By YOSHIAKI ARAI/ Staff Writer
August 25, 2025 at 18:09 JST
A block of ice sits on a walkway facing the inner garden of Kenninji temple in Kyoto. (Yoshiaki Arai)
KYOTO—The oldest Zen temple in Japan now has a way to help its visitors find relief and reflect on how people in the past lived with the blistering heat of the ancient capital.
Kenninji temple in Higashiyama Ward began setting up blocks of ice in different areas of its main hall for the first time in modern history starting Aug. 10.
The first 45-centimeter block of ice was installed along the walkway facing an inner garden of the temple, giving visitors an unconventional way to admire the garden through the ice.
“We hope visitors can cool off by learning how people in the past dealt with the heat as well as viewing the ice along with the landscape,” a temple official said.
A third block was placed on Aug. 23 at the entrance to the main hall. Visitors were allowed to touch it and young children remarked on how cold it was.
Ice blocks will be on display about once a week with no set day for installation. Temple officials plan to continue this historical, and practical, nod to life of eras past until mid-September.
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