Mimuro Toji - The Lotus Series

My friends and I decided to go to Mimuro Toji in Uji which is famous for its hydrangeas and lotus. Tis the season for hydrangea flowers now. Everywhere you look, you will be greeted with the purple, pink or white flowers. But in this post, I will focus first on the lotus plant.



We decided to go early, in order to catch the blooming lotus flowers. Yes, tis is also the season for the lovely lotus flowers, however, they bloom in the morning so we have to be there early.



We took the free shuttle bus from the main Kyoto University campus to the Uji campus. Along the way, I bumped into a friend of mine (you know who you are!) and along the way back, we bumped into another friend of ours! From there, we took the Keihan train to Uji station and took a bus to Mimuro Toji.



The lotus plant is one of my favourite plants because it is lovely to see as well as lovely to eat! Haha! I love the flowers - somehow they exude "serene-ness". I guess that has something to do with its association with Buddhism and Hinduism as well as the way they grow - floating on the calm pond, with the sudden brightness of pink, purple or white flowers against the dark pond.



However, the lotus plants found in Mimuro Toji are not grown in a pond. They are grown in individual pots and some of the leaves and flowers are taller than us. It was a hot and humid day, even though the sun was hidden in the haze. After I had finished photographing the flowers, my face was bright red and all my friends went "Are you alright?". Thank goodness we went there on a weekday so we avoided the weekend crowd.



As I mentioned earlier, I love the plant because I love to eat parts of it. I love lotus roots. Love, love, love lotus root. Here in Japan, they usually prepare it as a side dish as a part of their traditional lunch or dinner set. I like it that way but I really love lotus root soup. Ah....in winter, it was heaven! Alas, the price of the lotus root here is expensive so I can only cook it occasionally. I also love eating the lotus seed raw or when it is used as a paste for mooncakes.



Although the flowers are the main draw, I love the leaves as well and they come in many shapes, either round, or more heart shaped. And I love the look of the lotus seeds/pods, probably because they remind me of how delicious they taste! Haha!



I had always missed the lotus flowering season for the past three years I had been here and this is my first time actually viewing them. Back home, in our lake gardens, we used to have this pond filled with lotus plants but on my last trip back, the plants were dying. Now I regret not taking pictures of them before.

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