Feb 14, 2014 - 1 min read

Kyoto's Osawa-no-ike Pond in B&W

Beautiful man-made pond attached to Daikaku-ji Temple

By Larry Knipfing

Community writer

Dying lotus with cloud reflected in the pond

Although pink summer lotus (with huge green leaves) are very pretty, dying lotus in winter are also beautiful in their own way

Stone monument near the pond with kanji lettering carved into the stone

View of a nearby pagoda through two cherry trees and a small pond of lotus

This man-made pond was built originally for a villa for the Saga Emperor, sometime in the 8th century. It still exists today as part of Daikaku-ji, a temple I really love. The combination of temple and pond makes for a very nice experience, and I highly recommend going there. I visited in late December, but it wasn't cold at all. A video I watched in the temple showed the pond in summer full of gorgeous lotus (hasu), so I am definitely going back to enjoy that! There is also a pagoda, bamboo grove, plum trees and cherry trees, so it looks like it's beautiful year round.

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Find out more about Daikakuji Temple.

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By Larry Knipfing

Community writer

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Patcharii A. 10 years ago

Those B&W photos are stunning!

Bonson Lam 10 years ago

These are timeless photos, Larry! Many Kyoto gardens have water features like ponds, and the reflection of the water is very beautiful. I hope you can come back again in Summer, and actually Spring and Autumn as well for that matter, when many of them have light ups and you can see the beautiful colors reflected in the water.

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