The is a pedestrian path that follows a cherry-tree-lined canal in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

between

Ginkaku-ji __NOTOC__ , officially named , is a Zen temple in the Sakyo ward of Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the constructions that represents the Higashiyama Culture of the Muromachi period. History Ashikaga Yoshimasa initiated plans for creating a retirem ...

and

Nanzen-ji , or Zuiryusan Nanzen-ji, formerly , is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. Emperor Kameyama established it in 1291 on the site of his previous detached palace. It is also the headquarters of the Nanzen-ji branch of Rinzai Zen. The precincts o ...

. First opened in 1890 and extended again in 1912, the path follows the course of a shallow irrigation channel bringing water from the

Lake Biwa Canal is a historic waterway in Japan connecting Lake Biwa to the nearby City of Kyoto. Constructed during the Meiji Period the canal was originally designed for the transportation of lake water for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes, but ...

. The route is so-named because two 20th-century Japanese philosophers and

Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = National university, Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff ...

professors

Nishida Kitaro was a Japanese moral philosopher, philosopher of mathematics and science, and religious scholar. He was the founder of what has been called the Kyoto School of philosophy. He graduated from the University of Tokyo during the Meiji period in 18 ...

and

Hajime Tanabe was a Japanese philosopher of science, particularly of mathematics and physics. In 1947 he became a member of the Japan Academy, and in 1950 he received the Order of Cultural Merit. Tanabe was a key member of what has become known in the Wes ...

are thought to have used it for daily exercise. The path passes a number of temples and shrines such as

Hōnen-in Hōnen-in (法然院) is a Buddhist temple located in Sakyō-ku, Kyoto, western Japan. Honen-in is a single-estate temple located in Shikagaya, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto. It was originally part of the Jodo sect, but became independent and is now a single ...

, Ōtoyo Shrine, and

Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji ''For other temples by similar names, see Zenrin-ji.'' Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji (永観堂禅林寺) is the head temple for the Seizan branch of Japan's Jōdo-shū (Pure Land) Buddhist sect, located in Kyoto, Sakyō-ku. It was founded by Shinshō, a ...

. It takes about 30 minutes to complete the walk, although many people spend more time visiting the sights along the way. On the northern part of the walk, there are good views of the nearby

Daimonji , more commonly known as , is a festival in Kyoto, Japan. It is the culmination of the Obon festival on August 16, in which five giant bonfires are lit on mountains surrounding the city. It signifies the moment when the spirits of deceased fam ...

. The walk is a popular destination for tourists and locals, especially during

hanami is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers; in this case almost always refer to those of the or, less frequently, trees. From the end of March to early May, cherry trees bloom all over Japan, and around ...

External links

Philosopher's Walk in Kyoto Japan

Photos and information about Philosopher's Walk in Kyoto Japan
* :de:Philosophenweg (Heidelberg)

References

Tourist attractions in Kyoto Japanese philosophy Hanami spots of Japan Hiking trails in Japan Tourist attractions in Kyoto Prefecture Kyoto School {{Kyoto-geo-stub