Kiyomizudera is like a symbol of Kyoto
Kiyomizu-dera is one of Kyoto's most popular tourist destinations. I believe this is likely the first place you should visit when you go to Kyoto.
This is because you can explore restaurants, tea houses, and shopping streets by walking up the alleys of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka.
The layout allows you to fully enjoy the tourist infrastructure below even without going directly up to the shrine.
I believe that to truly enjoy a trip, it is important not to be rushed by a tight schedule.
The more I travel, the more I realize through experience that simply seeing how many places I visited today is not something to boast about.
In other words, a trip should be enjoyable even if you do nothing for a day; a happy trip cannot be defined by visiting as many places as possible and taking as many photos as possible in a single day. That is an important principle of travel.
I try my best to adhere to that principle, but I haven't been able to shake the desire to experience and see more sights within a limited travel duration.
I wish I could find a middle ground—one where I can see some attractions while still enjoying ample leisure and rest.
That would be possible if I extended my 10-day trip to a month, though. It looks like it will be a happy trip where you spend one day wandering around sightseeing and the next just eating delicious food and sitting around doing nothing.
Kiyomizu-dera
Even if you don't plan to do anything else in Kyoto, I highly recommend visiting this place at least once.
You have likely easily seen snow-covered scenery of Kiyomizu-dera on social media. Or perhaps images of it surrounded by autumn foliage.
I visited in mid-March, so while the plum blossoms had bloomed, the cherry blossoms were still far from blooming. In fact, even if the cherry blossoms had been in bloom, it might have been a bit disappointing since there aren't many cherry trees here.
The name Kiyomizu-dera translates to "a place where water of good energy flows."
There is a legend that a shrine was built there to grant the wishes and provide healing to many people.
**Key Tips for Kiyomizu-dera**
As Kyoto's popularity grows day by day, it has become a place overflowing with crowds, attracting many renowned international tourists. So, suggestions to raise the tourism tax, double transportation fees for foreigners, and charge for meals, hotels, and everything else are emerging as Japanese tourism enjoys a boom.
As a foreigner, I find this quite unpleasant.
While it is true that everyone’s attitude changes when their standing shifts, this mindset—that only their own citizens matter and it is acceptable to discriminate against or charge more to foreigners—will, in the long run, spread the perception that Japan is a heartless, unfriendly, and inhumane nation that easily engages in discrimination.
Whether the goal is to reduce the number of overseas tourists by raising costs or to generate more tourism revenue, Japan does not appear very friendly under such thinking.
The arrogant attitude of treating you strictly based on profit—saying, "I treat you like this, so come or don't, it's up to you"—is quite irritating.
Video related to Kiyomizu-dera
I’ve strayed from the topic for a moment.
Please just be aware that additional taxes related to hotels are being levied, and bus and subway fares are also scheduled to be raised soon.
It is an unavoidable reality that large crowds gather at Kiyomizu-dera, but if I may offer a way to avoid them, I recommend going up early in the morning.
As I wandered around this morning, I observed that group tourists, school trip students, and many other visitors flock up around 10 a.m.
If you have breakfast and stop by your hotel or another place before coming, this time will likely be the right one.
Therefore, to avoid the peak hours, it would generally be best to go up to watch the sunrise, or perhaps around 8 a.m.
I hope you have a fun and enjoyable trip to Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto.
See you again in the next post!
A must-have item for a trip to Japan – my beloved Ichiran Ramen
Visit to Ninenzaka, a place worth visiting in Kyoto
Omizutori – Why and How the Omizutori of Todai-ji’s Nigatsu-do Began
교토 비건레스토랑 – 우츠와 & 카페바 모쿠모쿠
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