ADASHINO
NENBUTSU-JI TEMPLE
JAPAN
1aWurH
In Arashiyama (a 20-minute train ride from Kyoto), this walkway close to
Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple is fl anked on both sides by thick, imposing
bamboo. As you stroll down this trail, the ethereal beauty of the greens,
the soft light perforating from above, and the hush of the atmosphere make
you one with nature. At the edge of this bamboo grove, around 8,000 stone
Buddha statues jut out of ground; they are placed in the memory of those
who died without kin. Every year in August, those souls are honoured during
the two-day festival, Sentō Kuyo, when chanting monks and glittering
candles add further mystique to the setting