Philosopher's Path

Our last activity for the day was walking down what is known as Philosopher's Path.  This was really for Mom....not many others wanted to do it.  That's why it was put on the end of the itinerary; we would do it if we had time. 

On the way to the beginning of the path, we noticed this tiny and cute shrine tucked away on the side of a street.  Shrines may be big or small, but they are plentiful all over Japan and each one is unique.

Philosopher's Path is a pleasant stone path through the northeastern part of Kyoto. The path follows a canal which is lined by hundreds of cherry trees.  Usually in early April these trees explode with color, making this one of the city's most popular cherry blossom viewing spots.  We were not here during cherry blossom season, but we could pretend, right?

The path gets its name from a man named Nishida Kitaro, one of Japan's most famous philosophers, who was said to practice meditation while walking this route on his daily commute to Kyoto University.

The entire path is two kilometers long and begins around Ginkakuji Temple which was meant to be the companion temple to Kinkakuji, the golden temple.  The plan for Ginkakuji was going to be to cover it with silver, but it was never finished.  When we got there, we were going to go in and see it, but it was going to be a charge-AGAIN.  I was so, so sick of paying for just about every single place we had seen in Kyoto, and had reached the end of my rope.  We have been to just about as many temples and shrines in Tokyo and haven't had to pay for them.  Why does every place in Kyoto charge?  It's a tourist trap and I was sick of it.  We were not going to pay to see a temple that they never finished. Period.  Moving on.

The family puts up with my crazy interest in shrines and temples, and the reason that I wanted to walk down this path is because there are several shrines and temples scattered along the path for one to stop and explore.  You can just get lost and wander around to whatever interests you. 

Unfortunately, by the time we got to Philosopher's Path, it was a little after 4 p.m. and most of the temples close at 4.  So, we didn't get to wander around and get lost exploring the many shrines like I wanted to. 

It was still a pleasant walk, however.  We were able to enjoy the beauty of the bridges over the canals.  We met a very old man who had painted some rocks and was trying to sell us one.  We looked at one shrine that was supposed to have an octagonal pagoda, but it was locked up for the night.  We tried to see the pagoda, but couldn't.  There were also some wooded areas that the canal went through.

The path ends in the neighborhood of Nanzenji Temple, which unfortunately, was also closed for the night.  Probably would have had to pay to get in anyway.  We found some benches and watched the sunset and several cats that were nearby.  Our last sunset in Kyoto.

Finally, we walked back to the bus stop to find some dinner and warm up.  Once the sun goes down, it gets cold fast.  We went by a Burger King on the bus, so we got off at the next stop and ate dinner there and killed time before we got on the bus for Hiroshima.