Tempels in Kyoto

We had some difficulties navigating Kyoto. None of the maps we had seemed to accurately describe what we saw around us. Somehow we still managed to find temples. Monday was a very cold day and it didn't help that you sometimes had to remove your shoes. Caroline was not in a good mood after a few hours ...

The Sanjusangen-do temple was founded in 1132. It is famous for sheltering more than a thousand statues of the deity Kannon. The great hall was fascinating and we had the good fortune to see it while monks were performing a ritual. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the temple so an outside shot will have to do.

Sanjusangen-do temple

On our way to the next temple we took a shortcut cross a huge graveyard.


The temple Kiyomizu-dera was founded in 798, but the current buildings are from 1633. The temple is dedicated to the deity Kannon. I don't know why Kiyomizu-dera doesn't have over a thousand statues of Kannon as Sanjusangen-do (do). The temple was located high up on a wooded foothill and you could see across Kyoto from there.

Kiyomizu-dera temple