Snow at Tofukuji in Kyoto

Stark beauty so different from the colors of autumn

By Cathy Cawood

Community writer

Gracefully leaning pines still bearing a little snow

The pond was glazed with ice which held a few lumps of snow here and there

The thin covering of snow on the stone bridge was untouched

A little snow still rested in the hollows between the roof tiles

A gargoyle with a damaged face on a roof apex

Temple building rising above evergreen trees

One of the covered bridges that overlook the maple valley

So different from autumn's blaze of glorious color!

A lone figure walking through the covered bridge

Notice

Three buildings designated as National Important Cultural Properties are undergoing renovations. The planned construction area will be off-limits from Mid-May 2023 to October 2025. The Kaisando Hall will still be open to visitors.

Latest on Tofukuji Temple

This temple is probably most famous for its incredible maple valley in autumn, but when I visited in winter after a snowfall, I found a totally different ambience. It was almost empty of human life, but crows flapped overhead and cawed from the roof tiles. Snow blanketed the covered bridges at either end of the maple valley, and the trunks and branches of the bare trees contrasted starkly with the snow on the ground. Perhaps it was the crows, but it reminded me of the feeling I got reading Akutagawa's 'Rashomon' ... dark and vaguely gothic. I loved it!