Lucia and I recently took a trip to Kyoto over Christmas, and I imagine there will be quite a bit to say about it!  

But before we get to the flashy stuff, I wanted to take a moment to appreciate the little things. Tiny temples, tucked away on rarely-trodden turf.  Or the small shrines subtly set in secluded spots.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of these little gems dotted around Japan.  Each with their own name, style and backstory.  You can pick up a couple details of their stories through how the shrine or temple presents itself.  Perhaps there are a lot of statues of a particular character or animal.  Maybe there is a large emphasis on natural landscpaing.  It may even reflect a certain homeliness that almost makes you feel as if you are trespassing, but at the same time makes you also want to have tea with whoever lives there!

The temple we were mostly inspired by in this way is Seikanji Temple, hidden about a kilometre behind one of Kyoto’s most well known temples, Kiyomizu-dera.  And it definitely falls more within the “peaceful and cozy but also kind of feels like someone’s private garden” kind of temple.

The path up to Seikanji Temple is a winding road, that cuts of halfway into a dirt track, which needless to say was a challenge to navigate with the suitcase we had with us.

But once you reach the temple you are met with a quaint but intimately crafted garden.  Carefully placed stones to line the paths leading to a simple wooden platform to pray and make offerings, and a sacred stone that guides the visitors gaze to perhaps the most impressive aspect of the shrine: It’s perfect location to view Kyoto from up high.

The temple has a romantic, but tragic history.  Founded in the year 802AD, it is the final resting place of Emperor Takakura (1161-1181). He allegedly died of a broken heart at the young age of 21, after the woman he loved, a girl named Kogo-no-Tsubone, was forced to renounce the world and become a priestess at Seikanji Temple.

There was a small shop at the temple, and we picked up a pretty book of letter paper with lots of flowers on it.  It felt nice to support a temple so tucked away from everything.

There are hiking trails you can take around Kyoto that visit many of these temples, and I would definitely love to walk one in the future.  But for now, I will just appreciate those which we have managed to see, and their quiet, peaceful atmosphere.