Grey creek stones were cleverly set on edge more than level, giving the flow a stronger sense of direction. Keane installed a driving “river” with this design. The hotel’s “water” appears to fall down like a river from one building to the next, with a wide, smooth steel bridge below, a viewing platform, and a wide, smooth steel bridge that raises the design to life. The bankers on either side are thickly planted with ground-cover moss, woman hands, ferns, and oak trees. Additionally, a huge piece of moss, which Keane interprets as Earth drifting through the cosmos, is carried by a boat-shaped stone.
IF YOU GO, MORE INFO
The flowers at Zuiho- in and the Tofuku- ji Abbot’s Hall yard require reservations. The entrance fee at both is 400 yen ( about S$ 3.60 ) for adults and 300 yen ( about S$ 2.70 ) for children.
General admission to Honen-in is free, with the exception of the spring and fall beginning weeks, which typically occur in the first week of April and the second month of November. They cost 500 yen for the flower and 800 yen for the fall. During those days, the Empty River backyard can be visited.
Visit the free Genji Kyoto resort lawn.
Izusen, a cafe in the Daiji in the Daitoku-ji monastery challenging, offers a variety of local specialties in fixed menus beautifully presented in painted purple bowls that nest when they are full. Start 11am to 4pm by appointment, 4, 370 to 8, 050 renminbi. It is near Zuiho- in.
Even by appointment, Yudofu Kisaki, a cafe between the access to Honen- in and the Philosopher’s Walk, has vegetarians and yogurt specialties. Start 11am to 8pm, previous order at 6pm, 4, 370 to 8, 050 yen.
Nobel Prize-winning author Yasunari Kawabata’s post-World War II book The Rainbow is now available in English as a companion guide for your travels. Some chapters take place in Kyoto, and it can think as if you are travelling along, often in the same landscapes.
Kawabata’s knowledge of plants was fierce, and the convenience of his descriptions both organic and immediate:” On the grass in front of the wall, in the shadows of the oak trees, dandelions and lotuses were in bloom. In front of the bamboo fence, a double-flowered camellia had bloomed.
By Paula Deitz © The New York Times Company
The New York Times published the article at its original publication.