Oideyasu! Please take off your shoes.
The mysterious garden of Ryoan-ji, built sometime by somebody, but no one really knows when or who. Probably in the 1400's-1700's, but that's a big window. Unfortunately, this meditation garden seems always to be the noisiest place in Kyoto. The rest of the gardens at Ryoan-ji are worth looking at, and Mason Florence writes in the Lonely Planet Kyoto Guide that if you go early in the morning, you can get a little more peace for your meditation. Kennin-ji in Gion and Tofukuji down south offer quieter conditions for refelection at karesansui (dry landscape) rock gardens.
