Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Kiyomizu-dera is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Kato City, Hyogo Prefecture, with the sangō (mountain name) Mitake-san. It is also known as the 25th temple on the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage. To distinguish it from Kyoto’s famous Kiyomizu-dera on Mt. Otowa, it is also called “Banshu Kiyomizu-dera.” Access is by taking Shinki Bus from Aino Station on the JR Fukuchiyama Line (about 35 minutes) and getting off at the “Kiyomizu-dera” bus stop, right nearby. Within the spacious grounds are many highlights, including the vivid vermilion Niō Gate, the Konpon Chudo (Main Hall) that enshrines the principal wooden standing statue of the Eleven-Headed Kannon, the Daikodo (Great Lecture Hall) which was once lost to a fire in the Taisho era but later rebuilt, and the “Okage no Ido” well—said to have sprung forth when the founder Hodo Sennin prayed to a water deity, and from which the temple’s name is derived. Visitors can also enjoy seasonal scenery: a wide variety of cherry blossoms and rhododendrons in spring, hydrangeas in early summer, and autumn foliage that is sometimes illuminated at night. At the shop to the left after passing through the Niō Gate, you can enjoy popular items such as wild-vegetable soba, udon, set meals, and amazake (sweet fermented rice drink).