Best Temples in Kyoto – Part 3

Kyoto or the city of temples is the most historic city in Japan, renowned for its lovely ancient temples. It considers Japan’s most important religious city with over 1600 ancient temples and shrines. Japanese emperors ruled Japan from Kyoto for eleven centuries and these astounding temples were constructed during that period.  

There are 16 UNESCO World Heritage sites and 5 great Zen temples in Kyoto which are highly famous among visitors. We were blessed to live in this historic city and explore many great temples during our stay in Kyoto. Best temples in Kyoto part 1 and part 2 bought wonderful pictures and our lovely experiences in Kyoto city. This is part 3 of our ancient temple tour expedition in Kyoto.

1. Tenryuji Temple

Tenryuji Temple is one of Japan’s five most important Zen temples (the other four are Nanzenji, Daitokuji, Kenninji, and Tofukuji). It is a world heritage site in Kyoto’s Arashiyama area. Tenryuji is one of the most picturesque temples built-in 1339, by the ruling shogun Ashikaga Takauji. The current halls date back to 1868 since a fire destroyed the original buildings of Tenryuji temple.

Tenryuji has one of the finest gardens in Kyoto with wonderful mountain views. This lovely garden of Tenryuji Temple has survived for centuries in its original form. This elegantly landscaped garden is the best place to enjoy the beautiful sceneries around the temple.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

The walkway to the entrance of the temple runs through the highly famous, spectacular Arashiyama bamboo groves. Undoubtedly, you have seen the pictures of the epic view of these gorgeous Instafamous bamboo forests. It is the most popular, major attraction in the Arashiyama area. You can take the Sagano Scenic Railway to discover the spectacular scenic beauty of Arashiyama and its mountains. Then walk through the calm and serene bamboo forests to reach the Tenryuji Temple.

We visited Tenryuji on a warm, summer day. Entering the picturesque Arashiyama bamboo grove was one of the finest views we experienced in Japan. It gave a magical feeling of entering another world, with a peaceful environment far away from the city.

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The sky-high bamboo trees made a giant canopy that made the alley shaded from sunlight. We captured a lot of nice shots of the gorgeous bamboo groove. Walking through the majestic Arashiyama bamboo groove was a wonderful experience and it still remains an unforgettable golden memory.

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The walkway along the bamboo groove led to enter the Tenryuji Temple with a beautiful garden and a central pond surrounded by rocks.

Main Hall of Tenryuji

The main hall of Tenryuji is located facing pine trees and forested Arashiyama Mountains. The temple garden was mesmerizing with lush greenery and tranquil natural sceneries.

The charming beauty of the landscaped garden fascinated us and we enjoyed a lot the lovely sight of the temple garden bordered by the forests of Arashiyama.

If you are planning a trip to Arashiyama, be sure to make a visit to Tenryuji Temple. The sceneries around the temple are beautiful at any time of the year. It shows off nature’s natural color changes from thick green foliage to fierce autumn colors.

2. Nanzenji Temple

Nanzenji Temple is one of Japan’s five most important Zen temples, located in Kyoto’s Higashiyama area. The history of Nanzenji dates back to the 13^th century. Its original buildings were all destroyed during the civil wars and the present buildings are reconstructions. This is a large complex of temple buildings with an elegant garden.

Nanzenji is famous for its massive main entrance called Sanmon gate. This impressive, giant gate gives a feeling of a grand entrance to the visitors. There is a head temple and twelve sub-temples within the grounds. They separated by landscaped gardens with streams, trees, and paths to wander around.

Impressive Aqueduct

You’ll find an extraordinary, unique feature inside the Nanzenji Temple. It is a European-style aqueduct call as Suirokaku, which built in 1890. The aqueduct is 93 m long, 4 m wide, and 14 m high. This bridge reminds the ancient Roman architectural structures.

Suirokaku is a creation by the Japanese to carry water from Lake Biwa to supply water and electricity to Kyoto. Finding this impressive red brick aqueduct was something unexpected and surprising for us during our visit to Nanzenji Temple.

Since Nanzenji Temple is famous as an epic spot to see autumn leaves, we visited there in late November. We could see the sceneries around the temple was quite fantastic.

Whole the surrounding filled in fiery red colored maple leaves and the sight was especially appealing to the visitors. We enjoyed watching the colorful autumn foliage by walking around the pathways along with the sprawling garden.

If you are planning a trip to the Higashiyama area, Nanzenji Temple is one of the must-visit places during your trip.  The best time to visit there is mid-November when autumn colors reach their peak giving the best sightseeing opportunity.

3. Daitokuji Temple

Daitokuji Temple is one of the five great Zen temples located in northwest Kyoto. It has a long history and its origin dates back to the 13th century. It is an enormous temple complex consisting of more than 20 sub-temples. Each sub-temple has its own garden or a small bamboo forest. If you like peaceful temples with tranquil natural sceneries, Daitokuji will bring it all to life.

The special feature of the Daitokuji Temple is the elegant rocks and sand gardens. It is one of the best places in Japan to see a wide variety of Zen gardens.

It consists of a field of raked white gravel representing the universe, and also a tranquil moss garden. There are several picturesque traditional rock gardens where you can leisurely walk around admiring the sceneries.

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Autumn in Daitokuji

Daitokuji is especially famous for its wonderful autumn foliage. It is a large walled temple and maple trees form a canopy over the temple wall. There are lots of maple trees throughout the garden and the leaves reached the peak of their autumnal beauty around mid-November.

Depending on the season, you can enjoy different surroundings around the temple, while it is particularly spectacular to view during the fall. It is one of the best destinations in Kyoto to enjoy the marvelous fall colors. Don’t forget to include it on your bucket list, if you are visiting Kyoto in the autumn season.

4. Daigoji Temple

Daigoji Temple is a world heritage site located in Fushimi, Kyoto. It is an ancient temple founded in 874 and the five-storied pagoda at Daigoji Temple dates back to 951. This pagoda is the oldest wooden building in Kyoto which considers as a national treasure of Japan. The temple spreads in a vast area including the entire mountainside of Daigo San. The main temple grounds locates at the base of the mountain. It connects with several more temple buildings around the summit.

The lower Daigo area is located a short walk from the entrance and it is where most of the temple’s important buildings stand. Among them is the Kondo Hall or main hall, which displays a seated statue of Buddha.

Five Storied Pagoda in Daigoji

The 38 m tall, five-storied pagoda in Daigoji Temple is Kyoto’s oldest verified building. Although fire destroyed other buildings of Daigoji, this pagoda is the only structure to survive over the centuries.

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There is a trailhead to the Upper Daigo, which is located around the summit of the mountain. Daigoji’s original temple grounds are located on the summit and it takes about one hour to climb the steep trail through the forest. Those who make the climb are rewarded by the great views over the plain, as well as the view of more wooden halls set along the quiet forested mountainside.

Bentendo Hall in Daigoji

Without a doubt, the most popular place in Daigoji Temple is the Bentendo Hall. It is Daigoji’s most photographed building, located next to a scenic pond connected by a small bridge. It is especially beautiful around late November with autumn colors. The Vermillion color of the bridge dazzles among bright colors of maple leaves, attracting thousands of visitors to the temple.

This gorgeous red bridge connecting the small shrine of Bentendo hall in Daigoji is an iconic picture showing the autumn beauty of Japan. There is a really beautiful setting around the bridge with a lovely landscape in each season.

Daigoji Temple becomes especially appealing in both cherry blossom season and red leaves season. During the rest of the year, the temple has only a few visitors. Therefore, remember to visit Daigoji during the spring or autumn to capture beautiful shots of lovely sceneries around the temple.

5. Saihoji Temple

Saihoji Temple is a Zen Buddhist temple that is famed for its moss garden. It is commonly referred Kokedera, meaning “Moss Temple”. The temple was constructed to honor Amitabha Buddha in the 13^th century and opened to the public in 1928. It is one of Kyoto’s precious world heritage sites.

Moss Garden

The main feature of Saihoji Temple is its lovely moss garden spread in a vast area. The garden is arranged around the central golden pond.

Over 120 types of moss are present in the Saihoji garden, resembling a beautiful green carpet. This garden of Saihoji considers one of the special places of scenic beauty in Japan.

Unlike other temples in Kyoto, the entrance to the Saihoji temple requires a reservation made in advance. The entrance fee is 3000 yen, which is the highest in Kyoto. These regulations are quite important measures to protect the delicate moss from loads of tourists. If you are going to visit Moss Temple, you can reserve it online around two months before the desired date of visit.

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Here we have brought up the third part of the most beautiful temples we visited during our stay in Kyoto. If you are going to visit Japan someday, make sure to visit these lovely ancient temples. We have more beautiful pictures of ancient temples we visited in Kyoto and the best temples in Kyoto – part 4 will bring details of them.