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Kiyomizu-dera (Yasugi)

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Kiyomizu-deraYasugithree-storey pagodashojin ryoriautumn foliage

Photo: Kasadera / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · original

Before Kiyomizu-dera (Yasugi) became a stop on any list, it was — and still is — a working place of worship in Shimane.

Not the Kyoto one. This Kiyomizu-dera is a mountain temple complex above Yasugi, founded in 587 according to its own account, spread across a wooded hillside with a long approach past subsidiary halls and a stream.

The temple is known regionally as a place for warding off misfortune, and it draws people from across San'in for that rather than for sightseeing. The other reason to come is lunch: several buildings in the grounds serve shojin ryori, the vegetarian temple cuisine, in the traditional Yasugi style, and eating it in the grounds after the walk up is the standard way locals do the visit. In late November the whole hillside turns and the approach becomes one of the better foliage walks in the prefecture.

Visiting essentials

Best time to visit

Late November for autumn colour | Year-round for the grounds

Hours

Grounds 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM, last entry 4:30 PM | Pagoda and treasure hall by reservation, at least one week ahead

Closed: Grounds open year-round | Pagoda and treasure hall closed August 10–20 and December 1 – end of March

Admission

Free | Three-storey pagoda and treasure hall: ¥500 adults, by advance booking | Shojin ryori priced separately

Time to allow

90 minutes for the grounds | 2.5 hours with a shojin ryori meal

Finding your way there

Access notes

528 Kiyomizu-cho, Yasugi. Car recommended; roughly from JR Yasugi Station. The three-storey pagoda and treasure hall cost ¥500 for adults and require booking at least one week ahead; they are closed from August 10–20 and from December 1 to the end of March. Shojin ryori is served in the grounds — book ahead.

What locals know

**The pagoda needs a reservation a week out.** Interior access to the three-storey pagoda and the treasure hall is by advance booking only, at least seven days ahead, and both close for a block in August and from December through March. Turning up hoping to climb it does not work. **Book the shojin ryori too.** The vegetarian temple meals served in the grounds are the other half of the visit and are prepared to order. A same-day walk-in may or may not be possible; a call ahead makes it certain. **Allow for the walk up.** The approach climbs through the complex past several halls before reaching the main buildings. It is a pleasant twenty minutes rather than a hike, but it is not flat and there are steps. **Late November is the reason to time it.** The hillside colours late in the season and the approach under maples is the single best thing here. It is also the busiest fortnight of the year. **Combine with Adachi and Gassantoda.** The Adachi Museum garden and the Gassantoda castle site are both nearby in Yasugi, and the three make a full day in a city most itineraries pass through on the way to Matsue.

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