#traditional japan

Watoya - A Guesthouse Only Ninety Minutes Away From Tokyo

Watoya is a guesthouse located ninety minutes away from Tokyo by car. Guests can experience the old Japanese style of life, such as using a traditional cooking stove in this great, comfortable accommodation.

https://matcha-jp.com/en/5907

4 days of kumano kodo pilgrimage - end view

Monday 9th October 2017. 16:00 Kyoto Japan.

I’ll be making the move to Osaka in a few weeks and one thing I’ll miss most about Kyoto is my old Japanese house and my bedroom I’ve called home for the last year. The golden hour light poured into my room and made me feel so content and happy. I was feeling quite reflective; as one chapters closes another opens (as the saying goes).

Sunday 8th October 2017. 13:00 Kyoto Japan.

We watched some traditional Japanese dancing whilst we strolled through the beautiful Arashiyama.

Wednesday 4th October 2017. 19:00 Kyoto Japan.

Me and Jake went to Shimogamo Jinja for Meigetsu Kangensai Festival - 名月管絃祭. A festival celebrating the full moon. We were lucky that it was a clear night, we waited about an hour or so for the moon to rise over the temple and grounds but it was definitely worth the wait. It looked magnificent.

Tuesday 3rd October 2017. 14:00 Kyoto Japan.

Honen-in Temple 法然院 

My friend Jake from the UK has finally arrived in Japan and he is staying with me for 3 weeks. I will have to go to work during this time but I have this first week off which gives us to time to hang out, catch up and explore Kyoto together. This was my first time at this temple although it is so close to my house. It was deserted and a pleasure to walk around. I’m glad this was Jake’s first visit to a temple in Japan, it was beautiful.

Established in 1680 to honor Honen (1133-1212), the founder of the Jodo sect, the temple is especially worth visiting in April for its cherry blossoms and again in the fall for its magnificent maples. Honen-in also has a small camellia garden visible from Hojo Hall.

The Hojo Hall, which houses paintings by Kano Mitsunobu, is opened to the public only in the first two weeks of April (1-17) and the first week of November (1-7), when the temple becomes very popular with Kyoto visitors.

Honen-in often stages small exhibitions by local artists and musicians in a small hall to the right of the main Sanmon gate. In fact, in recent years there has been over 100 events a year held at the temple including symposiums, Western and Japanese music recitals and tea gatherings.

Reaching out to the wider community has been a policy of the abbot Shinsho Kajita, who became the head monk after the death of his father in 1984. Honen-in also sponsors nature walks in the area through the Honen-in Mori no Kyoshitsu.

Sunday 5th November 2017. 17:30 Osaka Castle Park.

We spent a couple of hours mooching around the park and we came across the festival parade leaving the park grounds. It was super dark but the carts looked so cool all lit up. There was so much energy, the men were tipping the carts up and down, running backwards and forwards, chanting, singing, everything. Such a vibe. Nice Sunday.

Sunday 22nd October 2017. 16:15 Kyoto Japan.

After a short visit to Gion I cycled further down the river to Kiyomizu-dera. It’s been a while since I visited here but as the sun was setting over Kyoto there was no better time ti visit this awesome temple. This is one of the best places in Kyoto to view Koyo (紅葉). Koyo refers to the phenomenon of changing autumn colours, mainly when it occurs to the leaves of deciduous broad-leaf trees before the leaves fall to the ground. Although I think I was a little early with my visit.