Konchi-in is a temple (a subtemple of Nanzen-ji) with a stroll garden and the “Crane and Turtle Garden”, a karesansui garden viewed from temple balcony. Toshugu shrine on temple grounds has a history connecting to the Tokugawa shogun family. There is lots of moss clad beauty to see here, although to me this garden did not appeal quite as much as some others nearby (Nanzen-ji main temple or Tenju-an). The karesansui here uses the idea of borrowed landscape - there is a display of stones behind teh field of gravel and behind them rise the trees creating nice depth to the picture.

We happened upon this temple walking back to the subway from Nanzen-ji and decided to stop because it cost only about 400¥ each to get in. It looked peaceful and something was drawing us here. You follow the path going around the shrine in a circle, starting at a pond with koi fish in it. The gardens all around here are beautiful and the path is clearly marked. Make sure to wear bug spray. We got bit a bunch of times as it was muggy and the vegetation was thick in here. You come to the main shrine and it seems to be very historic. The trees open up to a huge zen garden and we just took off our shoes and sat here enjoying the peace and quiet. There was one other small group of people here at the time who were very quiet and respectful, so we basically had the place to ourselves. We sat for a good 20 minutes.