Shin-Sien Temple garden

Feeling somewhat groggy from a bad night's sleep, I went to find Higashi Hongashi Temple's garden ( once part of the temple (the mausoleum of Shinran Shonin that I'd come across the other day) but now separate by highways and byways. I loved it!  It was full of wildlife and little stone paths across ponds and other balancing challenges. It was virtually empty but then suddenly you'd come across someone who'd just crossed stepping stones before getting back into a wheelchair!

There were little nooks that reminded me of home.

Wildlife....

It was glorious...

Flowers

 

Historic tree stumps 

 

What more could a girl want?  Well around the corner, she began to feel like she'd entered a Samurai movie...

The sign reads: Beware of the bee!

Side view of the beehive

Stable for samurai horses? 

Oh and rock walls to die for...

And the icing on the cake was finding Cafe Bon again and having tea and croissant.  It rapidly filled with young monks eating things like omelette with curry. I don't really think the interior matched up to the exterior but I now have my pin on the map as the visitor from Auckland. 

Interior Cafe Bon

I keep wondering how all the cutesy kitsch you see around tallies with these glorious, understated, subtly balanced gardens.