Zen cuisine

There are some zen cuisine restaurants in Kyoto
But my recommendation is this!!

This is the entrance.

You will have zen cuisine in a private room.
The dish is served one by one.
You will have a quite atmosphere just enjoying the nice cuisine.

Please walk this path to the entrance door

Here!

This is the entrance

deep fried vegetables

This is not daikon but potato, can you see/

Please enjoy dinner while enjoying the flowers outside

This is made of sweet potato and somen noodles

All served here is made from vegetables
The soup is also taken from seaweed, Kobu.

Kanga-an( 5 min walk from the station Kuramaguchi, Karasuma line )
Reservation is required ( from 2 people )
lunch 5000 yen / person

Sanzen-in

If you have one more day to stay in Kyoto and are interested in seeing a scenery different from the ones in the temples in Kyoto city, why don't you visit Ohara area?  Sanzen-in, which is the most famous, welcomes your visit.

 Sanzen-in began its history as an accommodation of the monks who trained themselves in Enryakuji temple in Mt Hiei, founded by Saicho, or Dengyo Daishi.
After twist and turns, the temple moved here, Ohara area, in 1871.
In the moss-covered garden, you will find tiny stone statues with their faces showing  from the green moss. The garden was created making the most of the scenery of the mountain foot.

In the center of the moss garden, you will find Amida-hall, in which a statue of Amitabha and its following Bodhisattvas( or Bosatsu ) of Seishi and Kanon welcome you.
Since the second son of Emperor Horikawa came to be a monk of this temple, this temple has been one of the three Monseki jiin temples in Kyoto.
( Monseki-jiin ----  a member of Imperial family became a monk of.the temple )

Sanzen-in

From Kyoto station or Demachi Yanagi station : Kyoto bus  to Ohara
10 min walk from the bus stop
700 yen

zen meditation

One of the things you may think you should experience in Japan is Zen meditation.
Then, what is zen meditation?
According to the monk in a sub-temple of Tenryuji temple, who speaks English and gives you zen meditation in English,, "In a word, Zen meditation is a matter of balance and regulation"

"We regulate the body, we regulate the breath, and we regulate the mind. When body, breath, and mind have come into a state of harmonious balance and deep inner tranquility, we naturally awaken to our pure original spirit and realize the true value of our existence"

I joined Zen meditation there.
The monk told us to set our legs crossed. When we do so, my back stands straight. When my back is straight, he told me to try to breathe out slowly counting number, one... two....three...
Then breathe in slowly controlling our breath.
Soon, I could hear birds singing, the wind blowing. I tried not to think anything, Just listening to the natural sounds

Curiously, my mind was becoming peaceful and calm.

Someone says a zen garden reflects your state of mind. Facing the garden, after closing your eyes and trying to set your mind calmly, when you opened your eyes, the garden will be felt differently.

Why don't you try it?

Bishamon-do ( my favorites)

Bishamon-do is not well-known to foreign visitors. But it's located just one station away from JR Kyoto station.
In Autumn, the maple leaves show a beautiful scenery to the visitors.

Bishamon-do is dedicated to Bishamon-ten It is also called Tamon-ten, when it is set as one of the four guardian Deities protecting in each direction.
So when it is Tamon-ten, it plays a role as a guardian and when Bishamon-ten, it is  a deity of the wealth.

And it is said that it was too rich, and the money was too much to spend, So Bishamon-ten burned the money. One day, Bishamon-ten decided to give to people to save them( according to the monk.)
That's why Bishamon-ten is called a deity of the wealth.

This is also one of the five monseki-jiins, where a member of Imperial family or of high ranked court nobles became a monk
So the main hall used to be a residence of Emperor Kosei and was moved to here.

Another must-see things here are tricky pictures  When you walk in a room there, you will find many pictures depicted on the sliding doors.

At first, the dragon on the ceiling welcomes you. Please keep your eyes on the eyes of the dragon and walk slowly, and the eyes will follow you.

Then the next room, in the pictures, two men were sitting at the table. Please walk slowly from one corner to the other keeping your eyes on the table, and the length of the table will change.
In the other room, the carp in the wooden screen watches you. Please walk slowly with your eyes kept on the eyes of the carp, and the eyes will follow you too.

The garden welcomes you quietly.

The lucky charms with a centipede is available here. Centipede is said to be a messenger of Bishamon-ten.  If you attach the cham above a door or an entrance of your house, money or wealth may come.

Many maple trees wait for your visit.

 Bishamon-do
 admission : 500 yen
    location
    the nearest station JR Yamashina
                                 Yamashina  ( subway Tozai line )
 

Komyo-in ( my favorites)

Even in the crowded season when Kyoto attracts many visitors, Komyo-in temple doesn't change its posture.

This is one of the sub-temples in Tofukuji temple. It is also called the moss temple in the east.
The garden was designed by Shigemori Mirei, who is one of the greatest garden designers in modern time. The characteristics of his garden is "standing rocks"

The white sand represents the ocean, standing rocks shows droplets of the waves from the ocean.

The garden's name is " Hashin-no-niwa" the literal translation of which is the garden of the mind of waves.

This garden tells you that, without worldly desires, the moon ( your mind ) will be reflected on the water surface.

There are three sets of three stones which represent each Buddha, such as Buddha Amida, Buddha of medicine, and Sakyamuni.

The garden can be viewed from the tea house and shoin room as well as the main hall.

I was was there at the high season for Autumn leaves, The main temple, Tofukuji temple, which is very famous for its bridge from which you can view a beautiful Autumn leaves covering the valley, was so crowded with visitors. but here just a little out of the main precinct, you will find  quietness and want to stay longer here.

Komyo-in temple ( sub-temple of Tofukuji temple )
nearest stastion : Tofukuji (JR ) 
                             Tofukuji or Toba kaido ( Keihan line )
                             TOfukuji ( city bus ): 

kitchen knives

I was asked to take my guests  to some kitchen knife shops. The most famous shop is "Aritsugu" in Nishiki food market. But this time, I took them to really local shop owned by the expertise and artisan in that field.

Japanese kitchen knives has some kinds and we usually use one of them depending on what we will cut or cook. "Deba" is used to chop fish. "Nakiri" is used for cutting vegetables. "Santoku" is for general use. So the first knife to have is this.

Japanese kitchen knives consists of steel and stainless. Steel is sandwiched between stainless.

We visited Shigeharu, where the shop owner makes knives by himself., and Hayakawa which is located relatively near the main street Shijo. At these shops as well as Aritsugu, you can ask them to put your name on the purchased knives.

Along with knives, you should have whetstone to keep the knives in good condition. There are approximately three kinds of whetstone, depending on particle size.
The larger the number of particle is, the smaller one particle is. When the edge of the knife is nicked and very rusty, rough whetstone can fix it relatively quickly. Medium particle sized whetstone makes dull-edges  sharper. This process is most part of sharpening. Finishing whetstone eliminates tiny scratches caught during the sharpening process and finalizes the knife beautifully and keep the edge in good condition.

It is very interesting for me to know about this field.

Japanese kitchen knives has a good quality. If you are interested in cooking, why don't you drop in at such shops?

So quiet if you come here in the off-season

In Autumn, if you try to find a quiet place where you can enjoy beautiful Autumn color, it is a little difficult. Kyoto is such a good and popular season for sightseeing for the people from inside and outside of the country that many good sites are mostly dominated by sightseers.

But if you come choosing this season, you can surely have the scenery all  to yourself.

Actually when I visited here, I was the only one. I sat on Japanese veranda enjoying the time passing.

This temple was founded by the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, as a training and learning school. In 1667, the temple was moved here from the precinct of Sokokuji temple.

This garden has a lot of maple trees and in Autumn, the view from inside of the room is beautiful.

Behind the trees, there is a pond with bamboo trees next to it.

Enko-ji temple :