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Published: April 13th 2024
Philosopher's Path
Cherry Blossoms at Philosopher's Path From Koyasan, I headed to Kyoto, the cultural capital of Japan.
Kyoto, with its rich heritage, is a land of stunning temples, beautiful walking streets and nature. For nearly a 1,000 years, till late 1800s, Kyoto was the capital of Japan (Tokyo became the capital in 1868).
It is one of the rare cities in Japan that was spared both the strategic bombing campaign of World War II and also being a target of the Atomic bomb. The story goes that while Kyoto was shortlisted as a target for the Atomic bomb, the War Secretary of USA at the time, who has spent time visiting Kyoto earlier insisted (successfully) to remove Kyoto as a target and replaced it with Nagasaki. Hence, even today, you find lot of cultural heritage in Kyoto intact.
This also implies that Kyoto is visited by many tourists. It is facing over-tourism, when I was here, certain areas in the Gion district was closed to foreigners as the local people were facing significant challenges.
So my first task was to build a negative list of all the popular tourist places which I knew will be severely crowded. And I chose to focus on
Honen-in Temple
Honen-in Temple watching Cherry Blossoms in Kyoto rather than its temples to avoid the crowds.
Upon arriving, I explored the nearby area, but got an early night's rest.
Next day, I first headed to the Philosopher's Path (Tetaugaku No Michi), a Cherry tree lined canal path meant for pedestrians. At about 2KM long, this path should take about 30 minutes to cover, but with Cherry Blossoms in bloom and the time to watch and photograph, I spent a couple of hours.
The Cherry Blossoms were lovely, even though the area was already getting crowded.
I headed to a temple nearby, called Honen-in Temple which I found while wandering randomly. It turned out to be a small but beautiful, serene place.
My plan was to get to the Kyoto Botanical Garden next, but as I walked towards it, I came across the Kamo River (Kamo means duck which I did see on the river) and its banks full of Cherry Blossoms.
Kamo River walkways are about 4KM long and the whole stretch was full of Cherry Blossoms. Because it was a Sunday, many local families were there, but because of the large area, I could find many
Honen-in Temple
Honen-in Temple spots to quietly enjoy the blossoms.
In the late afternoon, I finally got to the Kyoto Botanical Garden, an area of 24 Hectares and a beautiful space for nature.
The Cherry Blossoms were stunning here and the place not crowded. I also came across a plant called Kobushimodoki, a plant now extinct from the wild, but one tree remaining in the botanical garden.
Apart from Cherry Blossoms, the botanical garden had Tulips, Hydrangeas and other flowering areas.
I stayed on till evening to watch the Cherry Blossoms lit up, a new experience for me.
The next day, unfortunately turned out to be rainy. So I ended up exploring some nearby areas, but spent most of time doing chores I needed to finish.
For me, Kyoto is different than it is for most people. It is the place where I saw Cherry Blossoms in full bloom, it is one of the main reasons I came to Japan in this season. And Kyoto definitely put up a show.
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