Tenryu-ji Temple

Tenryu-ji is the anchor of Arashiyama and one of the most important Zen temples in Kyoto. It was founded in 1339 by the shogun Ashikaga Takauji in memory of Emperor Go-Daigo, the emperor he had fought and driven from the capital, on the site of an imperial villa, and it became the first-ranked of Kyoto's Five Great Zen Temples. The temple's founding abbot was Muso Soseki, the most celebrated garden designer of his age, and his Sogenchi garden is the reason to come. It is a pond-and-stroll garden designed to be viewed from the abbot's hall: the pond curves beneath a composition of rocks, including a dry waterfall arrangement that suggests a carp transforming into a dragon, and behind it the forested slopes of Arashiyama and Kameyama are borrowed into the design so that the garden seems to extend into the mountains. It is one of the earliest surviving examples of this borrowed scenery technique and has been designated a Special Place of Scenic Beauty. Fires destroyed the temple's buildings many times over the centuries, so most of the halls date from the Meiji era, but the garden survives in essentially its original form. Tenryu-ji is part of the UNESCO-listed Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and the grounds are open daily, with separate small fees for the garden, the interior of the buildings and the Hatto lecture hall, whose ceiling is painted with a huge cloud dragon by the Nihonga artist Kayama Matazo that seems to watch you wherever you stand.

Making the most of the visit. Buy the garden ticket, and add the buildings if you want to sit on the veranda of the Ohojo, the abbot's main hall, which is the intended viewpoint for the Sogenchi garden; looking across the pond from the wooden floor, with the hills rising behind, is the classic Tenryu-ji moment. Then follow the paths up the slope behind the hall, through a hillside planted with seasonal flowers, moss and maples. The Hatto with the cloud dragon ceiling is open mainly on weekends and holidays and during special spring and autumn periods, and requires its own ticket. Buildings can close without notice for ceremonies, so check the official calendar if you are set on seeing the interiors.

Timing. Tenryu-ji opens at 8:30am, and the smartest plan is to walk the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove first at dawn, then enter Tenryu-ji as it opens, leaving through the north gate, which connects directly to the bamboo path. In spring the weeping cherries and in autumn the maples around the pond draw large crowds by late morning. Within the temple grounds, Shigetsu serves shojin ryori, the vegetarian cuisine of Zen monasteries, and is a fine way to taste temple food in a temple setting; reserve ahead in busy seasons.

Getting there is easy: Tenryu-ji is about five minutes' walk from Randen Arashiyama Station and around thirteen minutes from JR Saga-Arashiyama. Allow an hour for the garden and halls, more if you add lunch or the Hatto. It pairs naturally with the bamboo grove, the Sagano Romantic Train and the Hozugawa river boat, and with Okochi Sanso villa on the hill above the bamboo. A final tip: the temple's garden is designed to look its best from inside, so resist the urge to rush straight onto the hillside path. Spend a few minutes on the abbot's veranda first, watching how the light falls on the pond and the hills, before exploring. In winter, a dusting of snow on the rocks and pines makes Tenryu-ji one of the most beautiful places in western Kyoto, and the crowds thin out considerably. Visitors with mobility concerns will find the main garden paths manageable, though the hillside section involves gentle slopes and steps.