Japan Trip 2013 - Kiyomizu Temple (清水寺) Revisited (Part 1)

At about 6.30am we bid Khaoson Kyoto good bye and walked towards Shijo Station for our journey down to Osaka. Thanks to the summer sun, the day was already quite bright even at the early morning hours. Upon transferring at Kyoto station, we then took the train towards JR Osaka Station.

It was at this hour we had a first hand taste of what it is like to experience public transport at the peakest hour in Japan. Throngs of people soon filled up the trains as they head to Osaka city for work and it really felt like we were being squeezed like sardines. To make matters worse we had our luggages with us so it was really, really cramped. @@ Meanwhile back in Malaysia people often say that having a very sophisticated public transport is what makes a country to be considered First World or is a 'luxury', or something in that manner. 

Shopping mall within the Osaka station

Personally I feel that this statement is quite wrong as public transport is more of a NEED as the roads get saturated with traffic. This is especially the case in very developed countries like Japan, Korea & Taiwan where their highways and roads are quite limited compared to Malaysia where 3 lane highways are the norm here. Also, parking space are really scarce or close to none existence in the big cities of these countries. No government in the world would prioritise building public transport first over roads or highways. People would definitely prefer to driver, given the option and convenience. I know I would. Looking at the current situation in Malaysia now, personally i think it's much more better as our roads are much wider and wide scaled MRTs & LRT extensions are on the way, at least in the KL/Selangor region. Who knows in the future roads may scraped to make way for buildings as development gets further boosted. Anyway, squeezing on the train to work everyday is no fun. Getting stuck on the road in a jam perhaps is slightly more comfortable I guess. Both are inevitable as development progresses. 

Ok back to the trip. At Osaka station we then made way to the visitor centre to buy the Osaka 2 day ecopass for ¥2700 which allows us unlimited rides on the subway as well as discount vouchers for a couple of tourist attractions. Pretty nice deal if you plan to visit Osaka for a short period. Unfortunately my friends got a bit overwhelmed with the sheer size of the Osaka station and had a bit of a trouble to find to visitor centre and we kinda wasted about 1 hour here. Do remember to bring your passports along when you buy the passes though. 

After settling our accommodation at Hokoso Guest House which is located nearby Tennoji station, we then took the train back to Kyoto for our 2nd visit to Kiyomizudera. We took the bus this time towards the base of the temple instead of walking. The summer heat is too much to bear during the morning as it was already about 11am-ish when we arrived back.

¥220 for a bus ride @_@

If you are too lazy to walk you can always hire these muscular trishaw guys to ferry you up to the temple. There are many of them running around the roads leading towards the temple and it's quite a decent job for them to say the least.

The road leading towards Kiyomizu temple during the day doesn't seem that alluring compared to the night. Throngs of tourists can be seen walking everywhere and frequenting the various stores on the way to the temple. I think this is one of the best place to buy your souvenirs in Kyoto as they sell almost everything here in the different shops. Don't bother bargaining though as prices as quite strictly fixed. I bought some key chains + fridge magnets (¥645), I love Japan T-shirt (¥1050) as well as some really unique looking handkerchiefs (3 for ¥1050). Not the cheapest stuff I must say. Again, nothing is cheap in Japan.

Tourists galore

Entrance to the temple

I must say that this temple is HUGE, at least for my standards (hence the reason this post will be divided into 2 parts). Entrance fee is ¥300.

One notable feature of this temple is its abundance of trees throughout the whole temple grounds. It must be a real beauty during the spring season when all the cherry blossoms are at full bloom. 

One of the few trees that had flowers

My first stop at this temple was their so-called Love Shrine. With the words 緣 easily found all over. Guess it's the place to go for if you long for another half. 

Kimonos everywhere

Many people can be seen praying and buying amulets or lucky charms of that sorts. I would probably get one for a souvenir if not for the hefty price tag.  

Apart from wishing to find to find another halfs, there are other stuffs that people pray to. Good health, safety, natural disasters etc. A thing to note that almost everything is in Mandarin words. These shows the history of this temple which dates back during the ancient Chinese times.

Chinese wordings everywhere in the wishes.

Well I did try this half-heartedly. Still waiting for some results lol. 

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