On The Shores of Lake Superior
Our cabin is just a few yards from the Lake Superior shoreline.
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Notes from a wildlife-friendly cottage garden
Greetings From The North Woods
I’m writing from a cabin on the shores of Lake Superior, in a remote spot near Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. We’ll be here for the remainder of the week.
The Honganji Temples
OK, this is the last post regarding Buddhist temples we saw in Japan last September. Today we’re going to visit two temples in central Kyoto that have an interesting history.
Wandering The Streets of Kyoto
Kyoto is a good city for walking. This is particularly true in the historic district of Higashiyama on the east side of the city.
Crashing A Wedding At Chion-in Temple
If you thought I was finished writing about our trip to Japan last September, you would be wrong. There’s still material for a few more posts, including this one.
Toji Temple and Flea Market
When we emerged from our Kyoto hotel in the morning we would look across the street and see this large wooden pagoda. Upon inquiring, we were told that it’s part of the Toji Temple complex.
Kyoto’s Nijo Castle
Around 1600, the Tokugawa family became the dominant power in feudal Japan. The Emperor was essentially a figurehead. The Tokugawas moved the administrative capital from Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo), while the Imperial Court remained in Kyoto. Nijo Castle, completed in 1628, was built as the Kyoto residence for the head of the Tokugawa family – …
Kyoto’s Shoren-in Temple
Shoren-in is one of the smaller Buddhist Temples in Kyoto, and it doesn’t draw nearly as many visitors as some of the larger, more famous temples. Its garden, though, is equal to that of any of the other Kyoto temples we visited.
Kyoto’s Kiyomizudera Temple
So after Kanazawa, we took the train to Kyoto. Remember, this was in September of last year. Before it was Tokyo, Kyoto was Japan’s capital for about 800 years. Kyoto is to Tokyo sort of the way Boston is to Los Angeles. Kyoto is smaller, quieter, more refined – and with a lot more history. …
Kenrokuen Garden
One of the reasons we traveled to Kanazawa was to see Kenrokuen Garden. It is officially designated as one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. Why aren’t there officially Three Great Gardens of the United States? (Although if they were designated now, strings would undoubtedly be pulled to make one of them Mar-a-Lago.)
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