known as a place of traditional Waka poems.

A Zen experience

At the entrance to Kyoto’s Kodai-ji Temple, was a familiar sight at Zen temples, mani wheels. A girl with itchy fingers fidgeted while I took a photo then spun the wheels.

Kiyomizu-dera’s final garden

It was time to leave Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-dera. I followed the crowd as people strolled out of the hillside complex.