Golden Week in Kyoto May 2015 - Arashiyama, Daitokuji

It was raining in the morning, so we cancelled walking on the trail and headed to Sagano（嵯峨野）in Arashiyama（嵐山）. At the Arashiyama station, there were so many people, but as we went further to the mountain side,  passing by the famous bamboo tunnel, it became calm. We went further, almost to the dead end to Giouji temple（祇王寺）.  It had been raining throuout the day.  The famous moss garden sparked when the sun rays shone down through the hanging branches of the broadleaf forest.  It was a magical moment.

After being satisfied with the beautiful garden, we moved to Daitokuji （大徳寺）.  It was the route I longed for.  Daitokuji is a complex of several temples which shares its history with the great tea master Sen no Rikyu(千利休）.  There have been great tea masters in the history, but Sen no Rikyu, who completed the present style of the "Way of Tea" in 16th century, is the most respected tea master.

Daitokuji (大徳寺山門）

Shown in the photo below is Koto-In（高桐院）one of the temples in Daitokuji. It is famous for its beautiful moss garden and colored maple leaves in autumn.

Koutou-In (高桐院）

You can have a bowl of tea viewing the beautiful garden in silence here.

Two famous tearooms are displayed here.

This tea room used be the residence of the great tea master Sen no Rikyu. You can see the writing in the alcove 関  which represents the meaning of "constant remind of the initial state" came from the Zen words.

This tearoom was once used at the famed Kitano Chakai,（北野大茶会） which was organized by Taiko Hideyoshi（太閤秀吉) and directed by Sen no Rikyu. The room is dimmed with minimum light, which is to bring on focus to the five senses.