Kiyomizudera

Old Kyoto: People, architecture and nature united in harmony

Early in the morning, the old Kyoto still seems like over 1000 years ago. When loud school classes wander across the Kiyomizu temple, founded in 798, the old timber floor boards of the terrace creak in the famous prayer house of the old imperial city, it smells wonderful like frankincense, and lonely praying monks remain quiet. The name “Temple abbey of the clear water” refers to the spring below the main hall” which is supposed to work medical wonders. The wooden terrace carried by hundreds of columns is one of the emblems of Japan. If you come on time, you can walk through the so-called 'teapot ways' almost undisturbed, the many little alleys which lead to the temple and where the best pottery of Kyoto is offered. The diverging cobble-stone lane Sannenzaka (“Three-year-way”) and the adjacent Ninenzaka (“Two-year-way”) are the most beautiful insider’s tips by the Kiyomizu. Here you can still dream of old Japan while sipping a glass of green tea.