I have one complaint about Kyoto: there are simply too many places that are worth checking out that, for someone like me who has a limited number of days to spend in the area, it’s almost tragic. While mapping out where we want to go, it was with a heavy heart that we had to slash many of them on the list. Kiyomizudera was one of those places that we had to let go of. But, one evening, while walking around aimlessly in the Gion area looking for a place to eat, Peach and I bumped into Sheryl, Hazel and another new friend, Jas. And plans were changed.
Remember Sheryl and Hazel, whom we met up with in Shinsaibashi in Osaka? In a burst of inspiration, we all decided to seek out the cafe and bar Arasick, and I talked about that in this post. A couple of days later, as fate would have it, we also bumped into each other in one of the dark Gion alleys. They, too, were looking for somewhere to eat. But we couldn’t find any because (a) they were mostly full and (b) darn, they were soooo pricey! At that time, Peach and I agreed to try one of their full set meals, even if one person had to reach 4 digits per person.
But almost everywhere is already packed, and there are long queues waiting to be seated next. So, in another spontaneous turn, we thought, why not just go catch the illumination at Kiyomizudera?
So we walked to the bus stop, rode the short bus ride and started the uphill walk, along with a growing crowd, towards Kiyomizudera.
From the bus stop, we had to walk up a narrow street for around 15 to 20 minutes. You won’t get bored, though, because both sides of the street are lined with shops selling EVERYTHING. I sense that it is a bit of a tourist trap, what with the variety of souvenirs for sale, from stationery to katanas and Hello Kitty stuff.
And don’t forget foooooooooood~!!! Many of the stores offered free taste, and we gave in to some. 🙂
Finally we arrived at the top of the street, where we immediately came upon the main gate of the temple.
And I did say there was a crowd, didn’t I? At this time, the temple was already closed to regular temple visitors. But because of the illumination, only select parts of the temple grounds remain open.
The main gate of the temple. I loved how the orange-red looked when lit up.
Kiyomizudera literally translates to “Pure Water Temple”. It’s one of the oldest temples. How old, exactly? It was established long before Kyoto became the capital of Japan (which, in later years, transferred to Tokyo). Currently, it is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites. It is situated on top of a hillside, with the main hall jutting 13 meters high on the side of the hill, making it a great spot for hanami or viewing of cherry blossoms during spring, and illuminations during fall.
One thing that I’ve always heard of, but fully realized when I was finally in Japan during the fall season, was that the Japanese absolutely love their fall illuminations.Whenever I turned on the television in my hotel room in Tokyo, the news had bits about illuminations all over the country. I was finally able to witness one, and I’m glad I did.
Funny thing, though. I was expecting some kind of a light show, with lasers and stuff, because come on, in my country, people flock to a certain place to check out something spectacular. With explosions and bursts and stuff. So we even asked one of the staff if the illumination already started, and he went, “it’s happening right now”. But we couldn’t spot splashes of color against the night sky. We just saw some trees looking fiery red.
It turns out, it truly was an illumination. Basically, from the spot on the main hall, the side of the hill will be illuminated, so you can check out the autumn colors of the leaves.
From here, you may also get a bird’s eye view of the entire city of Kyoto. In the pic below, you can glimpse the well-lit Kyoto Tower at the distance.
I loved the view. The only thing I didn’t like was the crowd. You have to fight for a good spot to check it out. But we really can’t do anything about the crowd. As I mentioned earlier, Japan loves its fall illuminations, so crowds are a given.
Not surprisingly, there were many couples lining up to get a photo taken with the illuminated trees behind them.
We stayed there for only a short while. Maybe 10 minutes? Then strolled a bit around the areas that are open to the public that time. But it was dark, so we could not fully see or appreciate the beauty of the place. When we were going down, many of the shops were already closing up for the night. I think it was already close to 8pm by then.
While we were walking back down, we spotted this group of young people dressed up in traditional garb hanging out the side of the lane. Hazel was so brave (haha!) and asked if we could take photos with them, and they are such troopers, they agreed!
I want to see Kiyomizudera in broad daylight. Too bad, we could have gone on to check it out after Yasaka Shrine, since they’re close, but we weren’t able to because we proceeded to Ginkakuji instead (that will be in a succeeding post). Yes, that’s definitely going to be on my list the next time I find myself in Kyoto.
(By the way, the entrance fee to the place is 300 yen, but that is on regular days. During spring and fall illuminations, the price is 400 yen. That’s how much we paid.)