Travel: Kiyomizu-dera

Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple overlooking Kyoto, Japan. It’s beautiful, full of history, and was shortlisted as one of the new seven wonders of the world. It didn’t win one of the coveted spots, though. Nope, the seven new wonders of the world are the Great Wall of China, Petra, Colosseum, Chichén Itzá (we’ve been there!), Machu Picchu, Taj Mahal, and Christ the Redeemer. Out of the seven listed, I’d like to see Petra next, I think. What about you?

Okay, enough about that and back to Kiyomizu-dera. Let’s check out the photos of this calm place.

Kiyomizu-dera

The gate is at the top of a very long walk through the neighbourhood of Kiyomizu. Walking up involves dodging traffic, so be careful. There are a lot of shops – and we visited a couple of iron work shops, which were fabulous. Once you reach the gate, you’re good. We spent about 45 minutes at the temple and had plenty of time to see all that we wanted.

The view is wild – check out the photo below, you can see the Kyoto Tower.

One thing I really loved about this view, just like the Mount Takao hike and the Togetsu-kyo bridge, is the autumn leaves, all the colours, oranges, reds, and that mix of green makes for one magical view.

The Kiyomizu-dera is worth checking out – if you can only visit this or the Fushimi Inari Taisha, then visit the other. However, I do suggest you try and make time for this memorable temple. Oh, and give yourself some added time on the way up to check out the shops, stop for coffee, or grab a snack. There are so many small cafes with baked goods (unfortunately, not gluten free) that looked so inviting.

Happy travelling – thanks for visiting! See you again soon.