Hey steemits,

 
Carl from FML here with hopefully another exciting blog about my travels through Japan. In my previous blog we visited Fushimi Inari shrine which I’d describe as a must see (at least once) whilst in Kyoto. In this blog, we’ll explore another famous Kyoto temple called Kiyomizu-dera (pictured below).

Additionally check out my video with clips from my visit to Kiyomizu-dera

Kiyomizu-dera is located about 2.5km North-East of Kyoto Station and is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon for any visitor to Kyoto. If you plan to visit Kiyomizu-dera you should catch the train to Kiyomizu-Gojo Station which is a short distance from Kiyomizu-dera.

I personally found this part of Kyoto to be very charming. In particular I loved the wide tree lined boulevards which were packed with local family owned shops and the Kamo River which shimmers with a wonderful golden colour at sunset.

My friend and I visited Kiyomizu-dera in the afternoon after our morning visit to Fushimi Inari Shrine. Unfortunately, we only had about 3 hours of sunlight left in the day. Noticing Kyoto Tower and a few interesting shrines in the distance we quickly realised that we had a lot of things we wanted to see in a limited amount of time.

Hiring Bicycles

My friend and I decided that hiring bicycles was perhaps the quickest way to get around town to see some of the amazing local attractions. Exiting the train station at Kiyomizu-Gojo Station we found a bicycle hire shop near the station. Bicycle hire between 3pm-6pm was a reasonable ‎¥500 each ($5.5 AUD) for the basic bicycles. More premium options such as electric powered bicycles were also available. Check out some of my photos below of my friend and I hiring bicycles.

As there is no bicycle parking immediately adjacent to Kiyomizu-dera we had to park our bicycles at a visitor carpark approximately 100m from the temple which cost a further ‎¥300.

A Kyoto specialty

As we walked the remainder of the distance to Kiyomizu-dera we passed through a market alley (pictured below) which was full of cool souvenir shops and local food stores.

Whilst exploring the market alley I noticed a popular café called Yatsu Hashi Chou which was selling cream puff pastries. I decided to purchase one of their signature Green Tea Cream Puffs (‎~¥500 from memory). You can choose from a variety of flavours including vanilla, green tea, red bean or chocolate cream filling.

The puffs were served with a dusting of cinnamon sugar and the pastry was extremely light and crispy. The cream filling inside was also outstanding and was sweet, smooth and subtle in flavour. The only negative I had was that I was sad as soon as I finished the snack. On the bright side the interesting décor inside the café did cheered me up. Check out some of my photos from the café below.

Kiyomizu-dera

Proceeding through the market we approached the entrance of Kiyomizu-dera. Given that the temple is about halfway up Mt Otowa, it’s quite a climb up the hill from the train station. The benefit of this however is that the temple has some fantastic views overlooking Kyoto. The temple entrance is also very beautiful and I particularly loved the side balcony which overlook the city. Check out some of my photos from the entrance to Kiyomizu-dera below.

The entry fee into the temple is ¥300 which isn’t a lot, however there isn’t a lot of things to actually see inside the main hall (Hondo). What is interesting however is walking out onto the famous main hall platform which was initially constructed in 1633. It was also great exploring the temple grounds and enjoying the views of the city.

One of the main attractions in the temple grounds is Otowa waterfall. The waters of this attraction are divided into three separate streams, with each stream believed to have a different effect. Depending on which stream you drink from you may be granted success, love or longevity. You’re only technically meant to pick one stream to drink from as it is considered greedy to drink from all three streams...so choose wisely. Check out my photos below of Otowa waterfall.

Otowa waterfall is located below the main hall (pictured to the right)

Success – Love – Longevity

Walking past the famous main hall platform you’ll be able to capture some great photos of the temple’s main hall which is commonly photographed from the very same spot as shown below in travel magazines.

After spending 2 hours at Kiyomizu-dera, we had 1 hour left before we had to return our bicycles. We decided to ride up to Kyoto Tower which we had yet to check out. Exploring the city on bicycles was immensely pleasing. If you don’t ride a bicycle every day it will certainly bring back memories from your childhood. Personally, I’d recommend riding along the Kamo River and in the direction of Kyoto Tower as shown in my cycle path below.

In hind sight hiring bicycles was a stroke of brilliance as we had enough time to check out Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto Tower and a few other attractions all the while enjoying a very beautiful bike ride though the city. Check out some of my photos from riding along the Kamo River below.

The setting sun shimmering on the Kamo River was absolutely amazing

We also rode up to the Higashi Honganji Temple which is next to Kyoto Tower

Unfortunately, I did not get to visit all the temples in Kyoto but I was very pleased that I had the opportunity to see Inari Shrine and Kiyomizu-dera all within one day and the bike ride was in my opinion the perfect way to end a perfect day.

Please let me know in the comments if you’ve visited any other interesting temples in Kyoto, as I’ll certainly be back one day to explore some more temples and shrines.

I hope you enjoyed reading about this travel blog. If you want to hear more about my adventures please upvote this post and share with friends. Additionally, please follow me to hear more about my latest adventures. ✌️

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