What other travelers are saying about Ryoan-ji Temple
For me personally this was one of the best temple in Kyoto.
The grounds are vast and aesthetically done. The water body, water lilies and the trees surrounding it took my breath away.
There was a special exhibition of sliding screen exhibition by Mr Morihiro Hosokawa which was stunning.
The zen garden of 15 mysteriously arranged stones was very calming.
They also house a pure veg restaurant in the temple premises which is an experience not to be missed.
There were many signs for accessibility
Unbelievably beautiful.
We were fortunate to visit at the peak of autumn foliage and so at every turn, we had just the most beautiful vistas of red, orange and yellow to look at. Of the many beautiful places we got to visit during our trip, Ryoanji was the most breathtaking of them all for me personally.
I really appreciated the simplicity and serenity of the temple and the zen garden as well. Coming from a country that tends to noise and chaos, it was quite wonderful to sit quietly and calmly by the garden with people from different parts of the world and appreciate the beauty of stillness and being present in the moment.
There was also a beautiful display of dragon screens painted by an ex Prime Minister of Japan that was on during our visit.
All in all, one of the highlights of our trip.
ZEN
Less is more.
This is the right place if you want to experience rock gardens, zen, aesthetics, emptiness and a high degree of concentration in space. An extraordinary experience! Come a little earlier in the morning or in the afternoon to be without the tourist groups and to be alone in the space.
Take a nice walk to the water lilies afterwards.
You will not regret visiting this Zen place at all. I loved how it’s not crowded as you know everywhere in Kyoto is now fully packed with tourists. It is not a Wow place but somewhere you can find peace. Except the famous stone garden, the trees the pond and everywhere is just too pretty like a paint.
*highly recommend to try the tofu meal from the restaurant there - nice food with nice view = PERFECT!
Such a beautiful temple to visit. The best part is that it's not as busy as some of the more popular ones. We ended up having lunch there since the meal in a traditional and peaceful setting overlooking the garden is an experience itself. They offer 2 tofu set: basis for 1800 yen, and the one w various veggies for 3800 yen. Either way, it's a wonderful experience that we glad we had.
