Vignettes of the World
More than a thousand stone rakan statues populate the temple ground at the Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple. Being moss-covered, the stone statues create an ambience that is faintly eerie, but the unique facial expressions on the statues convey a quirky sense of comical cheerfulness at once. …
The golden glow of the Kinkaku-ji Temple comes from actual gold leaves plated on the exterior walls of its upper levels. My heart leapt as I saw it luminesce in glory and grace. The Kinkaku-ji Temple is a ten-minute bus ride from the Ryoan-ji Temple. …
I finally managed to wake up early enough for the morning sightseeing. The most anticipated temple of the day is the famous Kinkaku-ji Temple, also known as the Golden Pavilion. I planned on getting there when it opened at 9am. I wanted to see more, for sure, and since the Ryoan-ji Temple opens at 8am and it is in the vicinity of the Kinkaku-ji Temple, I decided to seize the chance and take a look at the Ryoan-ji Temple.
I headed west on a bus from Kyoto Station, Bus Route 26, and arrived at Ryoan-ji Temple a little after 8am. The admission fee to the Ryoanji-Temple is JPY ¥500.
Meaning “the temple of the dragon at peace,” Ryoan-ji Temple was originally the villa of the Fujiwara family during the Heian period. Fujiwara Saneyoshi built the first temple on site, the Daiju-in, and the large pond in the family estate in the 11th century.
The powerful warlord, deputy to the shogun, Hosokawa Katsumoto, acquired the land in 1450 and built the Ryoan-ji Temple. The Ryoan-ji Temple is a Zen temple. It is undisputed that the original temple was destroyed during the Onin War between the clans. Hosokawa Katsumoto’s son rebuilt the temple in 1488.
Perhaps of a more modern relevance is that Queen Elizabeth requested to tour the Ryoan-ji Temple in her visit to Japan in 1975. She had high praise for the beauty of this temple.
The Ryoan-ji Temple was tranquil. At that early morning hour there were very few tourists, and I could walk around in peace. There are three main sites to see: the famous Rock Garden, the large Kyoyochi Pond and the garden space.
Due to time constraints, I did not go inside the Ryoan-ji Temple because, like so many other temples, shoes must be taken off to go inside. The Rock Garden is a famous classic Zen garden.
Kyoyochi Pond, meaning “mirror-shaped pond,” comes with a half loop to walk around. There are three small islands on the pond. Two of these islands are reachable by walk.
There are many beautiful gardens in Ryoan-ji, but I could only do a very hurried walk amongst them. Suffice to say, her Majesty the Queen was certainly right about the Ryoan-ji Temple’s beauty.
In a later entry, I will be discussing the particularly famous Zen gardens in the temples of Kyoto. The creators of Zen gardens usually introduce some ideas about the imageries being presented at these gardens. But the experience of viewing a Zen garden is largely meditative, and despite the intentions of the creator, one is encouraged to find his or her own zen in the experience.
As karesansui, a Japanese dry garden usually comes in the imagery of pebbles as the water and includes natural elements such as moss, pruned trees and bushes. Sand and gravel with raked curves represent the ripples of the water. These imageries are meant to convey the very essence of nature. White sand and gravel are usually prominently featured on the ground. In Shinto, they represent purity.
In temples, the Zen gardens are usually viewed from a porch, as a seating area extended from the floor of the temple. The viewer of the Zen garden usually gets a unilateral view of the carefully curated gardenscape. At the Ryoan-ji Temple, the Rock Garden is best viewed from the centre of the Hojo.
The Ryoan-ji Temple’s rock garden features “a rectangular plot of pebbles surrounded by low earthen walls, with 15 rocks laid out in small groups on patches of moss. An interesting feature of the garden’s design is that from any vantage point at least one of the rocks is always hidden from the viewer.”
While classic Zen gardens, especially that of Kyoto, are believed to have arisen during the Muromachi era of the early 14th century (also the under the Ashikaga Shogunate ruling from Kyoto), the idea of stone gardens in Japan arose at least as early as the Heian period of late 8th to 12th century.
Red foliage lined the garden and the large pond. I had an exceedingly pleasant walk in Ryoan-ji Temple. The views were heartbreakingly beautiful, as if nature wrote a love poetry to itself.
The Wikipedia on Ryoanji.
The Wikipedia on Japanese Dry Garden.
The Jamia Mosque is the very first official place of worship for the Muslims in Hong Kong. Built in 1890, it signifies the beginning of Islam in Hong Kong. Also known as Jamia Masjid, the name of the mosque means the “mosque of congregation” in …
The very last sightseeing on my first day in Arashiyama was the Nonomiya Shrine. The Nonomiya-jinja Shrine is a Shinto shrine. Because of its nature as a native faith in Japan, it differs quite significantly from the elaborate temples of Arashiyama, both in terms of …
The grilled eel of Japan is likely the most suitable first course of introduction in Japanese food for those who are not accustomed to eating raw fish. “Unagi’ is the Japanese name for freshwater eel. “Anago” is also eel, but it refers to sea eel. Both kinds of eels are common ingredients for sushi.
Because grilled eel comes with a soy-based eel sauce that is somewhat heavily flavored, the grilled unagi is usually served over rice. The savory sweetness of the sauce and the oiliness of the fish go hand in hand with Japanese grain to yield heavenly satiation.
Since 1967, Unagiya Hirokawa has been grilling freshwater eels in Arashiyama for a good 60 years. The freshwater eels that the restaurant uses are farmed. The eels are cut and spread out into thin slices. They are then skewed and grilled over charcoal, which results in a slightly smoky flavor.
Unagiya Hirokawa is a Michelin-starred restaurant, and dining there requires reservation. I saw the staff there turning away walk-in requests. I made my reservation about three weeks before my arrival in Kyoto. At the time of reservation, the restaurant will ask for a deposit, the amount of which will be deducted from your bill when you pay for your meal at the restaurant. Even at three weeks’ advance, I could only reserve for a very late lunch at 2pm.
Located on the main throughfare of Arashiyama, the restaurant has rebuilt its dining house in 2009.
After checking in with my reservation, I was led into a brightly-lit dining room featuring large windows that let in generous natural light. It was a late hour for lunch and the patrons were gradually leaving. I sat at a corner table and enjoyed a quiet time for my mind. I had been touring for about five hours without resting. My body needed hot food and my mind needed just a brief departure from the stimulations of the fall scenery. Arashiyama was so breathtakingly beautiful that it overwhelmed me.
I must have ordered a mid-ranged lunch option and the food came quickly. I noticed that the Japanese visitors at the nearby table ordered the large lunch set and they devoured it within 15 minutes. My food came in a mouthwatering presentation – a platter of goodness laid out carefully in the delicate Japanese style that I had expected.
My lunch set came with a serving of pickled vegetables, soup, a serving of sashimi, an additional serving of grilled unagi, a small serving of the unagi sauce, and, of course, the grilled unagi don (“don,” meaning donburi, is the Japanese rice bowl dish).
I worked through the food slowly. The soup was very flavorful with turnip and mushrooms. Everything tasted quite good, but my first sashimi in Japan was not particularly memorable. I figured that the Unagi really is the star of the show here. With much anticipation I started savoring the unagi don.
To be honest, I thought the unagi was not as good as I had wished for. There were some significant strengths, for sure. The sauce was certainly a house specialty because it was quite a few shades lighter than the usually too-thick, too-heavy and too-sweet unagi sauce in the stores, or in the Japanese restaurants that I was accustomed to. As a result, you can taste the freshness and smokiness of the eel.
What was rather underwhelming for me was that the eel had a texture that was simply too soft and too fluffy. Many bloggers say that the eel “melts in your mouth,” and it certainly does, but maybe it melts too quickly. As a result, I did not derive the usual sense of satiation from the chewing and the lingering flavors in the palate.
After lunch, I walked around the busy town area. I found a food truck and munched on a Japanese snack. The Taiyaki came in red bean and chocolate flavors and I had one of each. The day was waning, and I figured that I could only do so much in a day. My last stop would be the Nonomiya Shrine, close to the bamboo grove.
Unagiya Hirokawa was the only Michelin starred restaurant that I visited in Japan. There is no question that Japan is a haven for great food, both for local Japanese cuisine and for foreign cuisine. In a later entry I shall be sharing my foodie experiences in this Kyoto trip.
Inside Kyoto, Unagi Hirokawa – Arashiyama.
The Food Republic, What are the Differences between Freshwater and Seawater Eel?
Perhaps the way that I toured Arashiyama did not comport with the spirit of Zen. By this time, at around noon or so, I had toured the bamboo grove, the Tenryu-ji Temple, the Okochi-Sanso Villa and the Jojakko-ji Temple. Then I was rushing to Nison-in …
After touring the Okochi-Sanso Villa, I made my way to the Jojakko-ji Temple, also in the vicinity. In terms of natural environ, the Jojakko-ji Temple brings to the large selection of temple visits in Arashiyama another kind of aura. The red foliage at Jojakko-ji Temple …
Along the theme of autumn foliage, I visited the Xianhu Botanical Park in Shenzhen a couple days ago. The day of visit is January 16, 2025. There is an admission fee of RMB 15 yuan for entrance between 8:00am and 6:00pm. The park is open from 6am to 9:30pm.
Photo: At the entrance, namely “the most beautiful carpark in China”
Meaning “The Fairy Lake” in Chinese, the Xianhu Botanical Park spans an enormous area of 546 acres. On the east of the park stands Shenzhen’s tallest Wutong Mountain. On its west lies the Shenzhen Reservoir. This fact alone shows the park’s significance as a site of both natural conservation and research.
It takes time to see the most significant features in the park (perhaps a whole day). Those who visit the park for religious purposes would certainly head to the Hongfa Temple, which is a large temple complex.
The other prominent features of the Xianhu Botanical Park are the three bodies of water, namely the Shaluo Pond (see below), the Fairy Lake (Xianhu) and the Mirror Lake (Jinghu). For photography, likely the Fairy Lake, which is the largest, will feature the most beautiful colors.
Besides the lakes, there are some themed sections of the park that are interesting. For example, there is a cacti and succulent plant section, a rare tree arboretum, a fern corner, herbal garden, and bonsai garden and rhododendron section etc. The park focuses its efforts to the research and protection of tropical and subtropical species.
You can certainly see how much this park offers in terms of attractions. Therefore do wear very comfortable shoes and prepare for quite a bit of walk there. There are leisure facilities in the park as well, such as a coffee shop close by the Fairy Lake that offers light refreshments.
We had very limited time, so we only opted for the small and closer pond to visit. At the Shaluo Pond, there is a loop to go around the waters to see the different views. The walk is quick, for only about a half hour.
At this time of the year, the Bald Cypress at the pond seems to have waned in its colors. We enjoyed the views anyway, and this park is so significant that I would consider coming back to see its other features.
As opposed to the Lianhuashan Park in Futian, the Xianhu Botanical Park is at an even larger scale. In Lianhuashan Park, you are within a beautiful nature carved out from an otherwise urban landscape. The Xianhu Botanical Park, on the other hand, is more like an ecosystem on its own. It is comparable to a national park.
From the entrance, the walk to the Shaluo Pond takes about 20 minutes. It is a much smaller area than the Fairy Lake (Xianhu), but the ambience is beautiful. We saw quite a bit of wildlife there, including fish and birds.
The park is so big that there are buses running on site to take visitors around. The buses cost RMB 3 yuan per trip. While these buses run through some of the key sites in the park, a whole lot of the park area is not covered by the bus route. We walked to Shaluo Pond, but took the bus back to the entrance point.
In comparison, the Lianhuashan Park in Futian would take about a half a day to see most of the features. The Xianhu Botanical Garden would take a whole day. It really is that much bigger. There was also almost no community life in the Xianhu Botanical Garden. Properly considered, the Xianhu Botanical Garden is a site for local tourism.
The Xianhu Botanical Park is located in Liantang, Shenzhen, in a very convenient location. For Hong Kong visitors, the way to go is to take Green Top Minibus Route 59S and get off at the Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Crossing. This minibus picks up passengers at the main minibus terminal just outside of the Sheung Shui MTR Station. Do note that even on weekdays there are always long lines for this minibus. The minibuses do come in a continuous stream, so be prepared to wait for just 15-20 minutes to get on one.
Once you cross the boundary, follow instructions to take the subway at the Liantang Checkpoint Station. Then get off at the next stop at Xianhu Lu Station (Xianhu Road), and walk about 10 minutes to the entrance of the park.
The Hong Kong Wetland Park is a large conservation park featuring mangroves in Tin Shui Wai, northwestern Hong Kong. On this day I went to the Wetland Park for red foliage photography. The day of visit is January 17, 2025. The admission fee for the …