Rin'oji

 Continuing around the pond, I soon came to another picturesque spot.

 Once around the small pond I was back near the entrance. Passing through this gate put me at the entrance again.

 This time the doors on the hall next to the entrance were open so I looked in. I expect that this is used for group meditations and sermons.

 The stairs leading up to this hall were made from large slabs of stone.

 As I passed out of the garden, I noticed that some more people had entered and were sitting around one of the resting places.

On the way back to the street, I noticed this carved stone, one of many that I showed before.

Rin'oji

 Here is another view of the pagoda.

 This strange looking thing is representative of something you frequently see in the entrance to a traditional Japanese building, homes or temples. It is the roots of a large tree that have been trimmed and polished. I have to admit that I kind of like them. One interesting point is that each is unique and you can pass a lot of time following all the curves.

 This appeared to be a small meditation  hall.

 The garden very skillfully combines small trees, stones, and other plants.

 There is no smoking in the temple grounds, but in the garden there was a small, room for maybe four people, roofed area with ash trays. Since there was no one there at the time, I used the seats to take a short rest. I deserved it since I had already walked about 15 kilometers, including my morning walk with Ian.

I had not seen any other humans while walking around, but as I sat there resting, I saw a man enter. He had a camera in his hand and he started taking pictures, too.

Rin'oji

 The garden contains a very nice three story pagoda, or more properly, a stupa. These represent the structure built over the grave of the Buddha or other person. Traditionally the stupa holds a relic of some sort or a sacred writing. Stupas are very interesting architecturally. There is a single core that runs through the middle from the top to bottom. The bottom end extends below the bottom of the ground floor and fits into a bowl shaped hole in a large stone. This method of construction is extremely strong and the stupas remain standing during earthquakes even when all the surrounding buildings collapse.

 Just beyond the stupa (you can see the first roof on the left) there is a bridge. The surface is curved, a shape that is typical in Japanese gardens.

 This little building was a place to sit out of the sun and provided an entrance to the service area beyond.

 I was intrigued by the shape of this tree.

 This is a good example of the 'pay attention to  your feet' paths that I previously mentioned. The flag stones are very irregular and difficult to walk on, even when you pay attention. A branch path goes between the trees and you have to cross the roots, which require even more concentration.

Another curved bridge. This one has no railings but instead there is a row of green plants.

Rin'oji

 Rin'oji as a large garden that costs 300 yen to enter. Since I had never seen it I decided to go in, even though most of the flowers would already be past their prime. You enter through a short hallway in which you pay on a machine. Just inside the garden, I turned around and found the entrance to some sort of meeting or meditation room.

 Straight ahead was the garden proper and on my right was another large room. This one, however, had glass windows so that the garden would be visible from inside.

 This is what you would see if  you were inside looking out.

 In Japanese gardens many of the trees are supported so that they can grow into unusual shapes.

 The paths in traditional gardens, even in just the temple grounds, are often made so that you have to pay close attention to your feet as you walk, otherwise you will trip and possibly fall. This forces you into one of the basic Buddhist meditation, being completely in the present.

This little building was a pleasure to look at.