Heian Jingu sencha service | Kodai–ji night time tea ceremony | Kitano Tenmangu market | Japan post day

Heian Jingu sencha service
Sunday September 28, 2008

Heian Jingu (Heian Shrine) is a Shinto shrine located slightly North–East of Kyoto city centre and is renowned for one of the largest torii in all of Japan. On Sunday September 28, masters of Japan’s six Sencha (Japanese green tea) tea ceremony schools will hold a solemn ceremony in Heian Jingu. The ceremony will not be open to the public, but once the ceremony has finished (from 10:00am–3:00pm) the masters will offer tea to visitors for a cost of 2,000 yen.

1. Heian Jingû 09.JPG, 2. Heian Jingû 11.JPG, 3. Heian Jingu Tori

You can get to Heian Jingu by taking bus #5, #32, #46 or #100 to Kyoto Kaikan Bijutsukan–mae and walking a short distance up the road (less than 5mins).

1. heian_jingu_95, 2. heian_jingu_94, 3. Ornate bridge in Heian-jingu gardens


Kodai–ji night time tea ceremony
Every Friday, Saturday, Sunday & holiday between September 9, 2008 and September 28, 2008
Starts at approximately 4:00pm

On these evenings throughout September you could take a trip to Kodai–ji (one of the many amazing temples in Kyoto’s Higashiyama district) and enjoy a traditional tea ceremony and a light kaiseki meal in the stunning ancient garden setting of the temple. The garden will be specially illuminated for the event. After tea, visitors will be taken to the temple's Sho Museum and allowed to view the incredible collection of Momoyama–period (1568-1600) art. Coffee will be served after the museum visit.

1. Kodai-ji, 2. Moon viewing pavillion at Kodai-ji, 3. IMG_4916

The tour costs 5,800 yen and will last for about 3 hours (approximately 4:00pm–7:00pm). If you are interested in this tour, reservations are required the day before at Kodai–ji.

1. Paper Lanterns, 2. Bamboo Forest, 3. Zen garden at Kodai-ji

Kodai–ji is located in Higashiyama between Yasaka–jinja and Kiyomizudera. You can get there by taking bus #12, #46, #100, #201, #202, #203, #206 or #207 to Gion and walking a short distance past Yasaka–jinja.


Kitano Tenmangu market
Thursday September 25, 2008
7:00am–5:00pm

Kitano Tenmangu, also known as Tenjin–san, is a Shinto shrine in Kamigyou–ku, Kyoto. This popular shrine hosts a large sprawling flea market in and around the shrine on the 25th of each month. This market, like To–ji, attracts large crowds and sells just about everything—from antiques to furniture, from food to plants to household items and secondhand kimonos and obi.

1. 北野天満宮・Kitano Tenmangu, 2. Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan, 3. Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan

You can get to Kitano Tenmangu by taking bus #10, #50, #101, #102 or #203 to the Kitanotenmangu–mae bus stop.

1. Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan, 2. Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan, 3. Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan, 4. Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan, 5. Flea Market

(*Please Note: These images by Olivier Lejade, apc33, dimitridf, manarh, stendec, unertlkm, KimonBerlin, Tavallai, bmiller1710, EYLC, txipiflick and MShades have been used under the Creative Commons license)