November 6, 2013

Kyoto : The Philosopher's Path

Walking leisurely through Kyoto was definitely one of the best thing I did throughout this trip. It's a good way to savour the atmosphere and life of the city. Most of the time, I followed the suggested routes on Kyoto Walks. You can get the prints at the Tourist Information Center in Kyoto Station.

 I took a look at the row of shops lining up the street outside Ginkaku-ji after I was done exploring the UNESCO Heritage Site. A lot of interesting stuffs.





One thing I noticed there (and other shops in other areas in Kyoto) was that the Japanese loves green tea. Everything is green tea. Like everywhere I went, I saw something which are green tea flavoured.





After a cup of green tea, with Kyoto Walk guide armed in my hands, I headed to the Philosopher's Path.




 you can always ride this if you don't wanna walk

The path follows a canal which is lined by hundreds of cherry trees. Too bad it's still winter during my visit. Imagine how beautiful the path would be in April, during which the cherry trees reach full bloom in early spring. I could already foresee how crowded the path would be.




The path is approximately two kilometres long, ending at Nanzen-ji neighborhood. It's not that far and the weather was nice, so it was a perfect day for a walk.




 


There's benches at some areas so occasionally I stopped for drinks and snacks while allowing my tired legs to rest. There weren't many people walking that day so it was kinda quiet. Just perfect. The perfect setting for me to ponder about life while admiring the beautiful sceneries.







The walk wasn't boring at all as there's restaurants, cafes, and boutiques along the path, as well as small temples and shrines a short detour from the canal. I stopped at a few temples but when I looked back at the photos I took, I forgot which one is which one. hahaha...




Ok I remember this is Otoyo Shrine cos I can differentiate a temple and a shrine.
 









I didn't walk until Nanzen-ji. Instead, I took a short cut to the main road, and headed to Heian Shrine. Will write about it in another post ok.
 

2 comments:

just.HY said...

hi rara! i baru balik dari kansai. miss kyoto the most. tiba2 rasa a byk benda yg termiss aritu sbb hujan dan public holiday! T___T

rara said...

@john: dah tgk ur pics kat sana. cantik!! hmm.. I rasa I pon kena repeat la pegi time sakura or autumn nnt.