Kyoto Autumn Leaves Family Trip Day 4: Komyo-ji in Nagaokakyo and Ginkaku-ji

December 1, 2006. Day 4 route: Komyo-ji in Kyoto's Nagaokakyo area, then Ginkaku-ji.

By Day 4 of the Kyoto autumn leaves family trip, the plan was not packed with stops. The focus was simple: go to Sohonzan Komyo-ji in Nagaokakyo first, then, if there was still time in the afternoon, return to Kyoto and walk around Ginkaku-ji.

Komyo-ji made it into the itinerary because it had been used as a filming location for a Sony Bravia TV commercial. Once we actually arrived, the memory was not just "we saw a famous spot." It was the winter sunlight, the maple leaves, the quiet temple paths, and the small family moments around Lisa and one very startled cat. It really did not disappoint...

Visiting Komyo-ji for the Commercial Scene

The main stop of the day was Sohonzan Komyo-ji in Nagaokakyo, Kyoto Prefecture. We had a clear reason for going: I wanted to see the autumn-leaf scenery that had caught my attention in that TV commercial.

My first impression of Komyo-ji was how calm it felt. It was not the kind of famous site where the crowd pushes you along. It was a place where we could slow down, look at the leaves, watch the light fall across the stone path, and take photos without rushing too much. With a child along, that rhythm was just right.

A bright autumn-leaf scene inside Komyo-ji temple grounds. — The maple scenery at Komyo-ji lived up to the Sony Bravia commercial memory.

Warm Winter Sun

The sunlight that day was comfortable. Winter sun is not harsh; it lands gently and makes people relax. We originally came for the autumn leaves, but sitting there and soaking up the warmth became one of the easiest moments of the whole family trip.

It felt so good to sit in the sun~~

A child sitting outdoors and enjoying the warm sunlight. — Soaking up the sun became one of the most relaxed moments of the day.

Maple Paths and Temple Corners

There were many corners inside Komyo-ji worth walking through slowly. The autumn leaves were not just a distant background. They colored the trees, the sides of the path, and even the ground underfoot. For me, that was more interesting than simply checking off a sightseeing spot, because every new angle felt worth another photo.

A view of a Komyo-ji temple corner surrounded by autumn foliage. — A quiet corner of Komyo-ji, with autumn colors around the temple grounds.

At one fork, if we did not go down the stairs and kept walking inward, it led toward that...that place...(the place for remembering ancestors~~). That slightly informal note feels very true to how the day was recorded: not as a temple guide, but as a family walking through the place and remembering the route in our own words.

Stone steps and autumn leaves leading deeper into the Komyo-ji grounds. — The path continued toward a quieter memorial area inside the temple grounds.

This maple-lined stone path was one of the scenes that made Komyo-ji worth the trip. Sunlight came through the branches, fallen leaves covered the ground, and it was easy to understand why the commercial memory had pulled us here.

A stone path under red and golden maple leaves at Komyo-ji. — A maple-lined path made the reason for visiting Komyo-ji obvious.

The Poor Cat

Later in the visit, a cat appeared. In a travel photo, a cat should usually make the scene warm and cute. But once Lisa was involved, the moment became a little more dramatic.

Poor cat~~

A cat resting near the temple grounds at Komyo-ji. — The poor cat became an unexpected side character in the family trip.

It was probably almost scared to death by Lisa~~ This was not a major sightseeing moment, but it is exactly the kind of thing that stays in a family travel diary. The adults came to see autumn leaves; the child noticed the small animal right in front of her. In the end, the cat became one of the small main characters of this part of the day.

Lisa looking toward a cat during the Komyo-ji visit. — The cat probably wished Lisa would keep a little more distance.

A Late-Afternoon Stop at Ginkaku-ji

When we returned to Kyoto in the afternoon, it was still early, so we added a stop at Ginkaku-ji~. The mood changed after leaving Komyo-ji. The first half of the day had been quiet maple leaves and temple paths; at Ginkaku-ji, the focus shifted to the garden, pond, and the familiar lines of a Kyoto temple.

The garden and temple grounds at Ginkaku-ji in Kyoto. — After returning to Kyoto while it was still early, we added a stop at Ginkaku-ji.

There was not much text left from the Ginkaku-ji part of the day, but the photos fill in the impression: garden scenery, water, trees, and temple architecture. By this point, Day 4 had moved from the autumn leaves of Nagaokakyo back into a Kyoto city temple garden.

A pond garden and temple building at Ginkaku-ji. — The Ginkaku-ji garden shifted the day from red leaves to a quieter Kyoto scene.

One last look at Ginkaku-ji. This day was not memorable because it was full of stops. It was held together by Komyo-ji's autumn leaves, the warm winter sun, the cat frightened by Lisa, and the quiet afternoon ending at Ginkaku-ji.