As mentioned a while ago, Ryan was invited to do a home stay with some people we met. Last month he did so by boarding the night bus from Shinjuku and traveling solo to Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture. He had a great time.

Today’s photo is one that Ryan took in Fukui Prefecture during that trip. One day he was going to go fishing with his Ojiichan, but the rain made the fishing no good so they went to this place in Katsuyama instead. The temple isn’t very old, but it looks pretty cool. Inside is a giant Buddha. Ryan took this pic from inside a five-story pagoda.

Posted on July 15th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, temples. Comments: None

Right next to Suwa Jinja, southeast of the Takadanobaba Station, is Genkokuji. I stopped by there on my way home from a recent bike ride. It was actually beginning to rain when I took the above picture so I didn’t stay for too long.

Posted on July 13th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, takadanobaba, temples. Comments: None

I have been surprised by the quantity and quality of “hidden” temples right in or not far from Tokyo. You don’t have to go to Nikko or Kamakura to find yourself in one of these amazing places. The one pictured above, Kuhonbutsu Joshinji, is near the Jiyugaoka Station. Other nice temples in or near Tokyo that you probably won’t see in the typical guidebooks include Heirinji, Gokokuji, Dojoji/Sanpoji, and Senryuji.

Posted on June 22nd, 2010 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, japanese maple, temples. Comments: 1

I hope you have enjoyed this past week’s pictures of Heirinji. Let’s end the week of Zen the way I did on that day, walking through the ancient gate.

I have another hundred or so photos from the place so perhaps we’ll revisit Heirinji on this blog in the future.

Posted on June 11th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, heirinji, temples. Comments: None

The highlight of the previously mentioned walk is Heirinji (平林寺), quite possibly the most wonderful place on earth.

I have been to other Zen temples before in China, Kyoto, and Kamakura. Zen temples are my favorite, but they lose a lot of their impact when they are crawling with people. Even though the weather was perfect, we visited Heirinji on a Friday, without anything in particular in bloom or changing color, which meant we shared the nearly 500 acres with about five retired Japanese couples and a few monks who live there. Needless to say, we rarely saw anyone as we explored the grounds in peace.

The top photo is of Hansobo (半僧坊). You can find this structure to the left after paying 500 yen (rather expensive but worth it) and entering through the first gate (built in the Edo Period).

Heirinji is loaded with Japanese Maple trees. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many. Combine them with bamboo and a blue-sky day for best results.

As always, you can click on these images for a much larger (and better) view.

I’ll add more photos from these Zen surroundings over the next week. Stay tuned…

Posted on June 3rd, 2010 under Japan. Tags: bamboo, buddhist, heirinji, japanese maple, temples. Comments: None