Kiyomizu-dera
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9 Day Japan Tour: Fixed Departure
Tokyo(3N) → Kyoto(2N) → Osaka(3N)
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Tokyo(5N) → Kyoto(4N) → Osaka(4N) → Hiroshima(1N)
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Tokyo(3N) → Kyoto(2N) → Osaka(3N)
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9-Day Japan Highlights: Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, and Osaka Adventure
East of Tokyo(3N) → Fujikawaguchiko(1N) → Kyoto(2N) → Osaka...
Japan Highlights: 6 Nights Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto and Osaka Tour
Tokyo(2N) → Kyoto(2N) → Osaka(2N)
"A 778 CE mountainside temple famous for a nail-free wooden stage over Kyoto's hills."
Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto Overview
Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple founded in 778 CE on the wooded slopes of Mount Otowa in Kyoto's Higashiyama district, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto." Its main hall, rebuilt in 1633, is famous for a large wooden stage built using the kakezukuri technique without a single nail, jutting out over the hillside with sweeping views of the city. The complex also holds the Otowa waterfall, whose three streams are said to grant wishes, and the Jishu Shrine's "love stones."
Kiyomizu-dera, formally Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera, is one of Kyoto's oldest temples, predating the city's own founding as capital. Legend credits monk Enchin with its 778 CE founding, with general Sakanoue no Tamuramaro expanding it in 798. Fire repeatedly damaged the complex over the centuries; the current main hall dates to a 1633 rebuild funded by shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. Its veranda, held up by tall wooden pillars and built without nails, gives views over Kyoto and, in autumn, a canopy of maple foliage. Inside is a hidden statue of the eleven-headed Kannon. The temple is the 16th stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage and anchors the historic Higashiyama district, near the Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka lanes.
