Ryōan-ji

Kyoto Prefecture · Japan

Ryōan-ji, Japan
Photo: 663highland, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Good to know

Best time to go
March–May and October–November
Budget
$
Accessibility
limited
Coordinates
Open in maps

A Rinzai Zen temple celebrated for its dry landscape garden, considered one of the finest examples of karesansui design. Fifteen carefully placed rocks emerge from a raked gravel field enclosed by weathered clay walls; no single viewing position reveals all fifteen stones simultaneously. The garden's spare composition has influenced designers and architects internationally since the temple opened to the public in the mid-twentieth century.

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