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Thursday, May 15, 2014

The path leading to Sanzen-in

 I was charmed by the path leading to Sanzen-in in late April.

An enchanting teahouse on the way to Sanzen-in

A pair of Jizo, guardians of children and travellers, watch over you for a safe and pleasant trip on the way.




Cafes and restaurants create nice atmosphere. 




 

When I passed through the tunnel of late-blooming sakura....,


...., there was yellow blossoms field overlooking the houses and paddies of Ohara.


sketching ladies

Ohara is in the north of Sakyo-ku Ward of Kyoto City, but actually it is a quiet rural area nestled at the western foot of Mt. Hiei, which is on the opposite side of the mountains you see in the picture.  In the past, the spring fields of Ohara was thoroughly yellow because of rapeseed extensively cultivated for oil.  Nowadays the fields for rapeseed is very small only to be used for "nano-hana" (rapeseed) pickles.





One of the most attractions to me was fallen camellias still beautiful on the ground.


The path runs along the Ryo-sen River (呂川). 
Slow-paced walking, hearing the rustling sound of the stream, made me feel free and comfortable. 





The young leaves of Japanese maple and fallen camellia flowers 
are suggestive of  nature's way of coming and going.




Shops would look nostalgic to the most of Japanese but might be quaint to the eyes of overseas tourists.


Maiko's umbrella

Goods made of bamboo


While being absorbed in the peaceful surroundings and looking around for photographic interests, here you are at Goten-mon Gate of Sanzen-in. It is about ten minutes' walk from Ohara bus stop but it took three times or more for me to arrive at.


The gate and stone wall is grand and imposing like those of a castle,
which deepened my curiosity more about what the inside is like.

31 comments:

  1. Hello Yoko:

    We are deeply impressed with the beauty of the countryside as shown in your wonderful images in this post. It all looks to be so very, very lovely and, of course, to us very different from what we know.

    That the fields of rapeseed are restricted is, we think, no bad thing. The yellow is somewhat harsh and can, where it is grown in quantity, rather spoil an otherwise soft and serene landscape such as you picture here.

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  2. Good morning (?) / good afternoon (!) Yoko!

    Great to see your charming photos of this enchanting scenery! I wish I could visit this place one time!
    But next week I'm going to get training participants from all over the world. From Belgium, from Turkey, from Russia - and from Japan! ;-)
    Two colleagues from our subsidiary in the south of Tokyo (--> Ota-ku) will participate in my training. So a breeze of Japanese culture will blow through my training room! As far as I know it's the very first time they will travel to Germany - so let's hope for a great cultural exchange among the colleagues with different cultural and language backgrounds.

    Uwe.

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  3. Lovely pictures full of serenity !
    Have a beautiful day !
    Anna

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  4. Dit skulle jag vilja åka. så vackert och stämningsfullt. Korgarna var för fina.
    Här regnar det fortfarande så vi flyter bort snart.
    Önskar dig en fin dag med solsken.
    Kram Meta

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  5. こんばんわ!三千院までゆっくりと散策されたのですね。お写真を見せて頂いているうちに、京都 ~~大原 三千院~~ ひとり~~が聞えてきました。子供達、旅行者をも守ってくれるお地蔵さん可愛い事。大原は本当にスケッチをしたくなるような美しい所ですね。
    Happy day!

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  6. just one beautiful photo after another. lovely!

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  7. Yoko, you've got such a fantastic sense of beauty. I love your blog.
    Grethe ´)

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  8. The yellow field of flowers is breathtaking. Flowers gone wild can sometimes be overwhelming but they certainly result in some wonderful photographs. And I could not help but be charmed by the umbrellas that appeared like flowers along your path.

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  9. Again your photos are such a delight Yoko. If I would have walked with you there I surely would have bought one of these bamboo baskets - ah and I wonder what we would have ordered in this lovely restaurant? I gladly would have taken advice from you. Ha, ha, I am day dreaming, so lovely! :-)
    Yoko have you ever heard of photographer Julian Hebbrecht? Google this name, he has wonderful photos of Japanese landscape and images. Most I loved his geisha photos, how splendid they are!
    Shalom and many greetings to you!

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  10. I, too, enjoy my walks with you. You are a wonderful tour guide, always sharing interesting information along with your beautiful photos.

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  11. What a calming walk shuffling through fallen camellias, following the winding trail to admire the rapeseed blooms, and gazing toward distant mountains. You encountered many gifts of springtime strolling in Sanzen-in. I enjoy them, too, through your photos.

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  12. It is so beautiful there. I love not only the scenery but the artistry and grace that the Japanese have in creating such beautiful spaces.

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  13. This brings back very good memories. Thanks! It was almost as if I were there with you ...

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  14. 洋子さん こんにちは!
     人影が入らない美しい京都、三千院をたっぷり見せて頂きありがとうございます。
     立派な門構えを飾る松と風流な文字が入った暖簾。 
     こういうシーンを見ると日本人に生まれて良かったと思います。 
     新緑、椿、菜の花。 季節の移ろいの中 色鮮やかな番傘や器用な手仕事で仕上げられた
     竹細工。 これからの季節の風鈴。 とても癒されます。
     
    私は いつもながら わけの分らないブログばかりアップしている為、 
    コメント欄をクローズして失礼しています。 
     

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  15. landscape full of beauty, flowers and serenity.

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  16. Dear Yoko - your quote "the young leaves of Japanese maple and fallen camellia flowers are suggestive of nature's way of coming and going" are lovely thoughts and expressions.
    For me, I would love to visit that nostalgic shop with all of its typically Japanese products.
    We have the rapeseed oil fields here too. Sometimes they compliment the landscape, but when they are in full flower with the sun blazing down on them, they can look rather unnatural to my eye.

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  17. oh, what a beautiful post :)
    Always it is like this, reading your posts brings happiness :)
    Thanks for sharing this awesome post, exceptionally good pics :)

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  18. What spectacular shots! You live in a magical place.

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  19. こんばんは。ノスタルジックな風景ですね。 また行きたくなりました。

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  20. ¸.•°.❤❤
    L
    I
    N
    D
    O
    !!!!

    Bom fim de semana!
    Beijinhos do Brasil. º°。✿

    °º。✿✿彡º°。

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  21. とても魅力的な径ですね。新緑が冴え冴えとして映っていて。小川のせせらぎも聞こえるようです。ベニシアさんのお家、大原とのことですが気に入って住んでおられるのも分かります。

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  22. 京都も広くて、奥深いですね。四条あたりから、自然に囲まれた大原など。さすが、1000年の都です。なのはな畑もひろがって、また訪れてみたいものです。
    Have a nice day!

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  23. I've taken photos of rapeseed field in Ireland but the plants at Sanzen-in seem to be more lush and topped with more flowers. You have captured all the charms of this quaint place.

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  24. Que bonito post, me he paseado por tu bloc y ha estado un regalo visitarlo, te invito a ver el mio, y esta semana encontraras trucos para hacer una limpieza ecológica del baño que espero te sea útil. Espero tu visita y si no eres seguidora me encantarías que te hicieras y así compartir nuestros blocs. Elracodeldetall.blogspot.com

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  25. Piękny spacer i piękne miejsca pokazałaś. Kwiaty kamelii leżące na ziemi mnie urzekły. Pozdrawiam,
    Lovely walk and beautiful places you showed. Camellia flowers lying on the ground captivated me. Yours.

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  26. I am charmed too! If only I were offered tea in that lovely teahouse. Or could sit on that bench. Wood or stone?
    Warm greetings from Russia, dear Yoko, take care!
    BTW, the little one, I mean that tiny pupil, looks very much like you! )))))

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  27. Ihania kesäkuvia sinulla :)

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  28. After seeing these beautiful photographs, I want so much to visit Japan in the spring! The tea house is perfect.

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  29. Even the most mundane things like a rape field are beautiful. Either you take photos from a very particular angle or every Japanese view is a treasure.

    It is all beautiful.

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  30. It's always a pleasure to see your pictures!!! This place is full of beauty! Japan is a dream to me, it's so far away from Portugal that probably I'll never visit it but you show it exactly like it is in my dreams! Thanks for sharing all this!
    Have a fabulous weekend!
    Hugs from Portugal,
    Ana Love Craft
    www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com

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  31. This is in Kyoto, am I right? I only went there for a day but I absolutely fell in love with the charming little cafes we went by as went to different temples. I hope to go back again someday. Thanks so much for posting this. Always looking forward to seeing Japan for now through your blog :)

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