Located on the top of Mt Kurama north of Kyoto you will find the famous Kurama-dera temple. The story goes that around the year 772, a Chinese Monk named Jianzhen saw in one of his dreams that Mt Kurama had strong spiritual powers. [...]

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When visiting To-Ji temple, many may overlook its sub-temple, Kanchi-In. Located near the moat of Toji, Kanchi-In temple has been made famous thanks to its long history and beautiful gardens. Located in the temple is an ink painting drawn by the famous Miyamoto Musashi swordsman. [...]

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Founded at the beginning of the Heian period right after the capital was moved in Kyoto, To-ji (Toji) temple or the East temple in English was built. Together with its now-defunct sister temple Saiji or West temple To-ji was among Kyoto's largest temples and served the capital's guardian temples. [...]

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Heian shrine is located in Kyoto where Heian is actually Kyoto's former name. Sort of a "newcomer" in Kyoto, it was built in 1895 for the 1100th anniversary of the capital's foundation and dedicated to the spirits of Emperor Kammu and Komei. [...]

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Nanzen-Ji temple is the main temple located near Tenju-An (Kyoto). It is the head temple of a school within the Rinzai sect. Destroyed during the civil wars of the late Muromachi Period, the history of Nanzen-ji temple dates back to the middle of the 13th century when the Emperor Kameyama [...]

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Today’s video was shot over a year ago. It can’t really be described as your usual TokyoStreetView video. No, today’s video is some old raw footage from when I was testing a new cinema camera to find out the effect it could have on my future workflow. [...]

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At the base of the Higashiyama mountains, near the very important zen temple of Nanzenji is Tenju-An temple. Tenju-An was erected in the early 17th century and is dedicated to the zen master who served Emperor Kameyama in his religious studies. [...]

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Unganji is a Zen temple located in the mountains near Otawara City in Tochigi prefecture. Part of the Rinzai School, it was built around the Heian era during the Daiji years (1126 ~ 1131). [...]

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Chomeji Temple was erected around the 4th century near the beautiful lake Biwako, Japan’s largest natural lake. It centers around the life story of Takenouchi no Sukune, a famous ancient politician who, according to the legend, lived for the next 300 years after carving a passage into a […]

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Hotaru or firefly, are beloved in Japan. Often part of Japanese poems, songs, and stories they are unfortunately on their way to extinction due to the overzealous use of pesticides. Japanese streams are too often contaminated with pollutants, killing Hotaru and making them more and more difficult to find. [...]

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Arashiyama, one of the world's most famous bamboo groves, is located in Kyoto. Composed of many different public and private areas of the Sagano bamboo forest, Arashiyama is however one of the most well-known sections of this huge bamboo grove. [...]

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Kamo river has its source in the area of Mt. Sajikigatake. Its riverbanks are popular walking spots for both local residents and tourists alike. Beautiful and peaceful all year long, it is however during summer that the Kamo river in central Kyoto takes a livelier turn with many […]

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