The Philosopher's Path: canal and cherry trees
The canal-side path under the blossom, from the Silver Pavilion down to the great Zen gate. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Ginkaku-ji (the Silver Pavilion)
The *-ji* (Buddhist temple) at the path's north end, never actually silvered. The thing to see is the *teien* (garden): a cone of raked sand called the Moon-Viewing Platform and a moss garden climbing the slope behind. Go at opening before the path below fills.

2. Tetsugaku-no-michi (the Philosopher's Path)
The canal-side walk named for the philosopher Nishida Kitaro, who paced it on his way to the university. Two kilometres of cherry trees over a stone channel; extraordinary for the week they're out in early April, calm and green the rest of the year.

3. Honen-in
A few steps off the path through a thatched gate, two banked rectangles of raked sand inside, then a mossy temple almost no one detours for. Free, quiet, and the antidote to the crowds on the canal. Go even if you have to double back.

4. Eikan-do (Zenrin-ji)
Near the south end of the path, a temple built up a hillside with a small pagoda above and a famous backward-looking Amida statue inside. The maples here are the best in the eastern hills come November; otherwise a calm climb and a view back over the roofs.

5. Nanzen-ji Sanmon
The colossal wooden gate at the head of the *Nanzen-ji* complex. Pay the small fee to climb it — the upper gallery gives you the temple roofs below and the hills beyond, and you'll likely share it with two other people.

6. Nanzen-ji aqueduct
Behind the temple, a Meiji-era brick aqueduct still carrying water from Lake Biwa, its arches striding through the trees. Walk up onto the path beside the channel; the contrast of Roman-looking brick against the Zen grounds is the day's surprise.

The Philosopher's Path: canal and cherry trees