Kiyomizudera – A Kyoto Classic with Views

Kiyomizudera is one of Kyoto’s most popular landmarks — seriously, it feels like everyone visits Kiyomizudera. I heard it is especially popular in autumn, when the view from the temple with all the colorful maple leaves. Even Japanese ppl from other regions travel here just to see this autumn scenery.

Also, the temple is famous for its sundown view. So there are a lot of ppl between 4 PM to 5 PM. (They close at 5 PM... as a tourist I think it is too early...) I’ve been Kiyomizudera twice, fisrt time around 4Pm and the second time around 10AM. I preferred visiting in the morning — fewer crowds. But even in the morning, you’ll see lots of package tour groups arriving. I heard some ppl are visting really early in the morning like 8AM. If you don't it to be too crowded, I recommend visiting early in the morning.

A Temple with History

The temple's current structures were reconstructed in 1633 under the order of Tokugawa Iemitsu (he i is he third shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate) after a fire destroyed the original buildings. These wooden buildings are what stand today.

I heard that no metal nails were used in its construction. The wooden architecture is resilient, even against earthquakes. Because the temple sits up on a hill and slightly away from the city center, it avoided major damage during wars. That’s the reason the original wooden structure has survived all these years.

Sometimes the temple displays special sculpture of Buddha. It is not normally displayed to the pulic so it might be worth visiting. When I visited, it was one of those rare display periods. But as you need to pay an extra fee for the exhibition and no one else seemed interested, we skipped it. ahahaha.

Experiencing Religion in the Foregin Countries.

I saw foreign visitors(Westerners...from POV of Korean) engaging in Japanese Buddhist rituals, like ringing the bowl and praying.It might be considered as cultural experience — but for me, I choose not to pray to Gods of other countries' religions. It’s not about disrespect, but more of a personal feeling. I don’t want to pray at churches or other countries’ temples either. I can enjoy folk customs or folk beliefs, but when it feels too sacred or religious, I step back. For me, religion should be more private and not just something to try for fun. So it was weired to see them waiting in line to ring the bowl.

Omamori & Omikuji

At Kiyomizudera, you can buy Omamori, which are protective charms meant to bring you good luck in things like love, health, passing exams, or safety. While similar traditions exist across many Asian cultures, I feel that in Japan, buying these charms feels more natural and widely accpeted. I think in Korea we believe it is more irrationalor somewhat cult-like.

You can try Omikuji, which are Japanese fortune slips, like fortune cookies.

* You shake a box filled with sticks.

* One stick pops out with a number on it.

* Match the number to get your fortune paper.

These days, the stick doesn’t fall out — it just pops up and quickly goes back in. So you need to catch it before it disappears. The fortune paper will tell you your luck (from "great blessing" to "bad luck"). If it’s good, you can either keep it or tie it at the temple. If it’s bad, fold it and hang it on the strings provided — the temple will “take away” your bad luck for you. (This is what I've been told.)

It usually costs 100–200 yen, and the paper comes in English too. But the English translation is not that good... but you can try for fun.

The Otowa Waterfall – For Love, Longevity, and Wisdom

Otowa waterfall is the sacred waterfall divided into three streams. Each one represents:

Longevity
Love
Academic success

From the right side, longevity, love and wisdome. That’s what I’ve heard — not 100% sure how official it is.

You use a long-handled ladle to catch the water, then wash your hands and with that hand lightly touch your lips. I think people used to drink directly from the ladle, but it changed to touching their lips with a wet hand instead due to hygiene concerns. Just my guess.

There were long lines to try this. When I visited last time, I just skipped it. I don't want to wait in lines!!! but this time mom wanted to experience this, we waited in line. Dad and I chose the wisdom one, and mom and brother chose the longevity. No one chose the LOVE. ahahahah.

Final Thoughts

To be honest, Kiyomizu dera isn't exactly my top pick or my go- to recommendation, but since it’s a famous landmark of Kyoto, it is more like “Well, why not check it out?”