Kiyomizudera

So on one of these days--I'm just going to say it was day 5, although the chronology is all messed up at this point--I decided to visit Kiyomizudera. I decided to go in the late afternoon, after visiting some other sites earlier, and I was really looking forward to it. Kiyomizudera is probably the most famous temple in Kyoto, at least for Japanese people. Whenever I told a Japanese person that I was planning to go to Kyoto, or asked them if they had ever been to Kyoto, they almost inevitably mentioned Kiyomizudera. I think every school child in Japan visits the temple.
Kiyomizudera is located up on a hill, in Eastern Kyoto. To get there, you take a bus to a street nearby, and then walk up a long, winding road, positively infested with tourist shops. Traditional ceramics, woodwork, kitschy Japanese souvenirs, Hello Kitty merchandise--you can get just about any touristy thing you can dream of on this road. It's actually pretty damn cool, in a way. Most of the shops carry similar things, and it's terribly crowded, but it's strangely atmospheric. This is the real Japan, warts and all, and in its own way, it is beautiful. Below you can see part of this street, with Kiyomizudera's pagoda in the distance.

Kiyomizudera was very crowded, and very beautiful. It was late afternoon when I arrived, and the sky was extraordinarily blue.

Kiyomizudera, up on the hills, overlooks Kyoto like a guardian statue. The beautiful red of the traditional gate makes a pretty amazing contrast.

Below you can see the main gate entrance to Kiyomizudera. The sun was starting to set at this point.

Kiyomizudera is pretty high up, and once you get away from the main areas, you can find some incredible sites. Here the sun was just beginning to set. The views were amazing. Here you can clearly see Kyoto Tower, illuminated against the sunset.

Another view from a path I took away from the main area--there's quite a few paths to wander around on. I believe I took this picture from another random pagoda that I found--this is part of the main temple.

Below you can see the great wooden terrace that Kiyomizudera is most famous for. It's built up on a hill, over the pure spring that give Kiyomizudera its name (mizu=water, kiyo=pure.) I didn't take a drink, though--there were hordes of school children, all eager for their drink.

As you can tell from the picture, it was pretty busy. It is the most famous temple in Kyoto, after all! It was still a pretty amazing visit, though.