Welcoming guests to our two teahouses in Kyōto. Join us as we explore Japanese culture, tea & history!
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The great hall and last (vastly smaller) incarnation of Kyōto's Daibutsu are sadly lost, but within the neighbourhood (where once the temple precincts sprawled) are a series of wonders.
More commonly known as crape myrtle (百日紅), older generations in Japan fondly call the tree 'saru suberi' (サルスベリ the "monkey's slide").
When visiting Shōren-in, Kimura was suddenly inspired to fill the drawing room's plain fusuma with colour.
Kannon-ji's 'Gate of 100 Lashings' (観音寺 百叩きの門) belonged originally to the prison at Fushimi Castle (伏見城). When the castle was dismantled the doorway was gifted to the temple🏯🚪🩸😰👋
It may seem like a small thing, but sweets absolutely help lift a gloomy mood...
Fresh matcha as an ingredient in cooking and baking tends to lose its flavour quickly, and so Ishidatami doesn't serve ice-cream older than 3 hours, preferring instead to make new batches throughout the day😮
From mid-March until the end of April, despite opening extra sessions each day, Garden Teahouse is fully booked.
One of Kyōto's most photographed pieces of scenery is a stretch of garden behind Jōnan-gū's (城南宮) main shrine. Here winter and spring collide with plum blossoms cascading over fallen camellia flowers...bright dots in a verdant green carpet.
🔥DARUMA DOOM👀
In the traditional calendar the 10th month is known as 'Kannazuki' (神無月), which nowadays has come mean 'Month Without Gods'.
The Great Yellowing is not yet upon us (ginkgo leaves will reach their golden peak around November 23rd), but you've probably already smelt autumn in the air.
Fall colours arrive at a different time each year, but the Japan Meteorological Agency has a handy tracker...
Are you interested in undertaking the Shikoku Pilgrimage (四国遍路), but find yourself without any real time to do so?🤔 
In the summer of 1866 an official signboard was erected by Sanjō Bridge, calling Chōshū Domain (長州藩) an enemy of the imperial court.
Nao-san tucks in to Kameya Yoshinaga's (亀屋良長 @yoshimura0303) 'hane-usagi' (はねうさぎ).
Through a play on words, in Japan owls have come to be celebrated as bringers of luck and relievers of suffering.
An iconic golden pavilion (restored after a novice burnt the original down in 1950), the world's most famous Zen garden, & a former imperial palace are just some of the most well-known attractions to be enjoyed along Kinukake-no-michi.
In its traditional form, mitarashi dango is made up of 5 small rice dumplings...skewered, grilled, and served with a sweet soy sauce glaze.
Kurita's dedication was inspired by the temple's 'sange' (散華), a ritual offering of flowers made early each morning. 25 flowers (usually camellia) are dedicated to a statue of Amida. The flowers represent the 25 bodhisattva who help Amida take the souls of the dead to paradise.