Kyoto part six - Nanzen-Ji and leaving Kyoto

After my visit to Ryoan-Ji, I decided to spend the afternoon at a place recommended by Evan. Nanzen Ji is the head temple of the Rinzaishu-Nanzenji school, on of the Zen sects and was founded in 1264 by the Emperor Kameyama who later became a monk.

It really was a beautiful place, with wide open gardens and many sub-temples (taccyu). It even had it's own aqueduct hidden amongst the trees, and also the impressive San-Mon (Main Gate) that stood 22 metres high, and afforded me some of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen.

The actual temple of Nanzen-Ji was equally beautiful with a more interesting garden than the one at Ryoan-Ji (it had more warmth in my opinion) and some of the most peaceful and contemplative sights I'd seen in Japan. The Hojo garden dates back to around the 16th Century and I could have sat there in the sun all day. In fact I spent about 2 hours in the area of Nanzen-Ji and it remains my favourite place in Kyoto.

Upon leaving Nanzen-Ji, I headed for Gion, the bustling shopping district. Here I managed to buy an English langauge version of Harry Potter and grabbed some Udon (thick white noodles) for lunch. I also spent most of the afternoon, people watching, still shocked that every other girl in Kyoto was stunningly beautiful.

I had a great time in Kyoto. I guess it's one of those things that you have to experience. I have only posted a handful of the photo's I took whilst I was there, and I apologise that is has taken so long to get everything up.