Cycling the Golden Pavilion to Myoshinji Temple

自転車で金閣寺から妙心寺へ

Fall has arrived in Kyoto, and it is perfect for temple-hopping and cycling.

This route takes in four of the best temples in Kyoto:

Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion), Ryoanji Temple, Ninnaji Temple, and Myoshinji Temple.

For more information, in Japanese (with a link to an English page), here is a page on cycling the area of western Kyoto that is dotted with many temples.

Ride Kinkakuji, ride.


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Myoshinji Temple Kyoto Illumination

妙心寺お精霊迎え

Myoshinji Temple in western Kyoto will illuminated on the evenings of August 9 and 10.

The lights go on at 6 pm and will stay on until 10 pm.

The zen temple was founded in 1337 and is a vast walled complex of many sub-temples.

It is a beautiful night.

For those cycling, parking is available in and around both the north and south gates.

Asics running shoes, now up to 40% off!



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Emperor and Empress Visit Kyoto

両陛下、妙心寺を訪問　国際会議出席へ

We were wondering what all the cops were doing at 8:30 pm in front of the Imperial Palace and Doshisha University - two to a corner - on a Friday night.

Then, it was helicopters circling overhead the next morning.

Answer: their royal majesties were in Kyoto over the weekend.

The Emperor and Empress rode a special bullet train down from Tokyo to visit Myoshinji Temple and, up north, the International Convention Center.

The Emperor's ancestors - along with most of Japan's aristocracy - decamped from Kyoto to Tokyo in 1868.

Thus, he alas speaks in standard Japanese and not the mellifluent dialect of Kyoto, as his predecessors did for some 1,000 years.

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Azuki-gayu Festival at Torin-in Temple Myoshinji Temple

東林院・小豆粥で初春を祝う会(沙羅双樹の寺・宿坊・東林院

At Myoshinji Temple azuki-gayu, a vegetarian dish often served in Zen temples, will be available to the general public from January 15 - 31.

For Kyotoites, eating azuki-gayu rice porridge at the beginning of the year is thought to keep you healthy.

At Myoshinji Temple's Torin-in sub-temple, the dish will be available for 3,700 yen. That comes with plum tea and shojin ryori vegetarian fare.

Reservations are not required.


Information

11:00-15:00

Access: JR Hanazono Station

Tel: 075 463 1334.

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Cycling through Myoshinji Temple Kyoto

自転車で妙心寺へ

The stones are bumpy, but it is a quick shortcut.

Myoshinji Temple is a city within walls in western Kyoto.

It is also a large chunk of real estate.

For those who need to go from one side to the other, it is much quicker to walk or cycle through the temple grounds.

Fortunately, Myoshinji is open twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year.

Students en route to Ritsumeikan University from Hanazono Station do so, salarymen do so, high school students do so - and even the occasional monk can be spotted on a simple "mama chari" bicycle.

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