Half-day Japanese Gardens
Overview
The history of Japanese gardens dates back to the 6-7th century when Buddhism and landscape gardening was brought from China. Between the 8-11th century, aristocratic residences tended to have a large pond in their landscape gardens. When Zen Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the 13th century, many zen temples started to build dry gardens which consist of stones, sand and plants. Thus Japanese gardens are divided into two types, one is a pond garden with water features and the other is a dry garden without water features. You will learn the difference between them and how Japanese people appreciate these gardens. You will visit 3 temples with different types of gardens.
Tour Information
Duration: 4 hours approx. 9:00-13:00
Meeting Point: Kyoto Station Central Gate
Transportation: City Bus
Itinerary: Meet at Kyoto Station - (city bus) - Ninnaji Temple - (city bus) - Daitokuji Temple - (city bus) - Kyoto Staton
What's included: Guide fee
What's not included: Entrance fee, Transportation fee, Meal
Detailed Itinerary
The tour starts at Kyoto Station and takes a city bus to our first stop Ninnaji Temple which was built by the Emperor Uda when he became a priest in 888. The temple is famous for its late blooming cherry trees called Omuro cherry. The North Garden is a beautiful pond garden repaired by Ogawa Jihei who is one of the most famous garden designers in Japan.
Our next stop will be a large temple complex, Daitokuji Temple which consists of 22 sub temples and is well known for one of the best temples to see a variety of zen gardens. You will visit two of the sub temples named Kotoin Subtemple and Zuihoin Subtemple. Before you enter the temple, you must be fascinated by a beautiful stone pavement which leads to the entrance. This temple was built by a feudal lord named Hosakawa Tadaoki. SInce he was an expert in the tea ceremony, this temple has wonderful tea rooms and tea gardens. The main garden is a quiet mossy garden with lots of maple trees. The other subtemple, Zuihoin, was founded by another feudal lord Otomo Sorin who was one of the early Christians in Japan. The outstanding dry gardens were designed by another one of the most famous garden designers Mirei Shigemori. You can enjoy tea served by a temple priest, if you lie.
You will head back to Kyoto Station by city bus.
