Sublime

If there were a god, he'd be like water that brings life to things without trying. Water seeks the lowest place and cleanses what it touches. It is as satisfied with the humble as with the exalted. Still, deep, clear, true, kind, useful, generous, prompt. This is also the true man, liquid, and at ease.

The Hamarikyu Gardens are a somewhat hidden gem close to Ginza, peaceful and pretty parkland in the heart of the city with seawater ponds and a wonderful teahouse serving macha (green tea).

WANG CHEN says, “Those who treasure the Way fit in without making a show and stay forever hidden. Hence, they don’t leave any tracks.

$$$ La Torretta is a trendy, upscale 11-room place that caters to a demanding clientele. Probably the most elegant retreat in the region, it’s a peaceful refuge with all the comforts for those happy to pay, including a communal hot tub with a view. Guests enjoy a complimentary snack and glass of prosecco on arrival, free wine-tastings, breakfast bu

“A roshi is a person who has actualized that perfect freedom which is the potentiality for all human beings. He exists freely in the fullness of his whole being. The flow of his consciousness is not the fixed repetitive patterns of our usual self-centered consciousness, but rather arises spontaneously and naturally from the actual circumstances of

Visit Murin-an (just west of Nanzen-ji), one of Kyoto’s most peaceful and beautiful gardens, but often overlooked by tourists. (◙ www.murin-an.jp/en ☼7.30am-6pm but varies so check website, ¥410)

His memory palace was a Japanese inn. Not just any inn: it was the Minaguchi-ya, on the Tokaido Road, between Tokyo and Kyoto. Eiko had never visited the Minaguchi-ya, but he had read an ancient book, by a gaijin from the old American States named Oliver Statler. The book had detailed the Minaguchi-ya: every room of the place, over all the generati