Kyoto

Mo-an Gardens

A Taisho period tea house

Cathy Cawood Sep 27, 2014 - 1 min read

Mo-an's sign is surrounded by green leaves

This building part-way up housed a display of hand made pottery

Attractive metal lantern with a patina of rust

Bicycle leaning against an old wooden house on the way up the hill

Stepping stones and a rustic bamboo fence

Camellia blossoms lying on a carpet of moss

First glimpse of the restaurant through the trees

The restaurant/cafe is in a beautiful old wooden building

Pussy willow in a stone urn at one corner of the building

It's no accident that the path up the hill and through the trees to this cafe is an almost spiritual experience in quiet beauty.

Mo-an was originally built as a tea-house in the Taisho Era, and the purpose of a teahouse garden is to calm and focus the spirit before the tea ceremony. The beautiful wooden building has views over Kyoto and delicious offerings on the menu.

It is located near Tetsugaku-no-michi, Honen-in and Ginkakuji. Be sure to look for views of Daimon-ji mountain!

Cathy Cawood @cathy.cawood

I came to Japan in 2003 to teach English. I lived in Shiga prefecture for 1 year, and it still holds a special place in my heart. I lived in Kyoto for 9 years, then moved to Machida, Tokyo in 2014 after meeting my Japanese partner. I love to take photos, and my Japan in Pictures Facebook page ha...