Sunset over Kyoto

1 April 2014

Arrived in Kyoto just in time for sunset, and one of my favourite times of the day, dusk. Headed over to Kiyozumi-dera, also known as Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera (音羽山清水寺). The pleasant spring weather and the hanami season meant the narrow walking paths up the hills were packed with people. But the weather was pleasant, the cherry blossoms beckon. A light heartedness floated in the air. I was in good spirits.

I will soon discover that the magic of Japan remains unfazed even in the peak of the tourist season. 

Up in the hills:

 

I loved these pencil-straight leafless trees behind the Kiyozumi-dera. Are they maple trees? I can’t be sure. Come summer these hills will be covered with green foliage I suppose, then brown and red in autumn before a blanket of snow descends. I like countries with four seasons.

Some researchers sat in the hills taking notes. I wondered what they were recording.

The shrine and its platform, 13m from the ground. In the old days people leapt from those heights.

Kiyozumi-dera surrounded by cherry blossom trees. Kyoto city in the distance.