[Kyoto · Ryoan-ji Temple in the Snow · 2025]

🌈Highlights: Ryoan-ji Temple, located in Kyoto, Japan, is a Zen temple founded in 1450 by Hosokawa Katsumoto, a military commander during the Muromachi period. Ryoan-ji is renowned for its rock garden, a quintessential example of abstract Japanese garden beauty. Fifteen rocks covered in moss are arranged in five groups on a rectangular bed of white gravel in front of the abbot's quarters. Built during a period of significant innovation in Japanese visual arts, Ryoan-ji's iconic dry landscape garden is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. 🎟️Tickets: JPY 500 🕐️Opening Hours: 8:00–17:00 (Open year-round) 💗Other tips: Located in Kyoto, Ryoan-ji is steeped in Japanese culture. Kyoto is a hub for traditional Japanese crafts like textiles, ceramics, lacquerware, and dyed fabrics. It's also a center for flower arranging and tea ceremony. Kyoto offers rich cultural experiences, from art and Buddhism to folk crafts. At the Tourist Information Center (TIC), visitors can learn about Japanese cooking, traditional crafts (silk, ceramics, papermaking, temple attire, etc.), Japanese drama, tea ceremony, and flower arranging. Kyoto boasts vibrant local customs with celebrations and festivals almost daily. The Gion Festival (July 1–29) and the Jidai Matsuri (October 22) are particularly famous. The Jidai Matsuri, a festival of Heian Shrine, showcases over 1,000 years of Kyoto's history and customs through a procession representing different eras. Ryoan-ji Temple is a designated World Heritage Site.