Hanami @Ninna-ji Temple (仁和寺)

Ninnaji(仁和寺) is one of 17 world heritage sites in Kyoto. It was founded in 888, but, like most historic buildings in Kyoto, it suffered repeated destruction in wars and fires over the centuries.

Ninnaji used to be a monzeki temple, which has an abbot (top priest) from the imperial family by tradition. This tradition was over in Meiji period (about 100 years ago.)



In the map, red circle is where Ninnaji-is and blue circle shows Kyoto station.

Ninnaji(仁和寺) is one of my favorite temples in Kyoto. ;D It's nice to visit here anytime in a year, but this temple is famous for having a beautiful cherry garden in their backyard.


This cherry garden is noted for a rare, locally cultivated type of cherry tree, named Omuro Cherry. The blossoms of Omuro cherry trees open relatively late in a hamami season (usually a week later than other kinds of cherries.)


You may have noticed that Omuro chrry trees are lower than other kinds.



For example, this is a weeping cherry tree in Arashiyama.

You can see a person taking a photo on a left-hand-bottom corner a bit. :D

This is one of the reasons many people visit this special cherry garden every year.








In Kyoto, some people tease a girl with a button nose by calling her 'You are a Omuro cherry' because in Japanese we have a homonymous word 'hana' for both 'flower(花)' and 'nose(鼻).'

Oh, well, it's not bad to be like Omuro cherries, is it? They are so beautiful!!

Hanami @Heian Shrine (平安神宮)

Hanami (花見) literally means 'flower viewing', but in Japan now it means 'viewing chrry blossoms in blooms.' Last year I put some photos of Philosopher's path & Gion. This year I introduce you other famous spot for cherry flowers. ;D

Let me talk about Heian Shrine today.

Heian Shrine is Shinto shrine (Shinto is Japanese original religion) was built in 1895 for the 1,100th anniversary of the establishment of Kyoto. So it's a pretty new shrine in Kyoto. Its main building is designed to imitate the main office of the original Kyoto Imperial Palace built in 8th century on a three-fourth scale.

The shrine is dedicated to Emperor Kanmu (the 50th) and Emperor Kōmei (121st). The former moved the capital to Kyoto, and the latter was the last emperor who lived in Kyoto as his son Emperor Meiji moved the capital to Tokyo.

Well, maybe it's too much explanation... I shall talk about the garden. Heian Shrine has a gorgeous garden famous for weeping cherry trees behind the main building.


Weeping cherries @Heian shrine are known for their bright colour.




This is a colour of weeping cherry we normally think of.


You can see the colour of flowers @Heian Shrine is much stronger.




The garden of full of pink, and full of people in this season.



It's said that there are more than 600 hundred kinds of cherry trees in Japan.

The number is growing each year due to breed improvement & find of new breeds.



Here you find about 10 kinds of different cherries including green cherry. :D



'Cherry flower & water' are our favorite scenery. We never get bored of seeing cherry blossoms in blooms, though we see them every year.

Tea experience @Ran Hotei (らん布袋)

If you walk 5 minutes from Nijo Castle in Kyoto, you'll find a small cafe called 'Ran Hotei' (sorry, but only in Japanese) in Sanjo Shopping Street. This machiya cafe (machiya=町屋 are traditional wooden townhouses found a lot in Kyoto) is a place where you can experience Japanese tea ceremony. (2,500yen per person & advance reservation required.)



The grand floor is a cafe space. So you may not believe you can learn about tea ceremony here. But when you go up to the first floor, you find table-style tea ceremony space.



A formal tea ceremony is held in a room with tatami mats, but these days even Japanese people find it difficult to sit on tatami floors for a long time.

Here, you can see tea ceremony and ask questions sitting on a chair.



But before start, we go downstairs and visit the small garden in the back.



This garden with wooden bench is a waiting place. We come & wait here till the ceremony starts, but it's also a place where we forget our daily life and get ready for the ceremony.

Here, our host, Mr. Randall Channell explains what tea ceremony is, and brief procedures of tea ceremony and so on.

I shall call him 'Randy sensei' from now on. 'Sensei=先生' means 'teacher' or 'instructor' in Japanese.


Randy sensei is Canadian, and he started his tea study in 1985 and and received his first teaching license in 1996. He often shows up in media including TV and is pretty famous now throughout Japan. For more details of his life, please check his homepage.


After hearing his explanation and having Q&A Time, we go back upstairs. Then there waiting lovely sweets. Can you guess what the motif is? It's a Japanese medlar (枇杷)!! Sweets are definitely one of the most enjoyable things in tea ceremony (for me. ;P)


And now, he starts making tea. This tea making procedures is called 'otemae=お点前.' We see his otemae enjoying the sweets. If we have any questions, we are free to ask.


Even in Kyoto, there are a few places we can experience tea ceremony in English. Randy sensei is a native English speaker & an associate professor of Urasenke school. To solve your questions about tea ceremony, this is a right place to come.


Woops! Who is it?

Well, you can actually make a cup of tea by yourself @Ran Hotei.


After the tea ceremony, my friend and I stayed nearly an hour at cafe downstairs. (Yes, I must admit I have a piece of chocolate green tea cheese cake.) This cafe has both tatami space and table & chair space.




Although this building was totally renovated, you still find origina beams and walls.　A Japanese old machiya & art deco decoration matched well.


And it's fun to see antiques. This is a stair-type drawer or stairs with drawer function?? I don't know what you call it in English. If you have any ideas, please let me know!!