Kyoto is famous for tradition, culture and temples. We were only in Kyoto for two days but decided to see a major temple/shrine on each day. There are two major traditional religions of Japan, Buddhism and Shintoism. We visited the top Buddhist temple, Kiyomizu-Dera on our first day and Fushimi-Inari, the top Shinto shrine on our second day. One way to tell the difference between a Buddhist temple and a Shinto shrine is the presence of incense. At Buddhist temples you will find people lighting and placing incense, this is not present in the Shinto religion.
Both Kiyomizu-Dera and Fushimi Inari were amazing but be prepared, they were packed. When you see the temples/shrines in pictures compared to real life, you wonder how travelers get such nice photos devoid of a crowd. They must either go really early, have perfect patience and timing, or have really long arms. When we were in Kyoto, it wasn’t even peak season but still both were packed.
Kiyomizu-Dera
On our first day we decided to check out Kiyomizu-Dera. Kiyomizu-Dera means “pure water temple”. The streets Ninezaka and Sannenzaka lead up to the temple and are cool streets lined with tourist shops, cafes and places to get a bite to eat. The streets would be a gorgeous walk to the top if they weren’t so packed. But anyways, we bought a few souvenirs and tried some snacks and continued to make our way through the crowd.
After navigating the crowds, you will eventually reach the temple. There are a few stairs and some quaint Japanese houses along the side. From the base of the temple you will have an aerial view of Kyoto. The view is nice and after taking a few photos you can wander around and check out the temples. There are several temple buildings, and you can purchase some incense for a few hundred yen. After taking part and burning my hand at Senso-Ji in Tokyo, I didn’t bother. The temples at the top of the hill are cool and the view is worth it. But if you want to go any further you have to pay a small fee. After paying, you will walk through the main hall (which is brown wood and a contrast from the other orange buildings) which has been standing since its construction in the 1600’s. Kiyomizu-Dera originated 1200 years ago but has been rebuilt on a number of occasions. You will then walk along a pathway through the mountain where you can get a wicked view of the main hall and temples overlooking the city. I can imagine how amazing it would look in the spring with the cherry blossoms. Then after walking a few minutes you will reach the final temple further into the mountain. On the way back down, you will also come across 3 streams trinkling into a fountain. Here you have an opportunity to grab a cub attached to a long stick and drink from one of the streams which is supposed to give good fortune. But be careful, if you drink from more than one of the streams it may ruin your chances and be a sign of greed.
We bypassed the streams, got a few more photos including some shots of some of the temples reflecting in the water and walked down the street parallel to the one we walked up to get there. We grabbed an ice cream and a craft beer and headed back to our Ryokan. The temple was packed, and I didn’t like that you had to pay to go the entire way, but the price wasn’t bad and the views from the mountain with the silhouette of the temple were pretty amazing. There was also a lot of cool history and religion to learn about at the temple.
Fushimi Inari
Despite being tired, the next day we decided to check out a Shinto shrine, the Fushimi Inari which is famous from TikTok and Instagram for the 10,000 Torii gates you pass through to get to the top. Unfortunately, it was raining and that dampened our day. And even though we had a baby, Fushimi Inari is mostly kid friendly. You can’t make it all the way with a stroller, but you can walk a long way up. You may have to lift the stroller one or two steps here and there but it is doable.
The orange Torii gates are cool but after a while it feels like more of the same. And again, like Kiyomizu-Dera the crowds are significant. But after walking for about 10-15 minutes the crowds die down and you will find a few seconds to take photos or short videos while walking through the gates without a crowd of fellow travelers. At the start there are a few buildings and shrines to observe and there are a few throughout the hike. We only made it a third of the way up but the hike we went on was easy, even with the stroller. But being wet and tired we decided to call it a day. We made it to a cool section of the shrine took a few photos and headed back down. At the bottom there was all kinds of street food which we couldn’t resist. Like all street food in Japan, it didn’t disappoint. We had Chicken Yakitori, Wagyu Steak and Takoyaki. Fushimi Inari was cool and I’m glad we went but there are only so many Torii gates you can walk through. And the gates aren’t the same throughout, they change size and shape as you walk. Some being just larger than an average person and others being massive. It was a cool experience to have once in your lifetime.
The Verdict
Both religious places were cool and a neat experience. Both Kiyomizu-Dera and Fushimi Inari offered views of the city, but the view from Kiyomizu-Dera was better. On the way to both temples and on the way down there are plenty of souvenir shops, cafes and street food to enjoy. Despite being packed the temples are must-sees if you have the time. It was cool to compare and contrast the temples and shrines from the two major religions of Japan, Buddhism and Shintoism. I always like to learn something new on vacation and I learned a bit more at Kiyomizu-Dera. Even though you will get a better Instagram photo or reel at Fushimi Inari, I preferred Kiyomizu-Dera and if you only have time to visit one, that is the temple I’d recommend in Kyoto.
Add comment
Comments