Kiyomizu-Dera Temple

Today, we took a train to Kyoto to visit Kiyomizu-Dera Temple.

We took a bus ride from Kyoto station and walked up this weird hill.. weird because.. it was packed with people and there were little shops on either side.. and it took us to the temple.

We were both very surprised at just how many people were at the temple, it is apparently an incredibly popular tourist destination, for white folk and asians alike. There’s heaps of photos.. a lot of the scenery.. the autumn leaves are very pretty.

Here is a little motion picture from the Temple area looking back toward Kyoto.

If you listen closely.. Jesse is talking about crap.

Here are a big batch of photos from the Temple walking itself.. once again there were a few areas where we could not take photos.

Kiyomizu-Dera Temple VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The main hall where we couldn’t take photos was, of course, the most interesting. Today we went into a ‘womb’ (underground a temple), it was pitch black, there were heaps of people in there with us but it was spooky because we seriously couldn’t see a single thing. We were told to touch a stone, which was the only thing that had a little light, and that by touching the stone we could make a wish and it would come true. Time will tell, eh?

On the way back down I saw a little restaurant where people were sitting cross-legged on the floor at the table.. and I almost insisted we stop there to eat. It was actually surprisingly nice.. surprisingly because we didn’t think it would be. Just some noodles, chives, and a little egg thingy.. and a Coca-Cola of course.

On the way back down the ‘weird hill’ – we both purchased a Japan t-shirt, and Jesse purchased a Hello Kitty Coin Purse.. and we both enjoyed a Green Tea flavoured soft-serve Ice Cream.

The bus back to Kyoto station was literally packed.. packed like nothing you ever seen before, I assure you.. we were sharing space with strangers like you wouldn’t believe – not to mention there was a group of obnoxious Americans talking loudly and rudely.. guh. Swallow your pride! Anyway.. we got back and saw Kyoto Tower across the road.. we decided to go up it

Here are the photos.

Kyoto Tower VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We also got a cartoon-portrait-sketch thingo of the two of us down whilst in the tower. It is super cute and fantastic and an absolute bargain for 500 yen.

We crossed the road to .. I don’t even know what the hell it was. Some .. department store.. it was like, 8 levels high, and each level was effing huge. They sold everything.. and each section was huge. For example.. personal shavers.. well, who knew there were so many different personal shavers to choose from – vacuum cleaners, watches, washing machines, weird fridges I aint never seen before, every mobile phone, Apple product, omg.. it was just humungous, and of course a giant supermarket on the bottom level. This alone was amazing – but – it was absolutely packed!! Such a gigantic department store, and there were people absolutely everywhere.. madness.

Here are some shots from Kyoto station.. compare it to Central.. Brisbane – you got NOTHIN.. very confusing though.

Then we came back to Momodani and had Thai for dinner It was delicious.