Oideyasu! Please take off your shoes.
Renge-ji is not on most tourist maps, but it's one of my favorite places in Kyoto. Founded in 1662 at the base of Hiei-zan, Renge-ji is a temple of the Tendai sect, headquartered at Enryaku-ji at the top of the mountain.
Even in tourist season, this place is quiet. For an extra 300 Yen, you can have matcha service on the rear pavilion (not pictured) by a nice little brook.
It looks really pretty--how do you get there? My wife and I bought a tourist map of Kyoto which has about 100 temples listed on it (a fraction of the total, I know) but unfortunately it doesn't include Renge-ji.
Posted by: Sumisu on September 28, 2003 08:45 AMEizan train from Demachiyanagi toward Hiei-zan, get off at Miyake-Hachiman, there is a road running alongside the Takano River toward Oahra; cross the river and the road, do not look back, follow the road a few hundred meters north toward the mountain. There is small unpaved parking area on the left, and a path leading up to the gate and one of the finest gardens in kyoto. The autumn colors here are gorgeous, but anytime is good.
Posted by: nils on September 29, 2003 07:46 PMWe're going in the fall, so we'll definitely go there--thanks for the directions and for all the great pictures and descriptions on your site.
Posted by: Sumisu on September 30, 2003 07:31 AMNils,
The first photo strikes me as an excelent place for quiet reflection.
During the not so busy days, I used to bus up to Ryoan-ji. It was wonderful when silence descended at the garden.
Do you find Renge-ji to be regularly peaceful?
Cheers,
Logan
Posted by: Logan on October 1, 2003 03:56 AM
