Philosopher's Path
After we had visited Ginkakuji we then headed south on The Philosopher’s Path which is in East Kyoto in the northern part of Kyoto’s Higashiyama district. The stone path is approximately 1.25 mile long and connects Ginkakuji with Nanzenji temple and takes about 25 minutes to walk.
The path derives its name from one of Japan’s most famous philosophers, Nishida Kitaro. It is said that while walking this route on his daily commute to Kyoto University, he would practice meditation along the way.
The Philosopher’s Path is a pleasurable walk that runs along a canal which is lined with hundreds of cherry trees, which usually explode in colourful blossom in early April making it popular for Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) in the spring.
Another
interesting fact is amazingly the canal that the path follows is part of the
Lake Biwa Canal, which tunnels through the mountains and is 12.5 miles long and
connects the canal to Lake Biwa in the nearby prefecture of Shiga! The canal
was built during the Meiji Period to revitalise the local economy and said to
have been used to power Japan’s first hydroelectric power plant. There is also
a lovely and beautiful aqueduct around Nanzenji which is part of the canal.
Another
interesting fact is amazingly the canal that the path follows is part of the
Lake Biwa Canal, which tunnels through the mountains and is 12.5 miles long and
connects the canal to Lake Biwa in the nearby prefecture of Shiga! The canal
was built during the Meiji Period to revitalise the local economy and said to
have been used to power Japan’s first hydroelectric power plant. There is also
a lovely and beautiful aqueduct around Nanzenji which is part of the canal.
Please find our other Kyoto articles in the 'Kyoto' section of the website.