GOD ROAD JAPAN

Kiyomizu-dera

清水寺  ·  Buddhist temple

By the temple's own account, more than 1,250 years have passed since its foundation, which it traces to a priest who found a pure spring welling up deep in Mount Otowa.

The Main Hall is the centre of the site, with an innermost sanctuary behind the public area.

Hours

The hours below are the times published by the temple.

Temple gates open6:00Kiyomizu-dera — visiting and access
Temple gates close18:00 (18:30 in July and August)Kiyomizu-dera — visiting and access
Goshuin desk opensaround 8:00 — no closing time is statedKiyomizu-dera — opening hours notice

The 18:30 summer closing is also listed by the city tourism guide.

Getting there

Address: Kiyomizu 1-chome 294, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto

Kiyomizu-dera — visiting and access

Where this fits in the walk

This route starts at Kiyomizu-dera, whose published opening time is 6:00. Kodai-ji, the next stop, opens at 9:00.

1
Kiyomizu-deraBuddhist temple
about 17 minutes on foot
2
Kodai-jiBuddhist temple
about 8 minutes on foot
3
Yasaka ShrineShinto shrine

This shows the order of the walk. It is a diagram, not a map, and not to scale. Walking times are map-route estimates between the listed locations.

Sources

History and background, What you can seeKiyomizu-dera — English site
Temple gates open, Temple gates close, Getting thereKiyomizu-dera — visiting and access
Goshuin desk opensKiyomizu-dera — opening hours notice

Information checked: September 3, 2026.