Philosopher's Path

The path follows the Lake Biwa Canal, a Meiji-period engineering project that brought water over the mountains to Kyoto, for about two kilometres along the eastern hills between Ginkakuji and the neighbourhood of Nanzenji. It is named for Nishida Kitaro, the philosopher of the Kyoto School, who walked it in meditation on his way to the university. The cherry trees along it - a few hundred - were donated in 1922 by the painter Kansetsu Hashimoto and his wife, and they are the reason the path is one of the most crowded places in Kyoto for about ten days each April. The rest of the year it is a quiet walk past small temples that most visitors pass without entering: Honen-in with its thatched gate and raked sand mounds, Anrakuji, Reikanji, and Otoyo Shrine, whose guardian figures are mice rather than the usual foxes or lions.

History

The path is named after two 20th-century philosophers and Kyoto University professors, Nishida Kitaro and Hajime Tanabe, who are thought to have walked it for daily exercise (Wikipedia, Philosopher's Walk).

What you'll find

• A canal-side walk - two kilometres along the Meiji Lake Biwa Canal.
• Donated cherries - a few hundred trees given by a painter and his wife in 1922.
• Nishida's route - the philosopher's daily walk that named the path.
• Small temples off it - Honen-in, Anrakuji and a shrine guarded by stone mice.

When to go

Early April for cherry, late November for maples, or any other time for quiet. Two hours.

Practical notes

In blossom week the path is shoulder to shoulder and slow. Several of the side temples open only in short seasons. The canal is a concrete channel outside blossom time. Cafes along it close early.

Nearby

Ginkakuji is at the north end; Nanzenji is at the south.

Key facts