Getting Around Kyoto and Nara by Colin Smith

Author:Colin Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-4-8053-0964-3
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Map 8 SHUGAKU-IN AND SHINSEN-DO AREA

■ Takaragaike Park 宝が池公園

■ Shugaku-in Rikyu 修学院離宮

Quiet and sedate and ringed by mountains, northern Kyoto features several sights, including Kyoto’s most ancient shrines, a former Imperial villa and expansive parks and gardens. These are spread out and not ideal for walking about from place to place.

The sprawling Takaragaike Park is a good place for a walk or a picnic. It’s centered on a pond 1.8 km (1.1 miles) in circumference, dug in the 18th century for rice crop irrigation. Popular with joggers, the park offers rowboats for rental at ¥1,000 per hour. It’s only mildly marred by the architectural miscalculation that is the Kyoto International Conference Center. There’s a strolling road through natural surroundings and a play zone for children, Kodomo-no-rakuen, designed to encourage physical exploration. A 10 minute walk from exit 5 of Kokusaikaikan Station (Karasuma subway line) or Takaragaike Station (Eizan Railway) or bus to Takaragaike stop (always open, free, Kodomo-no-rakuen open 9 am–4.30 pm).

To the east of Takaragaike Park, nestled up against the mountains, is Shugaku-in Rikyu (Shugaku-in Imperial Villa or Shugaku-in Detached Palace), famed for its large, magnificent landscaped gardens. It was originally a nunnery before being turned into a retreat by Emperor Go-Mizuno’o after his abdication in the 17th century. The three gardens (Lower, Middle and Upper) make use of the principle of shakkei or “borrowed scenery,” incorporating the backdrop of the surrounding mountains into their design, and feature ponds, teahouses, a waterfall and pathways for ambling. The view from the Upper Garden is spectacular. A 15 minute walk from Shugakuin Rikyu-michi bus stop (Bus 5 from Kyoto Station) or a 25 minute walk toward the mountains from Shugaku-in Station (Eizan Line).

The Eizan Line itself, specifically the Kurama branch, is pleasant to ride in November or May because of its tunnel of maple leaves (see the section on Kurama Village, page 78).

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