Ninety seconds on Kiyomizu-dera
Before ten, when the tour buses arrive, you can stand almost alone on a wooden stage thirteen metres above a hillside of maples, with Kyoto spread out beyond. Come at the six o'clock opening for the quietest hour.
Start at the vermilion Niomon gate and, before you buy the main ticket, find Zuigu-do hall, just before the main hall, for the Tainai-meguri walk. It is a walk through a pitch-black basement that stands for a mother's womb, with a small fee of its own.
The main hall's stage stands high above the hillside, with cherry and maple below and the city beyond. Carry on to Okunoin, a smaller hall with a stage of its own, then take the steps down to the Otowa waterfall at the foot of the main hall.
Its three streams are said to bring long life, success in study and luck in love. Drink from one only: taking all three counts as greedy. The three-storey Koyasu pagoda stands among the trees at the far southern end of the grounds.
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