Date I went: 04/09/2020
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Time to get philosophical... with the pictures and videos at least.
Walking around the Higashiyama area in Kyoto I would often come across small streams/rivers running through the neighborhood like this.
The moat around Heian shrine still has some Sakura blooming and the fountain is continuously running as well.
Philosopher's Path (哲学の道)
Philosopher's Path Route (Approximately 1 kilometer, 20 minutes walking, 2 hours walking while philosophizing)
The path itself is not very long, but you could spend lots of time here just enjoying the atmosphere of the area. It is tucked right at the base of the Eastern mountainsides of Kyoto with the company of many other shrines and temples around the vicinity.
You can start at either the North or South side of the path, but I chose to start at the North end. From here I biked along the path for a bit, but found it much more enjoyable to walk along the stream that runs along the Philosophers Path. At the start of the path I also saw this woman doing a landscape portrait of the scenery (bottom two pictures).
During the Sakura season in the beginning of April the petals all gather up towards the North end of the stream and create this stunning Sakura river effect.
Along the path I hardly encountered anyone, and every time I came back here it was pretty empty. There are benches along the path you can rest on, and occasionally a bridge going across the stream to a local residents house or a small shrine/temple. I think the best time to come is in late afternoon as the light hits the path gorgeously.
I did happen to meet a couple Italian exchange students who had just arrived to Japan to study and now were uncertain about their studies since the classes were now cancelled due to the pandemic and online classes had not been set up yet. If you were a foreigner in Japan at this time it was exciting to see and meet other foreigners since none were allowed into Japan (and would not be for the next couple years).
I thought this house had a pretty interesting exterior design. Kind of fantasy-esque.
Towards the Southern end of the path I encountered this chubby little cat who I believed was named Momo. He immediately came up and started rubbing against me <3
There was an older couple who seemed to be the designate caretakers for Momo and the other cats around the area. They told me that they come to feed the cats everyday.
At the Southern end of the path you can actually see parts of downtown Kyoto as the path is elevated a bit on the mountainside.
Toryanse (通りゃんせ)
At the Southern exit of the path there is this cafe that promotes some of the local cats! They also have vegan food here, but I never ended up trying it during my stay.
Daijukumon (大寂門)
I walked further down South from the end of the Philosophers Path and encountered this gate called Daijukumon in the road. It lead into some other temples within the area.
Sanmon (南禅寺三門)
After going through Daijukumon you can acess the larger gate called Sanmon. It's one of a few huge gates in Kyoto. Yes Kyoto never disappoints with their large Japanese temple gates.
Nanzen-ji Temple (南禅寺)
Nanzen-ji is just through Sanmon and looks quite spectacular with the evening sun setting.
Keage Incline (蹴上インクライン)
I had only seen the Northern end of the Keage Incline before today, but on the Southern end there is a bridge going over the tracks where you can get a higher perspective of the railway.
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