Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Wednesday, March 4th--There was blue sky the next morning, and we were hopeful for a better day of weather.
Our first plan of the day was to have a relaxing experience at Kiyomizu-dera Temple.  In researching for our trip, we read that to reach Kiyomizu-dera, one had to walk up a mountain trail and find the very old temple near a sacred waterfall.  We had visions in our heads of a pleasant dirt trail through a forest leading up to a simple, somewhat plain structure near a pure waterfall cascading down a mountain side. 
Kiyomizu-dera couldn't have been more different from what we had thought it was going to be.....and yet we all really loved this place!
We biked over to the north-eastern part of the city and climbed half of the mountain on the streets, fighting through traffic on our bikes.  We found a parking lot, paid to park the bikes and began the ascent up the rest of the mountain.  Our "mountain trail through a forest" was actually a paved walking street flanked with souvenir shops.  There were a lot of people on the street, though this picture does not show that.  We didn't remember it being this open, but I guess at some point it was because here's the picture to prove it.

The shops opened up to this view--we were a little taken aback at what we saw!  It was not like what we had imagined, and yet it was beautiful!  Raymond and the kids are at the top of the stairs under the gate.

There were kimono alerts everywhere we looked.....

Taking selfies....

This is a perfect shot of what Japan is all about.  It's a mix of old tradition and culture with all the new, up-and-coming technologies.  This beautiful lady in her kimono is holding a selfie-stick and using it to take a selfie with her iPhone.  Selfie-sticks are all the rage in Japan...everyone but us seems to have one.

We were expecting a single temple structure and a gate, but there were many other buildings here, including two pagodas. This is the first one.

Look at all the detail.

We love their hair.

We took a bathroom break before we paid to get into the Kiyomizu-dera temple, and while we were taking turns the kids were exploring these bridges. 

Audra's just walking along past people in kimonos at a shrine like it is just a normal occurrence that happens every day.

This is the front of Kiyomizu-dera Temple.  It is one of the most celebrated temples in Japan.  Founded in 780 on the site of the Otowa Waterfall in the wooded hills east of Kyoto, it derives its name from the fall's pure waters.

There was a lot of noise here: clapping, the clink-clang of money being dropped in the offering box, people talking.  There was also a lot of incense burning and the smell was really strong.

The view of Kyoto from the balcony in front of the temple.  Kyoto Tower is in the middle.

Standing on the balcony of Kiyomizu-dera, with the second pagoda in the background.

Looking down, we could see the Otowa Falls....

 Its waters are divided into three separate streams, and visitors use cups attached to long poles to drink from them. Each stream's water is said to have a different benefit, namely to cause longevity, success at school and a fortunate love life. However, drinking from all three streams is considered greedy.

Kimonos everywhere!  There is a trail that leads from the temple to the second pagoda in the distance.  We made our way along the trail.

Here is the Kiyomizu-dera Temple with the view of Kyoto in the background.  This temple is notable for its vast balcony, supported by 139 wooden pillars (each 49 feet high), which juts out over the hillside. The expression "to jump off the porch at Kiyomizu" is the Japanese equivalent of the English expression "to take the plunge." This refers to an Edo period tradition that held that, if one were to survive jumping from the balcony, one's wish would be granted. 234 jumps were recorded in the Edo period and of those, 85.4% survived.  No reports on if the wishes were granted or not.....
The really cool thing about this temple is that it the present building was built in 1633--without the use of ANY nails!  This entire building, balcony included, is still standing strong after almost 400 hundred years without any nails to hold it up.  Pretty awesome.

We made it to the second pagoda, it's cute and pretty.  Koyasu Pagoda stands among the trees in the far southern end of the temple grounds, and a visit is said to bring about an easy and safe childbirth.  Should have come and visited it, oh, 15 years ago.  Doesn't do us any good now......

Here is the view of Kiyomizu-dera and the first pagoda from the Koyasu Pagoda. 

As we continued on toward the waterfalls, there were a few shops where people were having tea.  The view of Japanese people wearing kimonos while sitting on the floor and drinking tea was fun to walk by.

Here is the view of this cool, old building from the bottom of the trail....

Next to us was the line to partake of the Otowa Falls.

We had planned on partaking, but the line was really, really long, so we decided to move on. 

These little guys are standing guard just to the left of the falls.

 

Caitlin's turn to get a picture with beautiful Japanese girls in kimonos.  It really tickles them when we ask if they wouldn't mind taking a picture with us.  They will give me their cameras or iPhone and ask me to take a picture of them with Americans.  Sometimes, they will approach us instead of us approaching them for pictures.  Nathan, Audra, and Kirstina are celebrities.  They have people following them around taking pictures of them practically all day long.

As we looked for a quiet place out of the way to eat our packed lunch, we found this shop where many others were eating.  So many kimonos.

We ended up eating under this stone pagoda on some benches and watched people as they walked by.

Making our way back down the walking street toward the bikes, Audra found a big Hello Kitty at one shop.  Even Hello Kitty is wearing a kimono!

By some miracle, we didn't loose anyone in the crowds of people as we made our descent down the mountain and toward our bikes.

We biked over to the Sanjusangendo Hall, but they were closed for some strange reason.  We will just have to come back there tomorrow.

The time had come......time to turn our bikes back in.