Take a Break With a View of the Garden: Five Temples in Kyoto Where You Can Have Matcha and Wagashi Sweets
If in Japan, you'll want to try matcha green tea at least once. So this time, we introduce five temples in Kyoto where you can have a cup of matcha green tea and Japanese wagashi sweets with the view of a beautiful garden.
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1. Hosen-in
At Hosen-in, you can enjoy matcha with a view of a very famous garden called Gakubuchi Teien (picture-frame garden).
In the Gakubuchi Teiein, the scenery created by trees, such as 700-year-old pine trees, is considered to be the framework within which the whole garden can be enjoyed as if it were a painting. The wonderful view enjoyed with a comforting cup of matcha is sure to wipe any travel weariness away.
Matcha price (includes entrance fee and a wagashi sweet): 800 JPY
2. Entoku-in
Entoku-in is a sub-temple of Kodaiji Temple, and is the temple that the wife of the famous daimyo (feudal lord), Toyotomi Hideyoshi, spent the last years of her life in.
Tea is served in a tearoom by the North Garden, which is designated as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty. The matcha is served in teacups handmade by the priest, together with wagashi sweets in the shape of a gourd, which was Hideyoshi\'s symbol mark. There are not that many places where tea is regularly served in an authentic tearoom, so you\'ll be able to have a special experience here!
Matcha price (includes a wagashi sweet): 500 JPY
Entrance fee is separate: 500 JPY/adult; 200 JPY/junior high and high school
3. Toji-in
Toji-in was established in 1341. It is famous for its two chisen-kaiyushiki-teien gardens (gardens that are designed around a pond and surrounding paths).
Tea is served in a building in the garden to the west. You can enjoy a quiet, relaxing time while savoring baked sweets (with azuki sweet bean filling) made in the image of the garden pond.
Matcha price (includes a wagashi sweet): 500 JPY
Entrance fee is separate: 500 JPY/adult, university and high school students; 300 JPY/elementary and junior high school students
4. Hojo Garden at Nanzen-ji
At Nanzen-ji, a temple in the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism, you can enjoy tea around Hojo Garden, a famous katsusansui garden designed with no water, using the land formation, sand and rocks to express the landscape. The tearoom, Takinoma, is immediately to the right as you enter the garden. Here, you can have matcha and wagashi sweets with a view of the garden with a small waterfall.
Matcha price (includes a wagashi sweet): 500 JPY
Entrance fee is separate: 500 JPY/adult, 400 JPY/high school students; 300 JPY/elementary and junior high school students
*The image is for illustrative purposes only
5. Keishun-in
Keishun-in is a temple in the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism built approximately 400 years ago by the grandson of the famous daimyo, Oda Nobunaga.
The garden here is divided in four sections, and the area where you can enjoy with a cup of matcha is called Wabino-niwa. It is a small but stylish garden with a skillfully placed well, lantern, and stepping stones.
Matcha price (includes a wagashi sweet): 400 JPY
Entrance fee is separate: 400 JPY; free for children elementary school age and younger
What an exquisite experience to enjoy a quiet time with a cup of matcha, away from the daily grind and the city noise. Please treat yourself to just such an experience while in Kyoto.
The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication.
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