On the next morning visited Manshu-in (曼殊院) to the north of Enko-ji, which we visited 3 years ago. Took Keihan commuter train to the Shugakuin station and taxi uphill to the main entrance.  Koyo outside the temple wall formed a tunnel/boulevard where we spent 15 min. 

Spotted a column commemorating the visit by the former Heisei Emperor and Queen. 

 

Manshu-in has been visited by many members of the royal family in the past, with archived photos of their past visits exhibited inside the temple.  Stayed for 1 hour.  There were other visitors but not crowded.

While no photo is allowed inside the temple, it is permitted for the landscape garden. 

 

 

Koyo from Manshu-in to Shugakuin station downhill via Saginomori Jinja – hardly any visitor except us. 

 

 

On the next day visited the Kamigamo Jinja (上賀茂神社).  There were more locals – some were dressed up in local customs for ceremonies.  We left after 1 hour. 

In retrospect when we visited the Shimogamo Jinja in 2019 for the same there were local couples and families dressed up for wedding ceremony. 

 

 

On the next day we visited the National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto for a break. Apart from modern paintings, there was a special exhibition of Tsumugi Silk weaving by Shimura Fukumi. 

 

 

Our last koyo visit in Kyoto was Sanzen-in, Ohara. Due to its distance from Kyoto downtown and lack of efficient public transports it has long been postponed. Picked up a rental car in Katata, Shiga Prefecture, whose driving distance is not just shorter but also avoiding the traffic jams in Kyoto downtown.  It took less than 30 min with sparse traffic even on a Sunday morning.  

Though it had the most crowds of all our koyo visits in this trip so far, it’s more spread out in its huge temple ground and landscape gardens in both up and downhill. We probably spent nearly 2 hours for one of the most spectacular koyo spots. 

 

Had lunch in a nearby local restaurant while marveling at the beautiful scenery outside. Dropped by a centre selling agricultural produce.  Drove to our next onsen hotel in Biwako afterwards. 

 

 

==========>   Biwako   ==========>