I wrote the other day about some hiking in the hills of eastern Kyoto, finishing up that story noting that a trail we took came out at the back of a “sorta' famous spot”, which if you looked at any of the map links, you realized was the Kiyomizu Temple.

This internationally-known cultural attraction is less than 1.2 miles from my house, but I've only been to it a few times, most recently just to photograph the front during one of Kyoto's evening light-up events (with the first photo on that post being the entrance area of Kiyomizu Temple). I also visited a year ago with my Aunt Jeannette and Anthony.

This time, since we were in hiking mode, we got to explore more of the rear regions of the temple complex than I'd ever explored before.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Rear of the Main Temple Building

The marquee visual feature is the main temple building, which hangs out over a hillside, supported on a huge lattice of wooden beams. Most people probably won't find it very interesting from the rear (the photo above), but I really love the roof, which looks as if it's made of layer upon layer upon layer of thin wood strips.

Next to the far end of the main building is a long set of stairs heading down...

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/7.1, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos

These stairs featured a bit on this post from last year, and the pagoda – visible in the far distance in the top-center of the photo above – on a post earlier this year.

We thought we'd hike over to the pagoda, and along the way got many nice views of the main temple building...

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — ¹/30 sec, f/10, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
( as I mentioned in the first post, it was really hazy )

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/60 sec, f/8, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 28 mm — ¹/40 sec, f/7.1, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
View From The Far Pagoda
which feels much further away than the 190m it actually is

Anthony was a real trouper, so on the way back to the trailhead we stopped by for some refreshments....

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — ¹/25 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Waiting For Our Treat

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 31 mm — ¹/30 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Mmmmm, Shaved Ice

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 40 mm — ¹/40 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
We didn't want to take our shoes off, so sat inside the restaurant, but across the way...
Some People Had Much Nicer Views

Next to the restaurant was some kind of water-spring thing, where you reach out with a long scoop and to get some special water. The sign in front says “Otowa spring is the spring for wishes fulfillment, healthy long-life” in English, although the Japanese uses “waterfall” rather than “spring”. It looked fun to Anthony, so we gave it a try. (It's free.)

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/90 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
otowa no taki
Otowa Waterfall

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
it's at the base of the long stairs shown earlier

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 28 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Main Temple Building From Below

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — ¹/350 sec, f/4.5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Filling One's Cup

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 48 mm — ¹/25 sec, f/7.1, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ready for the Climb

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 30 mm — ¹/30 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Huge Main-Temple Supports

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Half Way Up
and it seems we've barely taken a dent out of it

Heading back up to Shogun-zuka was faster than the trip down. Walking downhill really hurts my knees, but they're fine when I climb. Also, in the dimming light of the approaching evening, I stopped for photos much less. In the end, it took about 15 minutes to get back to the car.