There is a good reason that Kiyomizudera is a world heritage site - it's massive, if plain, main building hangs over a small gorge almost weightlessly. It's hard to tell when you first enter the temple, but it takes on a beauty and significane when viewed from afar - with the cypress and maple trees dusting the bottom of their viewing platforms.
as you can tell by the number of people in the shot - the place was pretty packed.
Just behind Kiyomizudera, though technically a seperate temple, is Jishu Shrine. This temple is dedicated to love and has a bunch of pretty awesome customs.
Above is one of the love rocks - if you can walk from one rock to the other (where the girls are) with your eyes closed and thinking of the person you like than your relationship will go well. I saw a few people attempt this while I was there (they got a lot of verbal assistance)
all these students are buying love fortunes and amulets. As I recall they even sold English ones.
Here's another great one! Daikoku is a god of good fortune - the red and white tags contain the names of people who are wishing for romance with a specific person one tag contains their name and one tag contains the name of their desired partner.
I wish I had more time to explore the grounds of Kiyomizudera - It was quite beautiful (and empty once you got away from the main sights).
The last thing to see/experience at this shrine was Otowa no Taki (the Sound of Feathers Waterfall)
It's a popular belief that the water from Otowa no Taki bestows good fortune on the drinker.. To drink from the right waterfall makes people intelligent, to drink from the middle waterfall makes people handsome, and to drink water from the left ensures longevity. And, lest you get greedy, there are those who believe that to drink from all three invites personal misfortune. Not that you would get a chance to the queue was very long.
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