Kiyomizu-dera
Can a romanticist not visit a place with the word -Love attached to it? No, she can not.
Ohayo from a faraway temple in Kyoto, where I walked through a pitch black basement dedicated to Buddha’s mother, designed to symbolize a mother’s womb (you hold a rope and walk till you touch a stone – there is NO turning back – marking the l-o-n-g-e-s-t minute of my life).
Then, I took the challenge to walk with eyes closed from one stone to another (to find love) – I would have seriously tumbled down the stairs if a bunch of adorable Japanese school girls didn’t guide me with their cheers.
First things first. Taxis will drop you off at this point, a colorful uphill pedestrian with quirky shops left and right leading to the temple. Just follow the crowd and try to stick to one lane instead of wandering around zig zag so that your eyes could feast on both rows by the time you walk up and down.
{A tempting alley to walk through for two; which I’d so love to do so but unfortunately we were running out of time}
{“Finally!”, was what I thought when I saw this grand niōmon}
{Red lips, red cat at a red spot}
Climbing up the stairs from the symbolic niōmon leads you here; unveiling a fresh, lush scene bathing happily in sunset.
{A small part of a huge crowd that tried to get a spot at the top; whether they were admiring the view, or not}
{A glimmering Kyoto <3 }
Looking down from the dera‘s lookout point there was a long queue of people both young and old at otowa-no-taki, waiting for their turn to drink Kiyomizu (pure water) flowing from the roof for longevity and success in studies.
Me: Do you think we have to go there and do that?
Big Guy: NO LAH!
Me: LOL!!! (That’s so typical Big Guy by the way)
Greeted by these two friendly buddies on our way to Jishu-Jinja, the matchmaking shrine.
P.S. Read the small hanging note to learn why Kiyomizu is related to love.
This is called the ‘love stone’. There are two of them and here’s the rule:
{WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED. Nuff said}
{The things I do for love . . . I wonder sometimes}
{And my reward after the blind search, in case my wish doesn’t come true 😆 }
