After we are waved off from the hotel, the bus takes us the short distance to the Kiyomizu-dera Temple which is located in Gion on the southeast side of the city. From the car park we walk up a well-paved street lined with shops to the site of the temple, which has been built on one of the highest points of Kyoto. After passing through an ornate gate, we climb a series of wide steps to the main hall and its verandah, which is a nail-less miracle of Japanese joinery, although a section is screened off due to refurbishment. From here there are wonderful views over Kyoto, and when we walk across a ravine to a pagoda, there are excellent views of the temple itself. Akiko points out how the temple towers above the ravine, and that this feature is the origin of the expression “to jump off Kiyomizu's stage” - the equivalent of the English expression “to take the plunge”

The temple area is surrounded by maple trees which must look amazing in the autumn. Today, there are many pilgrims here, coming as they have done for over 1,000 years, to pray and to drink from the sacred spring. Many of the visitors are neatly-dressed schoolchildren, all in groups of four accompanied by an adult. They are amongst the visitors going to an area of the temple’s grounds that has two ‘Love Stones’ - walking successfully between these with closed eyes it is claimed that “your wish will be granted soon”.