Shōrin-ji Temple

I think 700 yen is a bit much for a small temple like this. I was genuinely confused when i reached the end of the garden after only a few steps, for some reason i expected it to be bigger? The flowers and umbrellas are cute, but I unfortunately don’t recommend this temple.

The temple and it's territory itself is beautiful and zen, the meditation session was a bit underwhelming: 10 min focus, 5 min break, 15 min focus. No singing bowls, mantras, or anything like that. Just sitting in silence among other people. The cool element: you can get into a 🙏 pose and the monk observing the crowd will smash you with a paddle-looking bat on your back to get you back to focus. Some people overused it like a free massage and got over 5 hits:) No translation of monk speech but they gave me a printout which delivered the gist in English. Bathroom available on the site.

Went in for a zen meditation session. It was a wonderful experience. I was in my happy place; away from stress and worries. Was then offered a sweet pastry with tea.

I went here with a guide (Magical Trip company in Kyoto) to do a meditation session. I’m not religious or spiritual but it was worth it to experience something of the Buddhist teachings. I imagine it’d be lovely in autumn when the leaves change colour. Worth a visit if you have a few spare hours in Kyoto and want to do something a bit off the path. Suggest going with a guide as the monk does not speak in English at all during the sessions. From there we walked to the famous Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine (the one with all the orange poles) so if you want to make a day of it and you’re fit enough to walk a fair way it’s a good day out if the weather is kind.

The flowers were pretty and the quiet surroundings made it enjoyable

Great experience, peaceful place to come for those in search of serenity. Very kind Monk, highly recommended.

The temple is small, but they had the right idea to use umbrella. Sadly for me maples were still green. With red colors i think u can get nice shot

Small temple but well decorated with flowers. It's quiet and peaceful.